baffle question!?!?!

[mr pink floyd]

i am putting 3 baffles in my 10 gallon as i create it into a fuge/sump, ill haev on baffle going up 6 inches, another going down until an inch above the bottom, then another coming up 6 inches, i plan on usinf 1/4 inch acrylic, or plexiglass, will silicone hold this in place, i estimate flow abotu 300gph, my overflow th t iwill get will do 300, adn my return will do about 296, overflow is adjustable, so how might i attatch these baffles???


thanks in advance

~mike

[mr pink floyd]

NOT A BUMP!!!

i just thought of this

there shouldnt be alot of pressure, im thinking of using weather strips, to make kind of a slip, where i will silicone it, then put the heavy duty weathering strips on each side of the baffle, holding it in place even more, will these weather strips kille my tank??

[BeanAnimal]

I would not use them.

There should not be a lot of pressure. Cut the acrylic to fit with 1/8 gap or so at each side (it will otherwise expand and crack your sump)

You will need to embed that acrylic with a bead of silicone on each side of the panel. It may look terrible, but you will need a decent amount ot build a ridge on each side. Silicone does not stick to acrylic very well, so the beads will need to hold it in place. You can rough up the sidesof the acrylic to help the silicone bond a little better.

If it were me, I would just go to the hardware store and get a 3 pieces of glass cut. Much easier to work with.

Bean

[patchemup]

sounds fun

[doox00]

acrylic will expand? I just siliconed in my baffles last night, I made it slightly snug against the glass.. that a problem?

[BeanAnimal]

Yup thats a problem.

It appears that extruded Acrylic will absorb water and expand. Add to this the thermal expansion and you may have a problem.

I have never seen it first hand, but others here seem to report this to be a problem.

Bean

[doox00]

well I am gunna fill the tank with water and stick a heater in it, let it sit a few days and see what happens then I suppose

[mr pink floyd]

ok how much to cut glass for you?

[BeanAnimal]

The pieces of glass should only be a few dollars each. You may spend $10 or so.