mirrors for baffles

[glockcoma]

I am trying to make a sump/fuge but glass prices in my area are rediculous and I have a mirror that I dont use that can be cut for baffles, and I was wondering if this would be ok to use, being mirrors an all

[MrZ]

I think the mirroring on the back is Silver Nitrate - at least thats what they used to use. I think I'd look for something else for your baffles. What size baffles are you going to need? Home Depot sells thinner glass that could be used in a pinch - you could cut that down even easier than the mirror.

Also, if you are thinking you might need alot of baffles for a bubble trap you could accomplish the same thing with a single tall baffle, hole drilled through it, bulkhead and pvc which sweeps down to the bottom of the sump. Kind of like the outflow on most skimmers. Uses more plumbing but less glass.

[areze]

use acrylic. its like 20bucks for a huge sheet of 3/8" from home depot. secure it with silicone, it WILL hold. just put silicone on both sides of edges, sandwich it in. it wont budge.

[glockcoma]

Is'nt acrylic hard to cut, I do not have any power tools

[BeanAnimal]

Glass baffles shold not cost more than a few bucks each... where are you looking?

The mirror is a bad idea.

[glockcoma]

I looked into several glass shops in the area and $9.00 per 11 3/4" x 9 piece, for my design I need 6 pieces.

HD sells 1/8" glass only and that too thin

[Icefire]

Acrylic can be scored and snaped. they sell a 3$ tool for this

[areze]

yeah, if you scored 1/4" acrylic about 800 times you could snap it...

heh it wouldnt be fun, but eventually youd get through.

any sort of saw would make your life alot easier.

[aninjaatemyshoe]

I've done the acrylic baffles in a glass tank for a sump before - it works. It's not that difficult to score and snap acrylic below 1/4" (never tried anything thicker). You do have to score it a number of times and it can get tiresome. Nowadays I just take my dremel to it.

[jayvee10]

Glass prices on local glass shops are outrageous. I got mine on a local hardware store( small hardware stores like ACE) for $5 on a 12x12 piece and they will cut it for you. you just have to sand the upper edges which is will be exposed when you install the baffles to avoid cutting yourself on the sharp edges

[areze]

the glass at ace is reeeallly thin, and should not be used to hold more than 4 or 5" of water at most. just some info. its fine for the baffles that just route water, but not the ones that have different water levels on either side.

[Icefire]

for sump baffle thin glass is okay as there is water on both side

[prugs]

The silver backing from the mirror can be removed with paint stripper & a razor blade.

Don't go cheap on your sump. You'll just regret it down the road.

Acrylic will swell & bust out your tank, happens a lot.

[hllywd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10026667#post10026667 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by prugs
The silver backing from the mirror can be removed with paint stripper & a razor blade.

Don't go cheap on your sump. You'll just regret it down the road.

Acrylic will swell & bust out your tank, happens a lot.

I've heard the whole acylic swelling thing a couple times now in the past couple days. You're saying it soaks up H2O and swells? Not buying it here... I've never had an acrylic tank but how does that work? An acrylic tank gets bigger with time?

Tim

[prugs]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10027740#post10027740 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hllywd
I've heard the whole acylic swelling thing a couple times now in the past couple days. You're saying it soaks up H2O and swells? Not buying it here... I've never had an acrylic tank but how does that work? An acrylic tank gets bigger with time?

Tim


http://www.3d-cam.com/materials/acrylic.asp

[areze]

extruded acrylic swells, which is what home depot sells. which is why you would not want to use that for holding water, nor make the fit so tight that its wedged, there should be room for expansion; fill it in with some silicone that can give.

tanks are made with cast acrylic, they dont swell much, and what they do swell should occur equally around the whole tank, so it wont matter.

[BeanAnimal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10027740#post10027740 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hllywd
I've heard the whole acylic swelling thing a couple times now in the past couple days. You're saying it soaks up H2O and swells? Not buying it here... I've never had an acrylic tank but how does that work? An acrylic tank gets bigger with time?

Tim

Acrylic most certainly absorbs water and swells :)

[HighlandReef]

i used acrylic for my baffles on my 55 gallon sump and its been fine for over 6 months now, i installed them on my 55 gallon sump.
I purchased the acrylic from lowes and they even cut it for free.
just make sure you run a bead on both sides of the acrylic when installing and it will be fine, mine dont budge at all.
I did leave like a 1/4" gap on each end incase it expands and no issues.

[Sk8r]

It's not that hard to cut glass yourself. 1.50 cutter and research the technique on the internet.