Glue/cement recommendation?

[Mangala]

Who can recommend a good strong glue to help me seal up the leaks in the overflow of my acrylic tank? It's got pvc piping attached that leaks at the join with the acrylic and pvc... At the hardware store, i couldn't find any glues (or pvc cement or bonding agent or whatever) that promised to be good for acrylic/pvc installations, AND be aquarium/potable water safe... just wondering what others have used?

Alyssa

edit: I guess there's Weldon 40 - A two part acrylic glue that also bonds to pvc

I will keep looking...

[jpfelix]

beware of new weldon products. they have changed the formulation and it may not work as well. there are several "2-part" type epoxies available at most hardware/home improvement stores. many come in syringe type applicators. once many are fully cured they are inert.

[Blacksunshine]

I use weldon or pvc pipe glue for all my creations.

[Mangala]

The problem with most of the glues at the hardware stores is that many of them claim PVC to PVC bonding, but then go on to list a bunch of types of plastics they don't bond to and none of them want to bond exactly what I want them to. I've gone and gotten a bottle of gorilla glue, which would work perfect if it had a long, skinny tube for a nozzle to apply it with.... I've already tested it on some plastic, bonded it to some other plastic and dropped it in with a feeder guppy (after full cure) and so far the guppy is showing no ill effects, so I might have to go with that...... really, as long as it works, right? Hopefully, if it doesn't kill a guppy, it won't kill an angelfish?

[aelysa]

Gorilla glue is supposedly non-toxic, I was considering it for a project also.

[Mangala]

It says it's 100% polyeurethane, 100% waterproof... It's very rigid, though, and under lateral pressure will lose its seal and crack. So far, that's my downside to this product, since I need to connect a hose to a pipe, the hose being flexible... But I tried silicone type product from LocTite and it didn't seal, though it held... It even recommended itself for aquarium usage, and said it was good on plastics. Either I really suck at gluing things together, or these products aren't that great to begin with. so far I've got it down to a slow drip leak (approximately 1/4 cup of water every 2 hours or so) but it still drives me batty... that slow drip can cause mold and mildew and other problems. I need perfection!

[Blacksunshine]

PVC pipe glue. It works. it is what you are looking for. It is blue or purple and comes in a little metal can. it is what plumers and landscapers use to seal PVC pipeing. I used it myself to seal PVC pipes to the in and outtakes of my HOT magnum.
For your aplication I might even go with a first layer seal of the PVC glue and then around the end place a ring of Weldon. Silicone will be useless in this application. You can find it in the plumbing/PVC pipe section of Home Depot or lowes.

[Mangala]

EXCEPT that that particular kind (trust me, I spent so long in lowes reading all their kinds of glue/cements/bonders, I bet they were watching me waiting to see if I'd huff it...) says to not try to bond it to various kinds of regular plastic, which I'm assuming my hose is made of...

the plumbing section of lowes was the first place I looked for my solution.... this dang "free" tank has so far cost me nearly 30 bucks in various adhesives!

[Mangala]

Oh, geeze, if it helps any: I'm hooking up the hose of my fluval in this fashion. it seemed the easiest solution.... aside from the glue part. (it also DOES WORK admirably, even when it's leaking a little.)

[Blacksunshine]

Well.. then weldon or marine epoxy would be my only other suggestions.

[GDominy]

Could you post a picture of the overflow and where its leaking? I'm having trouble visualizing this, but would like to help come up with a solution...