THE TX REEF ROOM

[TX_REEF]

This came out awesome!! Good thinking with the mechanically interlocking baffles… that takes a lot of design work out of making everything rigid!

Are you thinking of using a cured silicone bead, or soft rubber U channel to make a gasket around the baffles?

I’m imagining something bolted to the rim to clamp the baffles down, and compress the gasket….

— If the baffles try to bend towards each downstream compartment (water pressure); some of the scrap polycarb from your baffle slots, or a few strips of acrylic could be welded (#16, probably) to the baffles, between tank wall and baffle as a “prop rod”!

my thought was to make a wooden cross that can be clamped down on the rim of the tank to hold the baffles tightly to the bottom of the tank, and then black aquarium silicone applied to all joints between the tank and baffles, as well as the baffle cross intersection.

Can you elaborate on how I'd use spare polycarb to reinforce the baffles to prevent water pressure flex? I think that may be a good thing to do as a first step before the rim clamping and silicone. There is little to no space between the baffles and tank wall, I tried to make it "perfect fit".

 

[UncommonSense]

my thought was to make a wooden cross that can be clamped down on the rim of the tank to hold the baffles tightly to the bottom of the tank,

That would probably work! Though, wood can warp pretty significantly over time…

What about a composite material? Here’s a promising angle extrusion of Fiberglass Reinforce Poly (FRP)

You’d likely slit it quite like the polycarb to make the X shape required for your clamp/top brace!

and then black aquarium silicone applied to all joints between the tank and baffles, as well as the baffle cross intersection.

This should work great! I think of applying the silicone first and letting it cure, then installing the baffles with the silicone “gasket”

— if you want to silicone the baffles in situ, scuff up the baffle edges and the baffle contact area of the tank with 60 grit sandpaper to get better mechanical adhesion from the silicone on that slippery plastic!

Can you elaborate on how I'd use spare polycarb to reinforce the baffles to prevent water pressure flex? I think that may be a good thing to do as a first step before the rim clamping and silicone. There is little to no space between the baffles and tank wall, I tried to make it "perfect fit".

Assuming the sump flows counter-clockwise, this configuration of “prop rods” should hold the polycarb baffles straight! (Reverse prop rod orientation for clockwise sump flow)

(layout assumes drain chamber [highest water level] is closest to camera)

You could do 1-3 prop rods per-chamber… depending on the water height in the chamber prior!

(Edited because my first layout was non-functional as shown/generally silly… clearly I needed another cup of coffee!)

 

[TX_REEF]

That would probably work! Though, wood can warp pretty significantly over time…

What about a composite material? Here’s a promising angle extrusion of Fiberglass Reinforce Poly (FRP)

You’d likely slit it quite like the polycarb to make the X shape required for your bold-down top brace!


This should work great! I think of applying the silicone first and letting it cure, then installing the baffles with the silicone “gasket”

— if you want to silicone the baffles in situ, scuff up the baffle edges and the baffle contact area of the tank with 60 grit sandpaper to get better mechanical adhesion from the silicone on that slippery plastic!



Assuming the sump flows counter-clockwise, this configuration of “prop rods” should hold the polycarb baffles straight! (Reverse prop rod orientation for clockwise sump flow)



You could do 1-3 prop rods per-chamber… depending on the water height in the chamber prior!

(Alternative layout, assumes drain chamber [highest water level] is closest to camera)

that is super helpful, thank you so much for the input. good point on wood warp, I always just revert to wood when I'm working on weird DIY stuff because I'm most experienced/comfortable working with it.

 

[UncommonSense]

that is super helpful, thank you so much for the input.

of course, I’m always happy to help!

good point on wood warp, I always just revert to wood when I'm working on weird DIY stuff because I'm most experienced/comfortable working with it.

Oh me too! But it does have its limitation, primarily in regard to “creep” over time (aka warping)!

The FRP material is going to absorb moisture, and creep too… but, it’s more predictable, and you can design around it much easier!

Also, the FRP can be cut and shaped with standard wood tools! (Just use a respirator and/or vacuum dust collector for fiberglass dust)

The FRP can also be painted after cutting, allowing you to color match, and seal any fiberglass splinters that may appear if the saw doesn’t cut it cleanly!

 

[TX_REEF]

I caught one of my nems beginning to split right on the front glass of my frag tank, pretty sweet!