sump baffels glass or plastic and how tall should they be??

[lawdawg18]

am still trying to get a sump put together. I have a 30 long I'm going to use to construct it out of, just a few questions.

I it better to use glass or plastic to create the different compartments?
The glass I looked at, at home depot looked very thin compared to my tank glass, and most of the plastic stuff I saw was also thin looking and flexed very easily.

How tall do the pieces need to be? does it matter??

I'm planning on a small section about 6 inches with some bio balls, then water flows into a chamber about 20 inches or so containing live sand, live rock and such, then water goes into final chamber 10 inches with heaters, skimmer, and the pump to move it back to the tank.
Anything else I need to consider??

The main tank is 150 gallons with 2 over flow boxes.

THANKS
Jason

 

[blorkiemom]

I'm just putting mine together, so hardly an expert . . .

most people will probably advise you to ditch the bioballs as they have a reputation for causing nitrate problems.

I don't know exactly what you mean by "plastic," but people usually use glass or acrylic for the baffles.

The height of my baffles is determined by a) what my skimmer needs for best performance and b) how much room I need to leave for overflow. Here's a calculator to help you figure that if you haven't already--


http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/sump.php

HTH!

 

[bound_for_obx]

If there is a minimal change in depth between adjacent chambers you will probably be OK using plexiglass. I'd recommend using 1/4 inch if you can get it. Keep in mind that silicone does not bond well to acrilic. If there is going to be a large difference in depth I'd definitely go with glass. You also might want to look for a glass shop in the yellow pages. You might be able to get some scraps at a discounted price. Good Luck!

 

[lawdawg18]

Yeah I heard the bio balls can cause nitrate problems, thats why I was thinking of going with both the balls and the live stuff. When I said plastic I ment plexi glass or acrylic. I wondered which would be better the glass or the acrylic? I'll call around to some glass shops tomorrow.

Thanks

 

[blorkiemom]

Keep in mind that silicone does not bond well to acrilic.

Really? Rats. Do you know of people who have experienced failures after the sump was up and running? Or is it more of a "hard to put together" thing? I hadn't heard this yet.