We eventually would like to build our own rimless sump, but for the time being we decided to go with a AGA 15g aquarium to convert. Our return pump will be an Eheim 1250. With the head loss it will be pumping about 200gph. That may seem like very little, but it means quiet operation, less […]
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We eventually would like to build our own rimless sump, but for the time being we decided to go with a AGA 15g aquarium to convert. Our return pump will be an Eheim 1250. With the head loss it will be pumping about 200gph. That may seem like very little, but it means quiet operation, less splashing, and almost all of the flow will be able to feed directly into our protein skimmer. We went with some oversized plumbing, so should we find we’d like more flow without adding an additional tunze, we can.
With such low flow, we decided on a single 6in baffle. This made it a very simple DIY sump. (We ordered the glass from Torstenson Glass. If you are in Chicago, we highly recommend them.) To start we cleaned all the glass with rubbing alcohol to remove any oils from our hands. We then measured where we wanted the baffle, and taped it off. Using a clear ruler made it very easy to check if our tape job was straight and even.
To start we placed a thin bead of silicone on the very bottom edge. This ensured the silicone filled the gap, and aided in holding the baffle upright.
Here you can see the tape. We used two small pieces on the top edge of the baffle to hold it in place. Even though we put a small bead on the bottom edge, we went back again and did the front and back seam of that bottom edge and the remaining two sides. With the tape, any extra silicone will be removed.
After all the silicone was applied, we went with a wet finger and smoothed out the silicone. This cleans up the seams and pushes the adhesive into any gaps. Above is a shot of the finished silicone job.
After waiting about an hour, we pulled the masking tape. (Dont let the silicone dry too much, or the masking tape will pull all the silicone with it.) There was some excess on the top edges that we will razor blade off in the morning… but for the most part there’s the finished product. It was a very easy and gave us the confidence for future glass projects.
2 Comments
Nice job, but im offended, should have called me
to do the silicone. I play with the stuff every
day at work, and i do mean play :p
by the way how is the copperband? saw a couple
nice ones at living seas yesterday while i was
buying a fish there.
Haha, the silicone was fun. We’re going to make some rimless nano’s to practice some more and then try some other stuff we have have been wanting to do.
The Copperband is doing great he’s one needy fish though. Craves attention more than any fish I’ve ever owned! So far it’s eating mysis and brine, hoping to get it it onto pellets and “seafood mush” soon too.
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