bubble wall help

[saltysteven]

when making a bubble wall i will be using 3 sections of glass- all 1 inch apart from each other and the middle section 1 inch from the bottom .

okay so what order or how do i silicone them in when they are so close together? im guessing glue the main supporting wall first then the other two only silicone one side.

is that right?

[an411]

Its a pain to do this. I tried to spread the silicone with a paint stirrer cause getting the gun the your hand down in between the baffles is a nightmare. someone else may have a easier method just giving you the technique that i used HTH

[AZDesertRat]

I started out by test fitting my baffles first with some folded paper on one end to wedge them in place. I marked the locations on the outside of the sump with a Sharpie and straightedge then removed them. Next I set the center baffle up on 1" of folded cardboard and siliconed it in place on both sides. Once it set up I removed the cardboard then next applied a thick bead of silicone to the sump walls and floor on what will be the inside edge of one of the additional baffles, basically I followed the inside edge of the Sharpie mark all around. Next I placed that baffle against the silicone seating it well and proceeded to silicone the outside edge then let it all dry. I repeated the process for the last baffle and everything has held tight for over 5 years now.

[J.russell]

^ Yup. Glue in the center one first. Once thats in there solid run a thick bead of silicone on the marks and slide the glass right up against it. Then just glue the outside of that same piece.

[Tswifty]

t1115 or t115 has a sump build thread somewhere where he goes through the process step by step with pictures.

I also agree with above... I did the center baffle first.

[Tswifty]

Found it ;)

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=993929

He's got a neat way of reaching between the baffles too.

Here's a quote from the link:

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8764299#post8764299 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by t11t5
Today I siliconed the last piece of the baffles in. I use a long piece of 1/2" aluminium to reach beteen the glass to apply the silicone. It is really easy to do this. I quirt a line of silicone on the edge of the aluminium bar. Then carefully stick it between the baffles and into the corner of the glass and the tank. Pull the bar toward you still against the seam. This makes the silicone even and sqweezes it between the tank and glass your putting into place.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/t11t5/150g020.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/t11t5/150g021.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/t11t5/150g022.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/t11t5/150g019.jpg

[saltysteven]

ahh.... cool thats a good idea.
well im still going to do the first baffle than the second and then third.

just because i believe that there will be more water weight on the first wall. the second and third wall should only be supporting the small column of water.

but thanks for the tips!!! i think ill try the angle metal idea- looks like itll work out :)

[saltysteven]

okay so it works perfectly
i glued the first wall on first ( the retaining wall)
the middle baffle on second and the last baffle after.
to get the second and third baffle in i spaced them by 1 inch and placed baffle at that mark. I then traced the glass with a marker.
I took out the glass and put a very large amount of silicone on that line. I put in the 1 inch spacers and clamped the glass in place. i then put in the glass before the silicone line and pushed the glass into the line of silicone. With a skinny angled stick like shown above i smoothed the silicone making a seal from bottom to top (and on the third baffle from left to right)
i did one baffle a night but i see now that if i had glued the the first wall of glass, i could ve put in the spacers and clamped all three together at once having it only take one night.

one word of caution- it could be just me but i used ge l 100% silicone and it really should be done outside or in a well vented area. i had done mine in the basement, i shouldve took it to the garage or outside. This stuff will really burn your eyes and throat- I kind of forgot how powerful it really is. okay well good luck to anyone trying and thanks to the people above that helped me!!

[cviacona]

i made a great 40 gallon refugium 2 months later a crack appeared across the entire back and leaked like crazy. bought an acrylic much better