Sump Construction Questions - First Build, Pics

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elting44

elting44

Piranha
MFK Member
Oct 8, 2007
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Salina, KS
Hey guys, I am in the research and development phase of building a 30g into a sump for my 135 gal.

Here is a basic sketch of what I am trying to do, it is your basic MFK DIY sump, taken from the sticky (Thanks JD_Man, Just Looking and JCardona).

SUMP
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PLUMBING
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I have many questions because I am a noob in regards to sumps, overflows, plumbing.

1.) When it comes to sump construction what other than glass can the baffles be made out of? The thought of cutting glass to fit the inside of the 30g sounds like it has a lot of room for error for someone with no glass cutting experience. Is there another material that will adhere to silicone sealant, something that is more forgiving to a noob than glass?

Next, the 30 gal that I plan on using has no bracing on the bottom. The bracing was cracked/broken when I got the tank and removed it to make braces for the top three "lids" of the sump. Also, there is a lot of sealant on the bottom of the tank but only a very small bead where the sides meet the front:
Bottom:
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Corners:
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Which brings me to question 2-4.) Does the bottom bracing being absent mean the sump will not be structurally sound? Can I re-seal/re-enforce the corners by adding a thicker bead? Will I have to scrape the silicon off the bottom so the baffles can be sealed in or can I just add sealant to the top of what is existing?

I think that is it for now. Thanks in advance for helping me out with this. I would rather have confidence going into this project than go in blindly and flood my basement :naughty:
 
Can't help you on the structual part of your question, but you can make the baffles out of plexi. At least I hope so, lol. That's what mine are made of. They seem solid so far, but I haven't cranked it up yet. Just put a nice size bead if you use plexi as it doesn't seem to stick to it as well as it does to glass.
 
This is a very cool design. Best of luck. Where the pump pumps the water into the tank. I would put a ball valve on the shorter side to regulate and try to balance out your inflow so that they would both be running in sync.
 
In regards to removing silicone if you need to. I have found that using a very sharp blade first then use fine steel wool to scrub any trace of silicone off. remember silicone does not stick well to cured silicone. I would say if you use glass baffles they would help sure up the structure but I have no actual experience in tank building so don't quote me.

I have just finished cutting baffles for my first sump and I have to say cutting the glass was a little trial and error but I managed to get about 70% success in my first session. I had the advantage of my Dad giving me a few big pieces so I had room for plenty of breakages. So if you can get some cheap/free glass from somewhere I would give it a shot.

Dylan
 
You will have to scrape away most of the old silicone to add new because the new will not adhere to the old. Then just run some nice thick beads in the corners. You can use some thick plexi for your baffles but your better off using glass as the silicone will adhere better. Just take measurments of what you need and go to a glass place or hardware store. They will cut it for you for a few bucks. If you are worried about the bracing on the top and bottm edges, get some 1x2 wood and make new frames, but most likely the tank will be fine being that it won,t be filled to the top. I built one that looked very similar and the one thing I did not like is where the water rises up to the drip tray. It didnt seem to disipate the water evenly over the bio media. So what I did was have one drain going to the filter sock and the other drain I made a spray bar that ran over top of the drip tray. Good luck
 
Looks like a good design. I'm in the process of designing and building a sump myself. I think you would be best of using glass for baffles, as previously mentioned, silicone does not adhere well to plastic and you can get glass cut for relatively cheap.
 
Thanks for the advice. I hadn't thought of having a glass place / Lowe's cut the glass for me.

So I can just take a razor and cut out the old cured silicone, but the leave tank assembled, then put the baffles in and put a nice thick bead in all the edges and be good?

Or would I have to take the tank apart and re build it?
 
looks good and im probably gona follow a similar setup for my 180
 
elting44;4645548; said:
Thanks for the advice. I hadn't thought of having a glass place / Lowe's cut the glass for me.

So I can just take a razor and cut out the old cured silicone, but the leave tank assembled, then put the baffles in and put a nice thick bead in all the edges and be good?

Or would I have to take the tank apart and re build it?
Click to expand...

I don't know if it is the correct way, but I'm going going to silicone the baffles in without disturbing the original silicone.

I found this on youtube, it might help out, there is a second part showing the installation of the baffles;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxnugJGiT3o&NR=1


Let me know how it goes, a few pics would be cool too. I will do the same but probably won't be working on it until over the holiday weekend.
 
Great vid. I am thinking I will use glass for the baffles.

I am torn on whether or not I should remove the silicone first.
 
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