Will single strength glass work for sump baffles?

[mikeattack]

I am in the process of creating a 29 gal sump to replace the current system I have running. Will single strength glass work for the baffles? I am having a hard time finding a store that will cut anything above single strength.

Thanks!

 

[mikeattack]

I just found a place near me that will make the cuts.

$60 for the 4 pieces of 1/4" glass w/ polished edges (don't want to cut myself).

Does this sound reasonable?

13" x 11 1/2" x2
11" x 11 1/2" x2

 

[GlassMunky]

What do you mean by "single strength glass"? Never heard the term before. Do you have the sheet glass and just need it cut? If so $60 seems a lil high. If not, seems like an ok price

 

[Frankie]

There talking about untempered glass vrs. tempered.
It's not called "single strength glass" but rather "plate glass"
$60 is way to much money. Yes you can use that. Just go to home depot and get it from the glass section. They will cut it to the size your looking for. Alway remember to allow some room for the silicone. You do not want it to touch on the ends but rather be loose so the silicone will fill the void. This allows room for movement.

 

[mikeattack]

Thanks for the information. My home depot told me over the phone that they do not carry or cut sheet glass. I will stop in to make sure that is the case.

The Ace Hardware stores around here carry 1/8" glass. Will this be thick enough?

 

[DaveK]

I just found a place near me that will make the cuts.

$60 for the 4 pieces of 1/4" glass w/ polished edges (don't want to cut myself).

Does this sound reasonable?

13" x 11 1/2" x2
11" x 11 1/2" x2

If your going to have glass cut make sure your measurement are exact, and check the width, top and bottom, where you will install the baffles. The dimensions you show seem to be approximate.

 

[DaveK]

What do you mean by "single strength glass"? Never heard the term before. Do you have the sheet glass and just need it cut? If so $60 seems a lil high. If not, seems like an ok price

When you buy glass for a small window, the glass company or hardware store refers to the thin glass as single strength. It's about 3/32" thick. Double strength is about 1/8" thick. This is very thin glass by aquarium standards, and generally not usable for anything except maybe covers.

 

[mikeattack]

If your going to have glass cut make sure your measurement are exact, and check the width, top and bottom, where you will install the baffles. The dimensions you show seem to be approximate.

The measurements should give 1/8" of space to glue the baffles in. Is this too much or too little?

 

[DaveK]

Is that 1/8 total or 1/8 on each side?

I would consider 1/8 on each side to be too much of a gap, but a total of 1/8, or 1/16 on each side should be perfect.

This is also why a lot of people use acrylic for baffles. You can easily sand a little off the edges if it's just a little too long.

 

[mikeattack]

Is that 1/8 total or 1/8 on each side?

I would consider 1/8 on each side to be too much of a gap, but a total of 1/8, or 1/16 on each side should be perfect.

This is also why a lot of people use acrylic for baffles. You can easily sand a little off the edges if it's just a little too long.

1/8 on each side. I will redo my measurements. Thanks for the info!

 

[Frankie]

When you buy glass for a small window, the glass company or hardware store refers to the thin glass as single strength. It's about 3/32" thick. Double strength is about 1/8" thick. This is very thin glass by aquarium standards, and generally not usable for anything except maybe covers.

Nice. I never knew that. I always thought it was about the tempering of glass. Always learning somthing new.

 

[Uslanja]

FYI, not that its important, but in Canada we refer to that as "diamond". Single diamond, double diamond, etc. Never did know why that is, but now you can add that to your data base of "useless information"! Post some photos of your project so we can enjoy the build along with you. Good Luck!

 

[DaveK]

FYI, not that its important, but in Canada we refer to that as "diamond". Single diamond, double diamond, etc. Never did know why that is, but now you can add that to your data base of "useless information"! Post some photos of your project so we can enjoy the build along with you. Good Luck!

Actually it's not that useless, especially after one of the neighbourhood kids drives a baseball through your window. You need to know what to get to replace it with. lsmile:

 

[borderreef]

This glass will work fine. I have a diy sump and seperate fuge that I use 10x12 sheets from home depot. Since there is no pressure on the glass, and it is only there to seperate each chamber, it is a good, inexpensive choice.

 

[imsobored152]

but there will be pressure if you have different water levels in each section.

Just use plexi glass, and dont stress yourself over strengths of glass
1/4" plexi is everywhere

 

[61scout80]

I went completely against everything I ever read and used very thin plexi. less then 1/8". Siliconed it in place and carefully filled each chamber separately. I had to add one perpendicular brace from the end of the bubble trap, through the return section to the exterior glass.

Every reefer will tell you what I used is undersized, but mine never failed after 2 years under my 90.

 

[Woodstock]

I have made several sumps. The first I used glass but then switched to plexiglass... it is less expensive, lighter and easy to work with. I used the aquarium silicone for both types (glass and plexiglass). It sticks well enough to plexiglass for the sump use.

For the wider tanks, if you use plexiglass, you will need to support each pane with a horizontal piece (1/2"wide). This makes the plexiglass much stonger and prevents bowing that might occur when it holds back a large volume of water.

In the photo below you can see the horizontal 1/2" piece of plexiglass added onto the plexiglass baffle for strength. I used acrylic glue to adhere it.
NOTE: this reinforcement is only needed if the baffle is going to be holding back a large volume of water. It will prevent bowing.

 

[OHmariner]

Just to post my experience, I originaly built a small sump(10gal) and used thin plexiglas, i think 1/8". I had problems with bowing and then I had problems with silicon strength when different chambers had very different quantities of water. My sump is very unique compared to all the other sumps I see(it has two chambers on one side about 4"x4" each with a bubble trap in the middle, a large middle section for sand, live rock and a mantis shrimp, and a 5"x5" section in the right corner as a pump return area).

I am currently building another sump and Im using 1/4" plexiglas and Im using much more silicon than I used the first time. I made a custom silicon 'shaper' to add a consistent shape to the edges of all my silicon and increase the thickness. This should really help. I could post pictures soon.

I hope this helps, I just don't want anyone to be in my current situation with a sump that is falling apart and has pvc pipe supports all over the place, haha, doh!

 

[bwhit1406]

I used the glass from lowes. I think is was $2 and change for the size I needed. On the baffle that would have the most pressure I used two pieces siliconed together.

 

[LPS_Blasto]

I had my glass cut at the local Ace store. It's "single" strength. Very thin. Works fine. Even with different levels of water in different compartments of the sump, never had a piece break or come out.

You can sand the sharp edges down yourself with a palm sander and some 100 grit paper. No big deal. I only sanded the top edges. You dont need to bother sanding the sides because those are going to be covered in silicone inside the sump. And you don't need to sand the bottoms either. How many people stick their whole arm down inside a sump and rub their fingers along the bottom of the baffles? Just to see if it's sharp? :willis: Sand the top with a palm sander and fugetaboutit.

There's 4 pieces of glass in my 20L sump. I think I paid about $12 for those pieces, all cut to my custom measurements.