Add a Small Glass or Acrylic Wedge to Sump?

Seed

Seed

Member
Hello,

I have a Reefer 350 with glass sump. I want to add a small piece to the corner of the sump that has a hole to mount a vertical switch. Anyone have some suggestions on how to do this? Can I just go to tap plastics and get a piece of acrylic and silicon it in?

Thanks for the advice!

Seed
 
D

DaveK

Well-Known Member
Getting glass and acrylic to bond with an adhesive can be difficult. Silicon doesn't stick to plastics very well.

What I have done in such cases is to use a magnetic holder like you see in some of the ATO units or Tunze powerhead pumps.

Another alternative is to use a U shaped piece of plastic or pipe over the top of the sump and mount the switch on that. Then champ the plastic or pipe to the tank one way or another.
 
I

ianthepoolguy

New Member
I'm with this... ^
What about using a plastic tablecloth clip? They're made to go over virtually any thickness of table, and have a perfect flat edge to mount a switch on.


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Seed

Seed

Member
I decided to try using some RTV 108 and some 1/4 acrylic shaped in a 4" triangle. I became impatient and bought it yesterday and so far it seems to be very solid. This RTV stuff is almost like a glue. The wedge went right in and stuck. I probably didn't need to put the support piece under it during the cure. We'll see how it goes. If this doesn't' work I'll try the clip idea. I'm not sure the magnet will be strong enough to resist the mechanical float pressure. I'm hoping this plate can hold both a mechanical and circuit float switch.
 
cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
I have found that if I rough up the acrylic (where the silicone will be applied) with sand paper, it holds quite well. I don't know about the RTV though. Silicone is my choice. Will the RTV be submerged?
 
Seed

Seed

Member
cracker said:
I have found that if I rough up the acrylic (where the silicone will be applied) with sand paper, it holds quite well. I don't know about the RTV though. Silicone is my choice. Will the RTV be submerged?
Click to expand...

Hey Cracker,

It will be only if the primary ATO solenoid fails and the mechanical float then fails. Either way I read a lot about this RTV stuff and it seems to be a very common silicon adhesive for aquarium builds.
 
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