making a sump

[chuckh]

mine is a 30 gallon sump. the only problem i see having is the bubble trap. the baffels are so close together im not sure how im gonan get my hand down there without alot of cussing.

 

[Avi]

I've thought of that problem, and I'm sure there's a way to deal with it...but, I don't know what it might be...maybe Todd, or someone will chime in with a good way to do that...before the cussing...save that for when you get noise from the overflow...but I do know the fix for that.

 

[techreef]

Hey Chuck, Avi;

Re: how to silicone the middle bubble trap baffle in place with one of the other 2 outer bubble trap baffles already siliconed in, what about just cutting X length of tubing/small diameter PVC and shoving it onto the spout of your tube of silicone, thereby effectively lengthening the spout? I've never siliconed anything together yet, so i don't know if you have to run your fingertip across the fresh bead of silicone to seat the silicone firmly. Getting a finger in between a 1" gap between baffles could be a neat trick. Hmm...

 

[Toddrtrex]

What I did was do the 1st and 2nd baffles first -- No issues with getting my hand in there. (I had the 2nd baffle on a small piece of PVC to keep it off the bottom of the sump). For the last baffle, I put a large amount of silicone down first, and than placed the last baffle in place. The silicone got a bit messy that way, but it worked, and there was alot less cursing

 

[techreef]

Todd, i thought that when you silicone parts together, that it takes a bead of silicone on each side of the joint. It sounds like you just put down a line of silicone either a)on one side only of the joint, or b)applied the silicone to the sump wall and then pressed the baffle down into place. How'd you do it?

 

[sttroyiii]

Maybe its just assumed, but make sure you get waterPROOF silicone. I already knew this when I went to HD to get it, but I took 'waterproof seal' to mean 'waterproof'. Yeah, my baffles stayed in place for a few hours before the silicone returned to its original (wet) state. I can laugh about it now, lol.

You can do the bubble trap gluing a couple of ways. The first time, I glued the first baffle in place, and let it set. At the same time, I put a small horizontal bead of silicone at the height I wanted the middle baffle to be lifted to. So when I went to put the second (middle) baffle in, I just set it on top of the 1/2" horizontal bead and that kept it sitting at the right height until it set. The second time I had to do this, (read above about non-waterproof silicone) I just laid my tape measure on its side, then glued that middle baffle in place. For the third baffle, I drew a line on the outside of the sump where I wanted the baffle to be. Then I ran a bead of silicone up the side of the inside wall like the baffle was really there. I set the baffle in the sump, then pushed it up against the bead of silicone, then put another bead down the other side. The reason I did it that way was I didnt have enough glue to hold the baffle in place when I added water to the system. The outside bubble baffles have to hold all the water back on each side. In other words, I had my refugium pushing on the bubble trap from one side, and the reservoir pushing on the other side. So the outside bubble baffles have to be really sturdy. The second time I made mine, I put some lengthwise supports between the baffles so that the water pushes on all three bubble baffles at once.

 

[Toddrtrex]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7220523#post7220523 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by techreef
Todd, i thought that when you silicone parts together, that it takes a bead of silicone on each side of the joint. It sounds like you just put down a line of silicone either a)on one side only of the joint, or b)applied the silicone to the sump wall and then pressed the baffle down into place. How'd you do it?

For the the baffles that I could reach both sides on, I would put it in place and slicone on both sides of it. But for the last one of the bubble trap, I wouldn't have been able to reach the inside part (not enough room b/t the baffles to fit my hand in)
To solve that I applied the silicone to the sump walls and buttom. I than moved the baffle into place (this way the inside was secure with silicone). I than did the outside part like normal.

Hope that cleared it up, if not, ask away.

 

[techreef]

Thanks sttroyiii, Todd. I understand what you're saying. I need to just start building and DO it. I went into this hobby knowing that patience is so important, but right now i've got a room full of cool toys, and nothing is built yet. (Darn job thing keeps getting in the way of my hobby!) I can't wait to start assembling my setup. Gotta determine my lighting kit, get that ordered, and then I can work on my CL manifold. Patience...breaking...down. Can't...hold...on...much...longer.

 

[Toddrtrex]

LOL too funny. I know feeling to well. It took me about 10 weeks to actually start building this sump -- had the overflow, empty tank etc. But once I started it one weekend, look out. Finished all in one weekend, and that including building a stand for it too.