Re: Calking
You want aquarium sealant silicone – special silicone with a little more holding strength than regular stuff. Small tubes are available at Wal-Mart and pet shops. Larger tubes are available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. http://www.thatpetplace.com has it in large tubes for caulking guns very reasonably. As Jonathan reported, I doubt that the silicone will adhere to the plexiglass and glass strongly enough to support the weight of a basking area. I got some “special” silicone adhesive with an internal Eheim filter that had two plastic hooks that needed to be mounted inside my 75 gallon tank. Those have stuck! Whatever was in that little tube would be good stuff to use. thatpetplace.com also sells epoxy for use in aquariums to hold rocks together, etc. That might bond plexiglass and glass, but it probably would be less attractive from the side. I have seen several plans for building basking platforms that used full “legs” of glass that stretched from the platform all the way to the bottom of the tank. This makes for a “double wall” when viewed from the side and gives the platform a solid support. Haven’t tried it myself, though. Besides floating cork, my latest experiments in the never-ending search for the perfect basking area is plastic-coated wire kitchen shelf accessories. They come in many shapes and sizes. I keep my tape measure with me and measure all the different models and brands at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc. It’s so fun to make all the other shoppers wonder. I am trying various combinations of flat rocks and cork on these to see how they work out. Although I haven’t tried this one either myself, I have read that silicone can be spread on a sheet of glass or plexi and then small rocks/gravel rubbed into the silicone to provide traction on a ramp. I actually bought a used 30 gallon tank that had a small ramp of plexi coated this way. The silicone DID NOT hold that plexi to the glass very well as I removed it with a slight twist and tug. It had formed a “land area” of rocks, so I guess the rocks had supported it and kept it in place when it was in use. Best of luck and give us a report. Todd in Texas coldtail88@… wrote: