Question about aquarium glue

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Otterwoman

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I really didn't know where to post this one....I'm going to be fixing up a new large tank for my two Tylos, and I want to put a plexiglass piece in to separate land/water areas. In another thread someone mentioned they did this and the glue didn't hold...my questions are: is that common; is there a trick to it; I plan on using aquarium cement (that clear gooey stuff) and glue on both sides of the separating piece. Maybe is the trick leaving it to dry a certain amount of time? Any comments are appreciated.
 
From my understanding the problem is that aquarium cement (a silicone adhesive) doesn't bond well to plexiglass. Now if you were to use a piece of glass instead they should bond better. The seal might not be watertight and allow leakage of water into the land area despite this.
 
It's a simple issue - silicone sealant does not glue plastic, and plexiglass is a kind of plastic.

Superglue might actually be a good idea. It's a related compound to plexiglass. I can't recall if it's water stable after curing though. Superglue shouldn't be toxic as long as it's not soluble (true superglue is a pretty harmless substance).

Addendum: superglue is water stable after curing. See if you can get pure superglue without any additions and it should be safe and nontoxic after curing.
 
Given the choice I would opt for a glass partition with a good quality aquarium silicone seal. The only time I’ve had long term success with plexiglass is when it’s physically screwed into a frame, which clearly isn’t possible with glass. Silicone doesn’t hold well and I doubt you could get a water tight seal with super glue.
 
And plexiglass scratches.
 
Morning Dawn,

I am not a fan of glass or plastic dividers as such. The water seemingly always gets to the land side and creates a sloppy mess. My preference is to use a natural divider. By that I mean a few larger rocks that you can secure with a dab of silicone. Once dry, add a few smaller ones and fill in the gaps etc. Keep the waterside as is and fill the "land side" 2/3 of the way with LECA or Hydroton and cover with plastic screen or landscape cloth. The Plastic will be the base for your "land" substrate and will keep it separate from the water. As long as you keep the water level below the plastic you will never have a wet sloppy substrate. It will stay moist however and should work well. If you have any questions, feel free to call me.

I have used the above method several times and never had a problem. It gets more complicated if you want a stream or waterfall but can still work with planning.
 
Well, I just got back with my tank and divider. I have it just set in there for now, I have to put the tank in the basement where it belongs and wash it. I'm going to be working on it later today.

Your idea is really good, MRI guy, and I have a feeling I'll be trying that when this doesn't work out.
But since I'm all set up and psyched to try this, I'll do this first. Plus I have to google "LECA" and "Hydroton." I've thought about that before, I mean, raising the land side with something light and having the pool be lower. I was originally thinking styrofoam and I tried something sort of like that with the E. bislineata tank I recently set up, but I ended up not liking the styrofoam. It reminded me too much of litter.

Anyway, since this is a picture subforum, here's my tank so far. It's a 30 gallon breeder, so it's got a lot of floor space, and I think Eddie and Elektra will love it. From what I've read they should be aquatic at this stage in their lives, but seem to have little interest, only sometimes they go in the very large water bowl I have in their tank. I thought maybe a real pool might make them happier.
It sure would be wonderful if they would breed someday. Anyway, thanks all for the tips, and I'll keep you "posted"!
 

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LECA stands for light expanded clay aggregate and is a substrate used for hydroponic gardening. It is lightweight so it works a lot better than gravel. I would imagine that Hydroton is a brand name for a similar product, correct MRIGUY? I would imagine that you could couple the glass divider with the LECA as a hybrid between MIRGUY's method and yours.

Where do you buy this stuff, MRIGUY? I looked for it previously and had a hard time finding any in the United States. How much do you usually pay and do you have it shipped?
 
Abrahm said:
Where do you buy this stuff, MRIGUY? I looked for it previously and had a hard time finding any in the United States. How much do you usually pay and do you have it shipped?
Click to expand...

It's a hydroponic product so the best (and probably only) option is to find a hydroponic supplier. Shipping may be difficult as it's normally sold in large sacs. The smallest pack I could find at my local hydroponic stores (yes, for some reason hydroponics is popular in Bristol, I'm not sure what that says about the place. There's at least 2 shops within walking distance from my home :crazy:.) was 25 litres.
 
Abrahm said:
LECA stands for light expanded clay aggregate and is a substrate used for hydroponic gardening....

Where do you buy this stuff, MRIGUY? I looked for it previously and had a hard time finding any in the United States. How much do you usually pay and do you have it shipped?
Click to expand...

Blackjungle.com sells it. I bought some once at a herp show, but I haven't found it very useful. Some pieces float, so it has to be held down.
 
LECA is those little porous brown "balls" right? I used to buy that at the garden centre in England... I'm surprised you have to go so far (blackjungle) to get it...
 
LECA and Hydroton are basically the same thing.

Dawn, there is no need to abandon your divider. The problem with dividers is that the invariably leak and then the "dirt" side gets muddy. Go ahead and glue in the divider and just use the LECA on one side and then use the plastic and whatever "dirt" substrate you choose. The hydroton is very light and though some of it does float the plastic and soil will keep it down. I tend to use a not-water tight divider because that way I can have a larger volume of water in the tank (relatively speaking).

That weird pentagon tank I an doing now will be done that way and I will post pics as soon as I get to that stage.
 
MRIGUY said:
I am not a fan of glass or plastic dividers as such. The water seemingly always gets to the land side and creates a sloppy mess.
Click to expand...
I have had this happen and it's not pretty! I finally got so annoyed I took the divider back out of the tank, which is a royal pain. The solution I found is to use a second piece of glass to create a "ledge" area at the edge of the divider. Also, I now glue in dividers semi-horizontally instead of vertically.
 

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MRIGUY said:
LECA and Hydroton are basically the same thing.

Dawn, there is no need to abandon your divider. The problem with dividers is that the invariably leak and then the "dirt" side gets muddy. Go ahead and glue in the divider and just use the LECA on one side and then use the plastic and whatever "dirt" substrate you choose. The hydroton is very light and though some of it does float the plastic and soil will keep it down. I tend to use a not-water tight divider because that way I can have a larger volume of water in the tank (relatively speaking).

That weird pentagon tank I an doing now will be done that way and I will post pics as soon as I get to that stage.
Click to expand...


This pretty much describes most of my vivariums. I use the LECA in every one of my tanks (except the aquatic set-ups) and it works great, I get mine from LLL Reptile. I don't think you would get any leeks as long as you make sure that the water never rises past the plastic divider. The glass divider seems to be a great idea.
 
A recommendation about LECA though. Rinse it well or it turns the water orange. It is inert but the color resembles the hair of a crazy aunt of mine who is a study in psychology. :)
 
Well, I glued in the piece early this afternoon and now 13 hours later it seems pretty sturdy! I was wondering about the pressure of the water vs. the lack of pressure on the other side, whether it would need some kind of brace. Luckily I have to be a little patient about this project since I forgot to order the screen top when I ordered the tank, so even if I filled it up I couldn't use it till I got one!
So I'm going to look into these ideas a bit more...tomorrow...

I googled an image of that stuff and I think I just saw some last weekend at the Westchester Reptile Expo! rats...
 
Well, this is what I had envisioned trying. I'm going to wait one more day for glue to cure and then fill the right side with water and see if it holds. If it holds, then I'll add substrate to the left side. If it doesn't work out, I'm going to reglue and try the clay balls.
 

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A ladder??
 
I'm going to attach some fake vines along it so the newts can use it alternate to the log to get to the water area. It's a castoff from the hedgehog (and well sanitized since then too).
Thanks for noticing!
 
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