Sump lessons learned

cdangel0

cdangel0

New member
Well I spent the last few days building the sump/fuge for my system, and I must say it looked prety damn good.

I used a 20g high that I picked up on here cheap - thanks again Jon.

1st lesson learned - measure EVERYTHING - distance front-to-back and side-to-side in the bottom of your stand. Of course the one I forgot was top-to-bottom.

2nd - measure the inside dimensions VERY CAREFULLY - Lowes wasn't real happy having to re-cut my glass for the baffles.

3rd - check Lowes measurements before you leave the store - my wife wasn't happy about ANOTHER trip to Lowes.

4th - Lowes glass breaks REALLY easily - I wasn't real happy about ANOTHER trip to Lowes.

5th - Use gloves when handeling broken glass - ever try to put pressure on 2 gashes on opposite hands at the same time?

6th - Its probably a good idea to actually measure the space between your baffles

7th - buy the stuff you need to sit the skimmer pump at the right height in the sump so it will actually make some bubbles.

8th - goes with 1st - make sure you have enough height from rim of sump to bottom of tank so you can get your skimmer cup off.

9th - don't ever try to explain why you're going through all of this to your spouse who already doesn't understand your obsession with the hobby.

10th - make friends do next time you can ask someone to do it for you so it won't be such a pain in the neck.

:mad2:
 
Wow - that was a pain-in-the butt.

i really didn't think it was going to be this difficult.

Live and learn I guess.
 
You only got cut twice? That doesn't sound like a lesson. A lesson would be like losing a finger to the sump. Then having your shrimp in the overflow munching on it. LOL

My first sump I also measures the glass wrong but It was not off that much so I filled it with silicone.

And the picture frame glass at lowes and home depot was very thin (1/32 I think). True Value has a little thicker at 1/16 but a glass shop will have 1/4. Cost more, but you can buy a larger piece and cut and polish the ends yourself (chance of losing that finger is higher)

where's the picture?

Al
 
I'll have to take a pic tonight, after I get some sand in it ...

and the blood cleaned off the glass.
 
Sounds pretty cool! looking forward to the pic.
Just out of curiosity though, why did you use glass? for the sumps I have setup i just take a tank or rubbermade, cut some polycarbonate baffles and goop them in place.... but i keep my sumps pretty low tech...
Eric
 
Used glass becasue I can't pronounce polycarbonate :D

That and everything I read said silicone would not bond plexi to glass - and with the small amount of space between baffles I didn't want to run the risk of losing a seal because I couldn't get a strong enough wedge.

Lowes had a 12"x36" sheet of acrylic for $35 or so, the glass cost me like $8.

When I build the next one I am definitely doing things differently.
 
Wow! thats quite a difference in price... I have always used PC since I can work with it at home and find uses for it all over the house, but if I was doing a major project, I might use glass for that price!...
I have had mixed results with silicone. what I have do these days is to place baffles ect with household goop. let it cure a few days, then silicone over for a better seal.. I find that goop is great for strength, but hard to work with to get a good seal, and silicone is the opposite, using both seems to get the job done....

maybe im missing it in your design, but how did you glue or secure your glass pieces??
 
I used silicone - put beads on both sides of the glass, had to use a piece of aluminum to get the beads on the inside edges of the baffles though.

I didn't get perfect seals, but just enough to make it functional - even with not replacing the broken pieces it still seems to work the way I wanted it to, flow is just a little faster then I had hoped for.
 
I keep sugguesting for people to use 1/4 plexi for the baffles and save stitches. glass is not too forgiving. silcon will hold it in place, which is all you need inside a glass tank sump. silicone wont bond plexi together if you are trying to make a structural tank joint with it. big difference.

and the plexi is easier to cut and sand to fit. I buy scrap pieces from kaufmans.
 
Good to know, thanks Ken. I thought it meant that silicone would not bond plexi to glass and thus would not be good for baffles.
 
I've seen somewhere that they used black weather stripping to hold the glass/plexi in place for baffles. It was put on the ends around the 3 sides to lock the glass/plexi in place. Has anyone tried this? I always like changing things around and it would be cool to be able to change the sump around.
 
Thats exactly what I was talking about. I dont have sand in my sump I just hide some tools there. I was planning to build a fuge and floating it in the sump.(idea in progress) I just wasn't sure about which weather stripping to buy. I don't need it to be perfectly water tight. Al
 
Well, here is the almost finished product, still need to build the shelf for the skimmer pump, but that'll come tomorrow.

fish023.jpg


fish022.jpg
 
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