Sump help

[makana]

I never thought of running the sump without the tank, that is a good idea. I'm re-finishing the stand and was kind of waiting on that before experimenting.

How high would you recommend the filter sock tray? Would you make the tray the full size of the compartment? The sides of the sump are 3" verticle and 2" diaganol from the top of the baffle that the drip tray sits on. Would it be possible to keep the socks that high? Is there a downside to having them that high?

From what I've read bubble trap baffles should be 1" appart. I have 2" between the baffles where the spong sits. If I close in the one baffle to the bottom and cut it out around the same hight as the other one I could drop one from the top in between the two and make an actual bubble trap. Each side would be 1\16" shy of the 1". Will doing that work, or will it restrict flow too much?

[makana]

If I make acrylic baffles and put them in place temporary with silicone that will later be removed, does it stil need to be aquarium safe silicone? Will it be easy to remove or will I need silicone remover?

[hillegom]

You will have to use aquarium safe silicone, after all, your aquarium water will end up going through there.
If you are only trying out the sump without tank water, then IF you remove ALL traces of silicone then it will be ok. But for how much, 2-3 $ it would cost extra for aquarium safe silicone, do you want to chance it?

Its easy to remove silicone from plastic, you do not want to use any remover, might melt the acrylic.