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Help with ATBA

PostPosted: 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

PostPosted: 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

PostPosted: 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

PostPosted: 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

PostPosted: 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

PostPosted: 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

PostPosted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 6:03 pm
by Mistic811
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mReJB4qc9QU


I 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

PostPosted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 8:55 pm
by Mistic811
Image
Image
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Some pics for you all to see. :)

Re: Help with ATBA

PostPosted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 5:19 am
by penelope
It looks very nice.

Re: Help with ATBA

PostPosted: 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

PostPosted: 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

PostPosted: 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

PostPosted: 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

PostPosted: 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

PostPosted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 10:03 pm
by Mistic811
Image

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