Got acrylic from lowes per scott’s recommendation. I got it out of the scrap bin too, it’s .220" and was $1.98 just have to cut it.
Got some moulding from home depot so now I have to finish the stand.
Lowes cuts 2.5mm glass and it’s super cheap, do you think that is thick enough to make sump baffles from or will they break?
I’m thinking the pressure from 10" or so of water will be enough to shatter that thin of glass. Any other options for glass cutters around Newark?
I tried to use glass the first time I built a sump - they inevitable break, and inevitable you’ll slice the crap out of your hand when they do.
My current baffles are made out of that white cutting board you buy at Walmart for $14. They’re 1/4" thick, bow slightly in my 40B and haven’t had an issue with it yet.
I built my sump out of 1/8 inch glass from lowes. Like craig said it can be very sharp, I took some sand paper amd buffed the sharp edge and was good to go. My sump is very high flow and the glass panels are holding up great.
This build is going sooooo slow.
Finally built the overflow box and installed the intakes.
Tight fit, huh??? There’s about 1/2" of clearance around the intake pipes! I’ll weld the the front on once I am 100% sure everything is good to go… cuz once it goes on i’m not getting the bulkheads out haha.
Will there be any problem having only about 1/2" between the intake opening and the bottom of my overflow? ie. will it obstruct flow?
Looking good JT. I don’t see the 1/2" clearance impacting your flow. However, you could always cut another 1/2" or so off the end of the 90’ fitting too, or angle them slightly to the sides.
@Faralon, thanks. I was thinking if it did affect flow i could always cut teeth into them. I will have to test it without the front of the overflow on it or just tape it on or something so i could remove the intakes from the overflow if needed.
Those with acrylic sump baffles, what thickness did you use? I can get 1/4" pretty cheap, just want to see how much they will flex.
Are you making a sump entirely of acrylic? Or just installing in a glass tank? I have an acrylic sump, likely 1/4 or less no problems. Biggest thing is where the reactor hangs gets beat up sometimes.
Glass tank, acrylic baffles.
I used 1/4 inch acrylic baffles in my sump. However if i could do it again i would go to loses and get 1/8 inch glass cut. Would have been cheaper and they can cut to size, also it will bond better with silicone. Acylic doesn’t have the actual bond with silicone like glass does. Basically when using acrylic baffles in a glass sump, the silicone just holds it in place rather than acts as a bonded glue.
Hope that helps, any questions for me ill be happy to answer. Though it may vary with time because I’m in Afghanistan
Good luck, its a piece of cake. :
:
Took your advice case and had lowes cut the glass for me.
The guy there looked very skeptical when I told him what it was for. I think he thought I was making a fish tank out of it…
So… i had them cut it to 17-5/8" per melev’s reef baffles annnnnd they don’t fit, too wide.
Any way i can shave another 1/8" or so off of this glass or am I SoL?
You should have no problems taking it back to lowes and having them trim to size. I cut mine a total of 1/4 inch shorter than the inside measurement of my tank and have 1/8 gap on each side when glueing them in.
I could take them back, but the guy who cut them originally said he couldn’t cut 17-5/8" from an 18" so I don’t have faith they could cut me another 1/4" off.
find someone with a table saw and give it a trim. allow or the thickness of the blade. and cut on the excess side of the line.
Ken, you can cut glass with a table saw??
I wonder if i can get a glass cutter tool and cut 1/4" off and break it with some needle nose pliers.
Stand stained, watersealed and finally moved the tank over.
[quote=“jtnova13, post:56, topic:6556”]
I wonder if i can get a glass cutter tool and cut 1/4" off and break it with some needle nose pliers.[/quote]
I tried it once, went horribly wrong. After messing it up, cracked the glass, then just smashed it on the concrete patio. Made me feel a little better. Haven’t tried to cut glass myself since.
I got all of the stuff to cut glass and was able to take ~3/16 off very crudely. I basically scored it and then used pliers to break pieces off. The edge is really rough but i sanded down any points and the glass fits now. It will be covered in silicone.
Finished the sump. Learned 3 things:
I guess it doesn’t matter if it’s pretty, right?
I’m a little worried that the fuge wall is too thin, it’s 13"x17-3/8"
Question: Where do you guys get your pvc valves from? The ones at home depot are so hard to turn and I don’t want to have to wrench a valve to adjust flow in the bean animal… especially since it’s basically hanging from the holes I cut in the tank.