Plexiglass in a reef tank?

I'm building an internal fuge/filter in my 28 bowfront. I used plexiglass so I could put a nice bow in it to match the front (and so I could fit my hand in it). I'm going to build a faux reef cement wall over it to hide the pumps on the sides. The middle will be a fuge for growing food, plants, and a few delicate guys. As an after thought, I think leaving the center of the reef wall open to be able to see into the fuge would be pretty much awesome. SOOOooo... My question is how will the plexiglass hold up? Has anyone used plexiglass (not cast acrylic) in a reef tank? As decore or anything?

I have a cheapy 5g nano that is made out of this stuff and it's been running for a month. I stuck a limpet to the "glass" thinking he would help keep it clean. He roamed around it munchin away and I can see tiny etched trails where he had been and scratched the glass with his raspers. Once I took him off the side he hasn't ventured back up there. The scratches are very fine and I'm wondering if I would even see them if there were water on both sides of the glass.

Visual:


Here's what I'm building:

I'm putting 2 mini pumps in each side instead of 1 bigger one. One low output and one higher.

Build thread coming soon.


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I've glued it and it seems to bond just fine with 100% silicone. I even cracked it while drilling and used silicone to patch it and it seemed plenty strong. It's recommended for bonding plastic to glass.



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Not yet. Glued it yesterday. I will give it a test tonight and let ya know if it blows up. The bond is pretty good. I was able to put that flex in the patchwork and it didn't stretch or come apart. There will also be baffles holding it in place.


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Gottchya.


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So... Will plexiglas make a good window?


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