mod of old wet/dry -divider questions!

My main pump blew it's impeller, so, while it is being shipped away,
inspected and repaired, I'm re-tooling the works under the tank

I have an acrylic wet/dry that I am running with just a filter sock.
I was thinking of adding some dividers and create deeper chambers to house some rock, etc.

Is there any reason Plexiglas or lexan can't be used as dividers? Silicone caulking (the same stuff used in glass tanks) certainly has enough adhesion to hold a plastic panel to acrylic, doesn't it?

I'm asking because it is hard to locate sheet acrylic and glue locally,and it's also expensive!!!
If it's just a mater of the cheaper plastics discoloring, then I don't care; it IS hidden from view, after all.
Can heavier glass be used?
Anyone with any experience with this?
THNX

 

plexiglass is a name brand of acrylic and will work, weld on 16 or #40 is your best bet, silicone will come off in time, home depot carries sheets, the thicker the better. the cement can be ordered online, cheap. #40 is stronger than 16.

 

I have found that when attaching "walls/dividers" using the same material is best. I wouldnt use plexi on glass and visa versa. Just my exp. Luna

 

Silicone will not bond to acrylic, only to glass. I have a glass sump with acrylic (plexiglass) dividers and the only reason the acrylic stays in place is because the silicone bead is thick enough to physically block the dividers from moving (the silicone is very strongly bonded to the glass). If I were to try and lift the dividers straight up, so that they move along the channel that the two beads of silicone make, I would be able to shear the acrylic panels away from the silicone. The silicone only works (in my setup) because there are no upward forces on the dividers, only sideways ones. However, if you were to use silicone to bond acrylic to acrylic, there would not be enough strength to hold the dividers in place unless you carefully filled the sump the first time by matching the water levels on both sides of each divider. In other words, you would have to fill up each side at the same time, at the same rate. If you were to add sand to the bottom, the weight of the sand (and yes it does push sideways too) might shear the very weak bond (acrylic to acrylic). You need to use weld-on which is specifically formulated for acrylic. Or use Super glue gel, but you will need a lot of it, so the weld-on will end up being cheaper.