Sump Baffles Question

[tikalize]

I started to cut my baffles out of acrylic to glue in a acrylic tank for my DIY Sump. When i place them inside the tank i have a gap about 1/8" on the bottom and about almost a quarter inch on top (the witdth front top back of tank)I measured the cut peices for squareness and they are pretty much dead on meaning the tank must not be square I bought Weld-On #4 to glue them in place. Can i fill this size gap with #4 or some thicker Weld-0n or is this distance to great? Thanks Guys.......

 

[ReefMeister2]

No, No, No,
Round the corners off the baffles slightly
the inside of your tank has glue/sealant/etc on the inside corners, so they are not prefectly sharp squares....make sense? and the sides will bow-out slightly if this is a used acrylic tank (perfectly normal)
If you were to clamp these baffles in place as is, you'd blow out the bottom corners of your tank! I know from experience

After applying solvent/glue to the appropriate areas, slightly clamp from the outside with large "F"clamps (available at Harbor Freight Tools for ~$12 each/you only need two of them to glue one baffle at a time) be sure to use wood blocks when clamping.
good luck

 

[Frankysreef]

After it is glued.. fill any gaps with weldon #16 to seal the baffles.

 

[Frankysreef]

Also... dont forget to have the exact amount of water from the overflows, skimmers, fuge... all calculated as the amount of water that will flow back into your sump when the power is off... I miscalculated by 5 gals, and now every time the power is shut off, i overflow 5 gals....sucks

 

[glaudds]

All good advice....I had the same problem when making my sump. The main problem was the extreme bowing of the sides of the used acrylic tank. It also didn't help that I cut the top bracing off either.

Using a combination of weight plates, dumbells, and clamps, I was able to straighten up the sides so that there was a tight fit with the baffles, while bonding with the weldon 4. Afterwards, I reinforced the joints and filled in any potential gaps with a bead of weldon 16.

 

[Frankysreef]

I clamped mine with F clamps and 2x4's with the baffles glued in place, made it nice and straight.

 

[tikalize]

VERY GOOD INFO HERE!!!!!! Makes perfect sense lol. I thought i cut them to short. I thought about the walls being bowed. Thanks again guys.......