I wanted to post a normal sized sump build that was made out of glass. I have seen a lot of sump builds out of acrylic but not that many out of glass. I have no idea how well it will work but it will be my learning experience.Building a 30 Gal Sump
- Thread starter dsteelman
- Start date
I wanted to post a normal sized sump build that was made out of glass. I have seen a lot of sump builds out of acrylic but not that many out of glass. I have no idea how well it will work but it will be my learning experience.
So here we go I found a 30 gal tank at the LFS for a good price and brought it home. They also had a used Euro-Reef 135 Protein Skimmer sitting their that had a bad Impeller, so I am taking a chance on it also. 
I measured and got the sizes for the glass, went to the glass store and had them cut me some pieces. I had them cut it a 1/4 inch short so their would be some play in between the panels and tank so it would not put any stress on the tank if it was ever moved with water in it. Like that would ever happen.
I went to the LFS and picked up some Aquarium safe silicone, I know its expensive and their is some debate as to using it over other types but I didn't need a whole lot. Better safe than sorry later.
When you are preparing to put the glass in the most important part is prep work on the glass. For this I got rubbing alcohol and some cotton face cleaning pads from the dollar store. This is what was recommended on the tube of silicone. I went to cleaning the areas several times over and over with the pads covered in alcohol. To many times is never enough. I made sure the pads were clean after wiping it down each time. Next I marked off measurements on the glass were the skimmer was going to set. I gave it a couple of extra inches just to be sure.
View attachment 592982
View attachment 592982
I played with the way the skimmer fit into the sump. I rotated it to see how it best fit into the sump and gave me the most room. By turning it with the discharge towards the glass, it gave me the most time for micro bubbles to dissipate. So I ended up with the skimmer part being 12inches to the first baffle.
Next step was to mask off the first baffle. This is to keep straight lines when you run your silicone. Meaning run your bead from the tube and then run your finger over it to give a nice smooth bead. The tape will catch excess and keep a straight line.
Its going good!!
Its going good!! I used a couple of different ways to hold the glass in place. The first was to tape it into place. As i was caulking the baffle into place I held it with one hand. If you get the baffle off of your line its alright. As soon as you put down the silicone straighten the baffle back onto the line. The silicone is very flexible.
First baffle is in place.
First baffle is in place.
With the first baffle in I waited about 5 minutes then pealed off the tape,very carefully.
If you look close you can see the straight tape line. YES
I did leave the tape on the backside for support. Remember it needs about a hour or so to stand on its own. The tube said it took 48 hours before putting water in it.
If you look close you can see the straight tape line. YES
I did leave the tape on the backside for support. Remember it needs about a hour or so to stand on its own. The tube said it took 48 hours before putting water in it.
Nice thread! I just built a 40 gallon sump and could have used some pointers. My 40 gallon was glass, but I used 1/4" acrylic for the baffles. I used silicone, but didn't use tape to keep a straight line, so it doesn't look as profi as yours does. Nice work!