baffle thickness...can't it be thin?

[latazyo]

since baffles have water on both sides, couldn't I get away with 1/8" thick glass?

wouldnt there be very little stress on the glass?


I just called a local glass shop and they want 9.31 each for my baffles...I need 5...Im not spending 50 bucks on baffles

this price was for 1/4" thick 11 7/8 x 8 baffles

 

[MJAnderson]

I used 1/8" on mine, but remember that there is still flow and unless your water height is the same in all the chambers of your sump there is water weight. My skimmer section is 10" high and my fuge 11" but the water in my return is set about 7" to make room for overlow in case of power outage. So there is SOME pressure on the baffles.

 

[MayoBoy]

Home depot or Lowes will cut glass. Or, but a single pane and a glass cutter. Cutting glass is simple.

 

[coralnut99]

If you ever let the water level get too low, you have to realize that there will be a lot of pressure on one side of that baffle. It will most probably blow out. Also, 1/8 glass is just fragile. One false move with a heater, pump or piece of rock and you're in trouble. I've encountered both with the same results. I would never again build any portion of a sump/refugium with anything thinner tha 1/4". The few extra dollars is well worth it.

 

[RichConley]

I've got 3/32 window glass as my baffles in my sump. I have filled one compartment up, and had as much as a 8" difference in water levels, and never had a problem.

 

[Alphabet]

Go to lowes,H depot or a local hardware store they will have what you need and it will not be that expensive. HD has many sizes of glass cut to size in stock. If you need a diffrent size they will make 1-2 cuts for free. hth

 

[Vincerama2]

Alternatively, buy a 10g tank for $10 (Walmart, PetClub, etc) and take it apart and use it's 1/8" glass.

Also, if a 10g tank is made of 1/8" (I think) glass, and can carry 10g of water (yes, it has a plastic frame to help hold it) then why would baffles 1/8" thick have any problem? And if the baffle fails, it's not really that big a deal because the water is still contained in your sump, right?

V

 

[Vincerama2]

Oh, I don't know if the bottom pane of a 10g tank (depending on brand as well) is tempered or not. If it is, you don't want to try cutting it). And cutting glass is pretty simple. Score (with glass cutter), flip it around and tap the glass at the score line. If it doesn't just break along the scoring, then snap it off. NOTE: Wear safety glass of course!
(and gloves)

V

 

[dngspot]

I made my first refigium with 1/8 inch glass. It lasted just about 10 minutes. As the water from each compartment filled, the glass would pop. A lesson well learned. I then went to a local glass shop and bought a sheet and found that the same size but 1/4 inch was a few dollars cheaper. Two lessons learned and a bit more skill developed.

My first refigium was made from a old 50 gallon tank.

 

[rickh]

Use acrylic--standard silicone will hold. It is stronger, you can trim it smaller if necessary and you won't cut your arm off working in the sump. R

 

[Vincerama2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7998919#post7998919 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dngspot
I made my first refigium with 1/8 inch glass. It lasted just about 10 minutes. As the water from each compartment filled, the glass would pop. A lesson well learned. I then went to a local glass shop and bought a sheet and found that the same size but 1/4 inch was a few dollars cheaper. Two lessons learned and a bit more skill developed.

My first refigium was made from a old 50 gallon tank.

Well, you can partially fill each compartment to avoid that particular problem!

But whatever, we all have different experiences with it. I think 1/8" is fine...having said that, I used an acrylic 29g tank and solvent "welded" acrylic baffles in.

I just bought a 29g glass tank (using the Petco $1/gallon sale!) which I THINK is the same size as my 29 acrylic (maybe it's not) and I plan to silicon in some glass baffles OR use plumber's goop to attach some acrylic baffles (yes, I know silicon doesn't stick well to acrylic).

V

 

[latazyo]

vincerama, I too have heard about acrylic not sticking to glass, but every glass tank with an acrylic overflow is siliconed in...........


thanks for the advice guys

unfortunately my HD no longer cuts glass (I asked) but Lowes does...HOWEVER they do not have 1/4'' glass...only 3/32

a sheet of glass to suit my needs at lowes is 6.50, a sheet of acrylic is 13 bucks...only a 7 dollar difference...not bad...that is for .220 (pretty much 1/4" acrylic and 3/32 glass)

 

[Vincerama2]

I think for baffles and overflows, it's OK to silicon to glass. Just don't use it on a "load bearing" pane. Like a tank that has one pane as acrylic and the rest as glass.

I'm gonna start looking for glass for my own sump. 1/8" is fine for me. Otherwise I'll use some scrap acrylic. I'm not really worried about baffles, because a failed one doesn't really ruin your carpet!

V

 

[latazyo]

I found some dirty scrap acrylic around my house and have enough to make 4 baffles, its 1/4 stuff too so it wont be bowing or anything...now I just need one tiny piece, so that'll be pretty easy to find

 

[DaveBrader]

I used 3/32 glass for my baffles in a 50 gallon glass tank. two years now, no problems at all...

Dave

 

[outy]

i did acrylic baffles in a old 50g tank siliconed the 1/4" stuff in and im done no problem. these both hold all the weight.

i clean move bang around ect moving stuff so theres no way id put skinny glass in mine.

 

[essexboy73]

Where did you get your acrylic??? Any local hardware store or is it a specialty item???

 

[tye_c]

I have done 2 sumps with 1/4" acrylic and have not had any issues. For the last sump I went to home depot and bought a 2'x4' sheet. They made all the cuts for free. I ended up with 5 baffles. I had him cut them an 1/8" to long. Then I sanded down the extra for a perfect fit. HTH

 

[MJAnderson]

I think HD is a hit or miss on cutting these. Mine won't do it, nor will the Lowe's by me. I went to Ace Hardware and they were more than happy to have my business and did a bang up job.

 

[latazyo]

I can cut them at home, no problem, but its nice to use their wall saw to have stuff cut

at my HD it says that they'll ONLY cut wood...Ive never asked for acrylic before though....I know they wont do glass, I asked last night, but lowe's has a special glass cutting section

I can't believe how non uniform lowe's and HD franchises are...some have this sand, some dont, some cut glass, some dont...very frustrating to have everyone on RC say they got a great product at lowes, only to go there and find out this location doesn't stock it