Custom sump builder and coating the inside of my stand

[Mikey Donuts]

Does anyone know of someone local (or around S.F.) who builds QUALITY acrylic sumps?

I was also wondering if you guys coat the inside of your wooden stands with anything. I'm concerned about the wood warping from evaporation and inevitable spills inside the stand.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[kevin95695]

Have you talked to Keith Grandt?

 

[Mikey Donuts]

No, I haven't. I take it he's a local builder? What's the quality of his work like?

 

[kevin95695]

I haven't seen his work yet, but his day job is working with acrylic. He is based in Sacto.

He is the generous individual that donated the certificate for a custom sump to the MARS raffle a couple months back. sactofishguy won the certificate.

 

[Mikey Donuts]

Cool, thanks Kevin, do you have contact any info?

 

[bored4long]

I will be coating the inside of my stand with Killz Premium paint. This seems to be what most of the stand build threads on RC use.

 

[Mikey Donuts]

OK, thanks Mark. I was also thinking of using some pond liner around the bottom to hopefully help contain any leaks/spills. What do you guys think about this?

 

[kevin95695]

I heard wpnorton coated his stand, don't know for sure though.

dieselgrk has seen Keith's acrylic work firsthand. Keith Grandt 510-432-3464

 

[ned2getfish]

coating the inside is a good idea I used waterproof silicon in the inside of my tankaround the edges works great

 

[Jim_S]

Yeah, when I built my stand I lined the whole base with silicone caulk for bathrooms, then layed down 3 coats of white paint. Worked like a charm.

Its also really easy and cost effective to build your own sump whether its from acrylic or glass.

Jim

 

[Mikey Donuts]

Thanks for the info everyone. I took a look at Melev's site and thought about building my own sump, but then I also thought about a livingroom full of water and decided I'd rather pay someone As far as the inside of the stand goes, what do you guys think about using a pond liner inside the stand?

 

[jtarmitage]

Pond liner would work great. The only challenge would be getting it to stay up along the sides, and stay down nicely in the corners. With paint or epoxy, you don't have those issues.

 

[KMP]

look for wpnorton on the boards (MARS forum). he had a custom cabinet made. put 1x1's around the inside perimeter and then used some kind of boat paint to paint inside. he also put a drain through the floor. i was looking sideways at him when he did all this, but it has proven to pay for itself as he's been dialing in all the plumbing needs.

 

[Mikey Donuts]

Is there some sort of clear finish I could apply to the inside? I really don't want to paint the inside white or any other color come to think of it. Some sort of clearcoat would work best for me. Any suggestions?

Also, do you guys ever apply any sort of polish or wax to the exterior of the cabinet? The builder mentioned something in passing about waxing the stand after several months. I can't get in touch with him now, so any info is appreciated.

Mike

 

[pbetito]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11120825#post11120825 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kevin95695
Have you talked to Keith Grandt?

Keith is currently doing a project for MARS and I can't stress enough what a good guy he is and how accomodating he has been. I HIGHLY reccomend him.

 

[rafael13]

for a clear coat use this
http://www.minwax.com/products/protective/polycrylic.cfm
minwax also sells a wax

 

[Reefugee]

Assuming you don't have any huge gaps in your stand, you can always use several coat of polyurethane. Polyerethane will give your wood the "wet" look though - so it's not a clear coat. You can purchase a gallon size for pretty cheap.

Once you're done polyeurathaning the stand, put a small bead of clear silicone around the edges on the inside for extra protection.

Good luck!

Minh

 

[Mikey Donuts]

Rafael, thanks for the link. Would you recommend the polycrylic over polyurethane? I think the polyurethane may be more durable over time. I'll use a few coats of either of those, bead the edges with silicone, and top it all off with a layer of pond-liner. I should be good to go after that.

I'll also likely give Keith a call about building a sump.

Thanks very much for the help everyone!

 

[rafael13]

as far as I know, they are the same thing,( I was watching "in a fix" and the guy said it was the same thing)
the polycrylic dries faster and the smell is not as strong. Thats what I used on my stands
Oh and its much easier to work with, you can do a 2nd coat in 1 or 2 hrs

 

[rafael13]

why dont you make a sump out of another tank
my 2 sumps are a 40g and a 55g, with glass baffles