I decided to start the baffle assembly with the 16" tall divider before the return pump. As previously noted, I decide against the smaller baffle next to the intake itself. Before putting in the divider, I had to drill the 1 3/4" holes shown in the diagram. I had ordered a second holesaw just for this purpose, and it interchanges with the 2 3/8" one I used for the bulkheads. As noted in that section, a "slug" from a previously drilled hole makes a great marking tool. I found a use for one small piece of the leftover acrylic scrap, I drilled a marking slug from it. Picture of the slug on my project notebook (I told you I am obsessive)
THE NIGHTMARE BEGINS!
The following can be placed firmly under the heading of what NOT to do when building a sump. The holes for the bulkheads went very smoothly, so I was brave. I didn't even think twice about drilling a line of holes just next to the bottom of the acrylic, I was a pro now (sure I was). With my handy marking slug, I estimated the placement of the centers of the holes to just fit at the bottom of the acrylic. I then used a carpenters angle to make a line across the sheet at the middle of the circle for the pilot holes.
Here is the final diagram on the currently intact sheet. Looks nice and simple huh?
