what to use to glue 2 rubbermaids together?

[sir_dudeguy]

i'm experimenting w/a new sump design, and it will have a small rubbermaid tub in a larger one...i need the smaller one to be glued to the bigger one...will silicone work or no? i'm guessing not because its for glass...so what do i use and where do i get it for how much about?

thanks
mike

[MSU Fan]

will this part that is glued be in contact with the water? If so, I would stay away from super glue.

Hot melt glue is fine, but tends to break down eventually in water.

[justrelax]

yeah, if the glued part is going to touch water, it certainly limits your choices. if not, i would use contact cement. it holds synthetics together very well, and remains flexible when it cures so you wouldn't have to worry about it becoming brittle and breaking when you moved the tubs. if contact cement will work, make sure to rough up the surface it's being used on to get a super good grip!
if water will be touching it, maybe use some flat, wide headed bolts to hold them together, then just silicone around the holes.
hth.

[sir_dudeguy]

ya srry...it will be completly under water...its basically gonna be a baffle...i'll post a pic if i can figure it out....its just a general idea of what it will look like..nothin much

would the bolts cause any problems in water tho? i would completely silicone over them so that no part of them is even touching water

[img][/img]

hopfully that pic worked...but basically i need something to keep the brown tub down....there will be as much rock in there as i can cram in (in the brown one) but it still wont hold it down once the water is in there...it floats really strng lol..i put a 25 lb rock in, but it still wont hold it down, even when there's water in it too...

so i'm thinking put the bolt facing up into the sump, and then have the nut on the inside of the sump...then i'd glue w/silicone over the whole bolt/nut and the whole area around it...i dont really care what it looks like lol...just as long as it works (which you can tell by the pic haha)

i would probably blue the bolt area before i put the bolt in too...just to make sure theres' no gap at all.

thanks
mike

[justrelax]

nice diagram! yeah, i think you're on the right track. i'm not sure, but there's got to be some type of synthetic nut and bolt out there... if you can't find anythinglike that then i think you will be safe coating metal with the silicone. just make sure to over-do it! good luck..

[sir_dudeguy]

lol ya...2 seconds on Paint program works wonders haha. I would definately overdoo it on the silicone lol..i'm not just gonna buy a tube for just a tiny bit haha..i'll pretty much goop it all over the bolt just to be completely sure none of it is touching the water.

so do you think my sump experiment will work? if the thing is still getting to many bubbles coming out (which it shouldnt..water will have to flow over the side of the brown tub..like a baffle...and then there'll be some rock in there too to take out bubbles) then i'll cut the left side of the brown tub and bring it to the right and make another baffle so that the water has to go under that one.

[src]

If you don't want to use a metal bolt, you can buy nylon bolts/nuts at any Lowes. Look in the special parts drawers in the fasteners aisle.

[dscount]

Might just try a cheap trick.

Just drill a few holes near the bottom on the side facing the skimmer. Nothing fancy, just maybe 2-4 small holes to help keep the return from draining the brown tub and floating.

If you ever get that you are going to hate life. Or at least hate the massive amount of water overflowing the main tub.

[sir_dudeguy]

lol ya. i've decided to kinda switch it aroudn a bit...still looks the same, only i'm gonna have incoming water in the bronw one, and then the return will be lower in the blue one.

[Toirtis]

Aquarium silicone will work fine, and superglue (cyanoacrylate) is also aquarium safe.