Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hiya all,

I'm putting a new system together and have a question regarding the best adhesive or sealant for use with IBC plastic.

I'm cutting off the tap outflow pipe at the bottom of the IBC as the tap is a little leaky and I figure it's best to just do away with the whole thing. Once cut, I was planning to either insert a small section of PVC pipe with an end cap attached, or alternatively just glue an end cap onto the old IBC outflow pipe if it fits.

I'm just chasing some advice as to what adhesives would be best for this application. I have heaps of aquarium safe silicone, or alternatively I have plenty of Araldite epoxy. Would either of these be fine?

Definatley want this to be a strong, relaiable and long lasting bond as the consequence of a failure would be catastrophic.

Any and all advice welcomed!

Thanks,

Far better if you can cap the existing drain fitting rather than cutting it off and trying to patch up. Is this feasible?

Otherwise I think most people use silicon, but if you cut it off you'll want a really good join because there will be a lot of pressure on it.

Thanks earthbound

I could cap the end if I find the right size, but was concerned that it might stick out a little and be a PITA, so was thinking of just trimming the outflow pipe before the tap, leaving a couple of inches of the outflow and then capping it off there.... but of course was concerned about pressure and potential failure.

alternatively ...

Was thinking I could cap some 50mm PVC and then slot it through the outflow from inside the IBC so the end cap will be pushed against the internal wall by water pressure... might be stronger then sloting it on the outside?

I dunno... probably over thinking and over engineering again

what do you reckon?

Just a thought - you could maybe just silicon it up from the inside.

I would put a load if silicon on the outside of the ball valve, inside the pipe. Then put the end capnon with a load of silicon/ epoxy

silicon can actually be tricky. Without air it will not cure, so "loads" of it in an environment like inside a pipe does not work all that well. The outside of it will cure, but that protects the silicon under it from curing. So if you use lots of silicon, make sure you put it on in layers and allow to dry between each.

you can buy the proper caps here
http://www.alplas.com.au/ibcspares.htm
Being Polypropylene?? nothing much will stick properly to it, best you can hope for is to seal up very tighly fitted parts like tank flanges.
Your idea of sealing inside is the only way it might work

Good resource, do you have price list from them?

Have a look at Netab32's First System, page 7. Its what I'll be doing.

Thanks for the plug Jorgy .....(will slip ya the 5 bucks next time im in Mackay )

We used silicone initially but then switched to Sikaflex for a lot of it - think its FE11. Spent a bit of time on their website sifting through the HUNDREDS of products they make and found this was the best one for our needs. Works really well... plus if your patient, you can actually repair tiny leaks underwater which is helpful.

We capped all our taps this way and only had one that leaked a bit... so just stuck another disk to the outside of the tap outlet - worked perfectly.

Might be worth not cutting it off as the ball valve will still help hold back the water pressure... then you can think of the disks as stopping the leaks - not having to hold all the water back themselves... although they would probably be able to do it, the more help youve got the better... just IMO... good luck

No sorry, but pretty cheap, hes very helpful over the phone.
Hardest part is identifying which brand of IBC you have

Nice one netab32 I like those disks. i think that's gonna be a winner


Cheers,

+1 for sikaflex , its great stuff. But I havent capped an ibc so dunno about them

I had heaps of trouble with one IBC that I just could not seal the tap on it.

I ended up using heaps of normal silicone, fortified with Kalgoorlie clay

The clay held the silicone together, and cured a plug of about 50mm long into the tap outlet. (I went through 3 tubes of silicone trying to seal it before adding the clay )

6 months later.....Still leak free....

But yeah, normal silicone will not seal a large hole by itself, it just collapses.

What kind of Sikaflex did you guys use? Netab mentioend FE11 but I can't find a product with that name.