Experience with putting acrylic together?

[thefuz]

Hi all,

Trying to figure out how to reconfigure this wet/dry sump for my reef and I'm thinking of putting in an algae scrubber on one side. I need to put some acrylic pieces together in a psuedo box, but I have zero experience working with it. Is there any place local that I can pick up some quality acrylic or even someone that might build it for me? I recall seeing something above a sump in the algae scrubber thread, but can't find the pics now. Anyway, my sump looks like this. The scrubber would go in the section currently with the bio balls and I'd host the skimmer in the lower chamber (yes, I think I want to run both at first). Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Arusso713]

There is a place in norwalk I think modern plastics or something like that

 

[Arusso713]

Select plastics - 219 Liberty Sq Norwalk, CT 06855-1029

 

[thefuz]

thx. yeah, I stopped by that place earlier this week for acrylic rods (aquascaping rock) and their prices were nearly 4x us plastics online, and that's incl shipping. I can only imagine what they charge for panels... let alone putting a sump together. I guess that's to be expected for a local joint.

 

[Wheel of Time]

wow 4x the cost. And local compaines wonder why they have lost so much business to the internet lately!!!

Check out the DIY thread here is RC...tons of guys have used the acrylic glue to make their own sumps -- and since its a sump it can be a bit sloppy since you are doing it your self -- but it is really easy. Come to the next club meeting and several of us who have had experience can caht about it with you (if you can wait till next weekend)

 

[scolley]

I don't have a LOT of experience in working with acrylic. But I do have a little. And from what I've learned it can range from stupid easy to best left to the pros. All depends on what you want to do.

If you are just assembling pieces of acrylic panels, at 90 degree angles, with rectangular pieces that are cut to VERY tight specifications, it's so easy a child could do it. That's why I have some experience.

But if the pieces are non-rectangular, or are not cut to tight specs, or are abutting to other pieces at angles other than 90 degrees... it could be a job for the pros.

Now all of that presumes you HAVE the pieces to be joined. And THATS another whole kettle of worms. But...

If you can provide US Plastics with a spec for cutting a rectangular sheet into the pieces you need, they can cut them (to a pretty high spec), and ship them to you at very little over the cost of shipping the cost of the cut sheet.

After that it's just a matter of joining the pieces, which is staggeringly easy. Come to the meeting, and I can show you how to make 2 pieces of acrylic become forever one in less than 60 seconds. It's wicked easy, in the right applications.

 

[thefuz]

Oh, I didn't know they actually cut the pieces for you as well. Holy crap, that's awesomeness! I definitely don't have the means to make really clean cuts (old jigsaw and circular saw = ghetto cuts; at least with my crappy skills).

Looking forward to seeing you guys next weekend!

 

[scolley]

I definitely don't have the means to make really clean cuts (old jigsaw and circular saw = ghetto cuts; at least with my crappy skills).

Yea... acrylic requires special blades to cut, and even then special techniques for cutting. However, I do have some blades somewhere (if I can find them), that you can borrow if you need it.

But there's a good reason why I'm not certain where they are... I learned the pros do a much better job, and do it for dirt cheap. I let them to it.

Looking forward to meeting next weekend!

 

[RTMA]

To effectively cut Arcylic you will need at minimum a 80 - 100 tooth blade. A lot of them are made to do cross cutting and plywood. A decent one can be had for 50-80 bucks on Amazon.

Btw - Select plastics won't build a sump, I've asked. Their acrylic prices are on the high side. I've bought smaller pieces from them when I needed and they always cut to spec. If you are looking for rods, best places are on-line. Joining them is pretty easy, provided you have patience and the right applicator.

 

[thefuz]

I imagine the joining part for a sump isn't the challenging part. The precision cuts are though, so it's great that they do them for you.

I was at Greenwich Aquaria yesterday and they quoted around $700 for a custom sump. That seems ridonculous. On the flip side (O/T), the guy I was working with (Rob) let me question him for almost an hour without skipping a beat. Their prices seem really reasonable too on both coral and fish and most things look to be in awesome shape. I guess that's an easy statement after recovering from sticker shock from my visit to House of Fins earlier in the day.

 

[travisw30]

Estreetplastics.com has great prices. And elastics.com has the Weldon solvent you will need. Estreetplastics has precut pieces with all the prices or you can get a custom quote. Putting it together is a bit of a pain. I would get a couple extra small piece to practice with.

 

[terahz]

What you really need is a router to route the edges. No blade will produce the nice smooth surface a router will. If you have a router, you can cut the plexi with a hacksaw if you want .

I built my own sump, but miscalculated by 1/4" so after about 6 months I ended up ordering one online.