Abs or plastic for a tank bottom?

[bennyskinfield]

Hey all I've got a question has anyone ever used Abs,styrene or any plastic as a base for a glass tank? Does silicone bond to it? I know you would have to support it with a sheet of plywood but could it work?

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[wednesday13]

Yes it will work but not for long with regular silicone. Gold Label Aquarium and pond sealant will adhere to both glass and plastic, but with the price you would pay for it you could just use a glass bottom. Plastic is also typically more expensive than glass. If you already have the plastic laying around it could be worth it but even ABS is pretty much the same price as cast acrylic or glass. Styrene is extremly flexible and i wouldnt trust it even with the best supports underneath. Styrene is also very toxic so it may not be water potable. Look into polypropolene and polyethylene in .5"
if you are serious about this idea lol...they will be ur best bet, but like i said its far cheaper to use regular glass for the bottom aswell.

 

[CJH]

Hey all I've got a question has anyone ever used Abs,styrene or any plastic as a base for a glass tank? Does silicone bond to it? I know you would have to support it with a sheet of plywood but could it work?

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People have replaced glass bottoms with epoxy sealed plywood so even a flexible plastic would work when backed with plywood. Your biggest issue is going to be getting a good bond between silicone (or other fish safe sealant) and the plastic. On that note, I would avoid using polyethylene or polypropylene as they have very low surface energies which means it is difficult to form a strong bond with them. That's what makes them so desirable in many applications but this is not one of them, IMO. There are a new class of sealants that wil bond with them but they are expensive and even if you used them you'd get a stronger bond with a higher surface energy plastic.

Reptile enclosures are made out of a variety of different plastics and one common "complaint" is that silicone often does not bond well with them and they leak in the case of water spills, over-misting, etc. So my guess is you'll have to spend some time and money finding the right sealant. You might be better off just sealing a plywood panel with epoxy which is silicone is known to bond well with. Then you can just used tried and true silicone.

 

[the_deeb]

I'm pretty sure that AGE builds glass aquariums with PVC bottoms and they're a top of the line tank manufacturer. Might want to check them out, but I don't know how forthcoming they'll be about the adhesives they use.