Acrylic for DIY sumps

[neuroslicer]

The hardest thing for me in making my own sump is getting the acrylic cut properly so that cementing the edges together is water tight. So I'd rather have a professional do the cutting and then put it together myself. I got a price quote on acrylic from two different venders in town, and what a difference! 9 pieces of 1/4 inch acrylic to make a 46 X 11 X 15 inch sump will cost me $345 from Plastico on Flicker St. Piedmont Plastics on Hickory Hill Rd. gave me a quote of $150 for the same materials. Just for grins I got Plastico to quote me a price for fabrication as well, and the entire sump, materials and labor, would cost $995 and be ready in 3 - 4 weeks. That's more than my 125 gallon tank cost.

It pays to shop around, that's for sure. And a few hours in the workshop also saves big bucks.

 

[Codeman00]

I got my acrylic cut at Piedmont and they did a great job. I had to do some internal cuts but they did the long straight cuts which helped me out a lot.

 

[neuroslicer]

Yeah, my last sump was cut by Piedmont as well. But someone from Rhodes had a maze constructed by Plastico, and our shop guy said they were pretty reasonable. Not for my budget they weren't!