Building a sump... baffles advice

[csantanavaz]

Hi All,

my sump size is 36 X 18 X 15... it is a DIY box.. so i am now looking to buy myself some baffles....

Question - the interior (after taking into account the thickness of the glass) is EXACTLY 37cm.... the question is how wide should i make my baffles? should i leave 1mm? or even 2mm? i will bind my baffles (glass as well) with aquarium safe silicon to the walls you see, so i am not sure how many mms i will need to leave as a gap?

Advice asap would be great as I am looking to order the baffles tomo (UK time) or friday latest.

Thanks all.

Calvin - UK Noob

 

[oblio]

I'm not a 100% sure of an exact number but, if your going to use silicone to bind the baffles in with then I suggest the only thing you "could" do wrong is make em too tight. If the glass is under any stress then it "could" break, but if the silicone is there and the glass isnt too tight then you are probably pretty fool proof. 3 or 4 mm smaller? again err in the direction of small and just make the gap up with the silicone.
Good luck!

 

[tidus10]

Hi All,

my sump size is 36 X 18 X 15... it is a DIY box.. so i am now looking to buy myself some baffles....

Question - the interior (after taking into account the thickness of the glass) is EXACTLY 37cm.... the question is how wide should i make my baffles? should i leave 1mm? or even 2mm? i will bind my baffles (glass as well) with aquarium safe silicon to the walls you see, so i am not sure how many mms i will need to leave as a gap?

Advice asap would be great as I am looking to order the baffles tomo (UK time) or friday latest.

Thanks all.

Calvin - UK Noob

honestly, i would leave as little gap as you can... when you lay the bead of silicone on the glass, just push it in with your finger.. and it will fill any remaining gap.. do that on all 3 sides both front and back (6 seams total) and it will be good.. but yea honestly as small of a gap as possible makes your life easier..

 

[csantanavaz]

okay - i'm going to go for 2 mm and see what happens! 1mm should be fine each side... god i'm going to be p***ed if it doesn't fit!!! watch this space....

the things we do for fish..

 

[csantanavaz]

p.s. thanks for both your advice!

 

[tidus10]

if it doesnt fit DO NOT PUSH IT.. sand it down.. use a belt sander if you have one or see if your local glass shop can do it quickly for a small fee or free..
when you get down to tolerances of that small, re-cutting will not do you any good.. it will have to be sanded

 

[woodnaquanut]

okay - i'm going to go for 2 mm and see what happens! 1mm should be fine each side... god i'm going to be p***ed if it doesn't fit!!! watch this space....

the things we do for fish..

Are you sure the sump sides are parallel? If not, I'd give it a bit more space. If you are out of parallel by 2mm the baffle will need to be sanded down.

 

[Mrramsey]

The water pressure will crack 2mm glass. That's like window pane glass. Better to use 1/4".

 

[csantanavaz]

I didnt mean 2mm thick haha I meant 2 mm gap between the sides and the width of the glass. The glass will be 1/4" inch thick!

 

[oblio]

I used 3mm glass in mine (1/8th") been running for 4 years now no issues. You have to be a tad more careful clunking things around but other than that no difference. Once water is on both sides of the glass there is not that much "pressure" against the glass pane.

 

[sfoister]

Just a note... the "aquarium safe" silicon that is sold is usually very over priced. It's OK to use regular silicon as long as it does not have "mold resistant" on the package. I spent $2.98 for a tube at wal-mart and saved $15.