jason the filter freak July 4, 2011 July 4, 2011 Its been a LONG time since I've worked on custom sumps. Any good reccomendations on how to hold the baffels in place while waiting for silicone to dry, also if you can't fit your hand/caulk gun inbetween your baffels how do you apply the silicone? Pics would be great.
FearTheTerps July 4, 2011 July 4, 2011 Cd jewel cases work great to use as spacers and supports to hold the baffles in place. As far as applying the silicone in a tiny space, I usually put the first baffle in and silicone both sides, then on the other two I just put it on one side extra thick. Don't forget to nip the corners of the baffles where they meet the silicone in your sump. Makes for a much better fit and little chance of damaging the silicone in the sump as well.
jason the filter freak July 4, 2011 Author July 4, 2011 Don't forget to nip the corners of the baffles where they meet the silicone in your sump. Makes for a much better fit and little chance of damaging the silicone in the sump as well. What?
treesprite July 4, 2011 July 4, 2011 (edited) What? If the baffle glass top or bottom is going to be flush with the top or bottom of the tank wall glass, the sharp corner of the baffle needs to be trimmed off so it doesn't jab into the silicone that it holding the sump tank together. Edited July 4, 2011 by treesprite
GraffitiSpotCorals July 4, 2011 July 4, 2011 I use folded up paper towels at the top and use a small tube to get inside tight areas.
jason the filter freak July 4, 2011 Author July 4, 2011 Oh flushness won't be a problem it is an acrylic sump, so no silicone to work around. I may see if I can cram some silicone into a syringe
GraffitiSpotCorals July 4, 2011 July 4, 2011 Just thinking out of the box you might be able to put some clear tubing on the end and tape it really tight to get to the tight spots.
FearTheTerps July 4, 2011 July 4, 2011 Silicone isnt going to bond very well with acrylic, you can use it but just be sure to lots and lots of it. Any thoughts on bonding the baffles in place with an acrylic solvent like weld on? I've never used it, but I know of plenty of members that have, maybe asked for some tips doing it that way then installing with silicone. It would make a much stronger bond and be very clean looking then the large amounts of silicone you will have to use.
jason the filter freak July 4, 2011 Author July 4, 2011 Silicone isnt going to bond very well with acrylic, you can use it but just be sure to lots and lots of it. Any thoughts on bonding the baffles in place with an acrylic solvent like weld on? I've never used it, but I know of plenty of members that have, maybe asked for some tips doing it that way then installing with silicone. It would make a much stronger bond and be very clean looking then the large amounts of silicone you will have to use. I don't want to use weldon because I want to be able to rearrange the baffels if I need to.
jason the filter freak July 4, 2011 Author July 4, 2011 I'm unsure how wide to make the spacing between the baffels though.
FearTheTerps July 4, 2011 July 4, 2011 Most people go with 1 inch to 1 1/2 inch. I would go with the 1 1/2" spacing, a little more room to work with the silicone. But I would go with a 1 inch gap for the spacing for the baffle that is raised from the bottom of the sump.
jason the filter freak July 7, 2011 Author July 7, 2011 Difficult does not begin to describe how hard this was to do. I ended up setting up a 50 cc syringe with RO/DI line and using that to apply silicone between the baffels, there would be no way to do it with out a second set of hands
Chad July 7, 2011 July 7, 2011 I looks like it turned out nice! I somehow always end up getting silicone everywhere in the process that takes for ever to clean up!
extreme_tooth_decay July 7, 2011 July 7, 2011 I looks like it turned out nice! I somehow always end up getting silicone everywhere in the process that takes for ever to clean up! +1 The way I do it is install the center baffle first, then put a giant line of silicone on the tank, and slide the outer baffles through the line of silicone into position. This results in plenty of silicone on the inside of the seam. Sometimes can be messy.
Integral9 July 7, 2011 July 7, 2011 I recommend using tape; LOTS OF TAPE. Just be sure to pull the tape off before the silicon full hardens. And be careful not to let the tape touch anything while you are pulling it off.
jason the filter freak July 7, 2011 Author July 7, 2011 (edited) +1 The way I do it is install the center baffle first, then put a giant line of silicone on the tank, and slide the outer baffles through the line of silicone into position. This results in plenty of silicone on the inside of the seam. Sometimes can be messy. darn it that would have worked great Edited July 7, 2011 by jason the filter freak
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