The super glue is a cyanoacrylate adhesive. They don't do so well in constant wet environments. Silicone is pretty inert and will hold up when cured. The EM-1 is lactobacillus and shouldn't do anything to the cured silicone. Silicone tubing and gaskets are used in biotech all the time.
ok, well to be honest, you sound like you know what your saying, so what do I have to lose! lol I'll go grab a small thing of silicone in the morning, can u recommend a certain kind? or just look for silicone? also my bad, to be clear it was hot glue, and not super glue, lol but still thanks man. and thank you to everyone, I appreciate all the feed back!
no this sip is in the 4x8, running 2x gg4 in a 30g sip
Try silicone, thats what they use to glue fish tanks together with.
Excellent info @Bruno. The knowledge here is incredible.I think getting the silicone or anything to stick to the tote is going to be the problem. I'm guessing that the tote in your picture is polyethylene which is difficult to bond. I did find an article about caulking to polethylene on some marine site and they suggest flame treating the polyethylene before laying down your caulk. No need to go full blow torch on it just hit it with the lighter to knock some of the gloss off. This oxidizes the surface and allows for a better bond.
Polyethylene derives many of its best characteristics from its completely inert character. Complete chemical resistance makes it a great choice for tanks, including gasoline, potable water, and holding tanks. There is nothing to leach from the plastic, since plasticizers (phthalates) are not used. Ultra-violet resistance is reasonably good when treated with UV inhibitors. It is completely resistant to corrosion, and it is easy to machine. The downsides are that polyethylene creeps under sustained load and it cracks—making it no good for backing plates and most structural applications. Also, it can only be reliably bonded by thermo-welding. Although Sudbury and some other companies have developed sealants specifically for sealing polyethylene, most adhesives and caulks will not work with the material. This is why the tips of caulking guns are polyethylene; even un-cured caulk barely sticks.
But there is a partial solution to using an adhesive sealant with polyethylene. While the chemistry of polyethylene is stable, it will burn. If exposed to flame, the surface layer undergoes chemical changes that dramatically improve bonding. In what is known as flame treatment, a propane torch is played across the surface of the plastic until the appearance changes from reflective to dull. It is important not to overheat as the material will melt. You need just enough heat to take away the shine. A more certain way to judge the effectiveness of the treatment is to pour a little water on the surface. If the water beaded instantly, bonding will still be difficult. However, if the water sheets out for at least a few seconds, as it would on a well-prepared fiberglass or metal surface, it should hold a bond.
The low-strength elastometric sealant from Sudbury best adhered to polyethylene and aluminum after the polyethylene was heated.
How strong is this bond? In our testing, we found the shear strength of the bond on a heat-treated piece of polyethylene to be about 2-3 times stronger than an untreated sheet. For example, the shear strength of the bond on a 30-square inch Starboard winch pad was about 900 pounds. With treatment, the bond held to about about 2,400 pounds. The pad sits beneath a winch with a maximum working load 1,753 pounds; this load is shared with the deck via the bolts. Thus, without flame treatment it is plausible that the pad will shift causing a leak, but that with treatment it probably hold tight. Not enough for true structural bonding, like epoxy to fiberglass, but enough to make bedding considerably more secure.
Source: https://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/Tips-for-Caulking-Polyethylene-12115-1.html
Silicon it.
that's actually what I did, worked great so far, filling the sip tomorrow I'll get pics of everything, hoping it stays sealed
Haha I just used some about half an hour ago, same exact stuff on a similar application
I have done that before. I used an old plastic piece on the outside of the hole I'm gonna drill bigger. Used my left hand to hold it against the tote and right hand to run the drill with the hole saw. All I did was run the drill backwards after I already drilled the hole through the plastic piece. After I started drilling backwards with the hole saw (does better job cutting plastic that way) I let go of the plastic piece. Before you know it you got a new bigger hole.