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Help with ATBA

Posted:
Tue Feb 11, 2014 7:18 pm
by Mistic811
I want to glue a 3 sided "box" of plexiglass to ceramic tile. The silicon doesn't seem to want hold on to the plexiglass. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Tue Feb 11, 2014 7:26 pm
by steve
Silicon won't stick very well, that's normal. Is there anything beneath the tile?
Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Tue Feb 11, 2014 7:35 pm
by Mistic811
I was just going to have it sit on the ledge on top of tank. It's cut to fit. I've silicon my old turtle dock to bottom of it.
Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Wed Feb 12, 2014 5:48 am
by penelope
Yeah, I tried that. It lasted less than a week. Even epoxy is a challenge. You can try sanding the edges to make them semi-porous and try epoxy, but don't assume it will work.
After umpteen dollars spent on Plexiglas, I have given up on it.
It is good if embedded in a sturdy frame (i.e, as a window in a wood frame), but I have yet to have any luck trying to make it work as a standalone.
I have a post somewhere on here showing a basking area I made with the same concept as yours. It looked real pretty, but I tossed it before the week was over.
Try a frame of some sort and I am sure it will work.
Good luck.
Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Wed Feb 12, 2014 2:36 pm
by Mistic811
I bought a different type of silicon. 100% silicon made for plastic and plexiglass. I got it all together last night and it looks really good. I hope it doesn't fall apart.

seems pretty stable. I didn't skimp on silicon application that's for sure

I plan on putting it on tonight. I didn't want to do it this morning because I won't be home today and if it does fail I want to be there. Probably gonna be snowed in tomorrow so I'll see if my girls decide to use it. I'll post some pics tonight.
Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Wed Feb 12, 2014 4:11 pm
by steve
I would think about some brackets, but you would need to drill a few holes into the tile.
Silicone won't adhere well to plexiglass or acrylic, I'm not sure of any other kind out there.
Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Wed Feb 12, 2014 6:03 pm
by Mistic811
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mReJB4qc9QUI just found this video...the guy played with 3 different silicones to see what held up better. Not highly scientific or anything but the one that did the best is the one I used on my stuff too. So maybe I'll be ok.

Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Wed Feb 12, 2014 8:55 pm
by Mistic811
Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Thu Feb 13, 2014 5:19 am
by penelope
It looks very nice.
Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Thu Feb 13, 2014 9:23 am
by Mistic811
penelope wrote:It looks very nice.
Thank you! So far they haven't tried it. I know it may take a few days.
Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Thu Feb 13, 2014 12:48 pm
by sperez3
yeah I gave up on the silicon too. so I have all egg crate now. the turtles like it better becasue they think i cant seem them as well lol. It took me 3 weeks to get my new dock right.
Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Fri Feb 14, 2014 8:53 am
by Mistic811
They were up there last night after the lights were all out.

They figured out there were some tasty shrimp up there. Lol

I'm wondering if the sides may not be high enough?? They are 5" tall. I think I'm good on the silicone, the brand I used seems to be working very well.
Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Fri Feb 14, 2014 1:43 pm
by steve
Looks nice! Have you thought about clear packing tape to strengthen it? 5" might be too short, especially if they cooperate on an escape.
Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Fri Feb 14, 2014 3:27 pm
by Mistic811
steve wrote:Looks nice! Have you thought about clear packing tape to strengthen it? 5" might be too short, especially if they cooperate on an escape.
Lol Steve, I was thinking the same thing...if they stack up one could totally get over the edge! I may need to make some modifications. It's always a work in progress isn't it?

Re: Help with ATBA

Posted:
Fri Feb 14, 2014 10:03 pm
by Mistic811

My husband caught one of them (webber I think) up on the tile.