Sump Baffles Questions

[Natterjak]

Apologies as I'm sure this question has been asked many times before - I just can't seem to find the answer.

What's the consensus on bubble trap baffle placement for sumps? Over-under-over or under-over-under? The latter seems to make more sense as the bubbles would have to sink twice, but it seems like a lot of people do over-under-over.

Also, I'm making my sump out of a used glass tank, and planning on adding glass baffles. There's a pretty thick bead of silicone that runs along the bottom seams, on the inside. It looks like this would get in the way of the bottom corners of the baffles I plan to install. Should I just install the baffle as close to the bottom of the tank as I can, and fill in the gap with silicone?

 

[MJAnderson]

As for the silicone, I snipped a small piece off each corner of my baffle with glass snips for a better fit. If you're having them cut for you, have them do it. I broke a baffle doing it. Gobs of silicone will work. It doesn't need to be tight as a drum, you're just trying to redirect the water, not contain it.

As for the first part, I went OUO. The water comes out my return and the bubbles are at the bottom of my sump, not the top. So the water has to go up, then down, then up, then 1/2 down to my pump. Doing UOU it goes up, then down, then 1/2 up to my return pump.

Seems like more distance and more UPS with OUO. At least thats what I got out of the 3 page thread last time I saw this argued.

 

[Natterjak]

Cool, thanks for the info! I think I'll have the glass shop round out the bottom corners for the pieces that will be on the bottom.