Need 30" Sump

[bored4long]

I'm looking for a glass or acrylic sump that is as close as possible to 30"Lx18"Dx16"H. Anyone have anything close to that? 36" is too long for my application.

How much would it cost me to build my own acrylic sump that size? Anyone know how thick the acrylic would have to be?

 

[bladeruner143]

Hey Mark,

To the best of my knowledge, which isn't much, I'm pretty sure the thickness should be 1/2" at the very least. Let's see what the others think though.

 

[funman1]

Keith would be your man to answer those questions on all those accounts.

 

[racerw]

edited

 

[TeeLapia]

3/8" should be the absolute thinnest you can go. anything less would need to have a rim and reinforcement. It would not cost too much, all you would need is the XXL sheet. It's just cutting the sheets accordingly, and clean what is the only issue.

 

[bored4long]

So where's the cheapest place to buy sheets of acrylic? It can't be TAP. They are NOT cheap.

I'm really itching to build a DIY Denitrator and DIY Ca Reactor as soon as my 120 is up. So I guess it makes sense to go ahead and acquire the acrylic tools required right now and just build my own sump, too.

Has anyone attempted Acrylic work before? Were you successful or did you fail? Just trying to gauge how hard it may be.

 

[funman1]

I attempted acrylic once to build a sump, It was really hard!!
At least for me.. Getting the stuff to set at a perfect 90 deg angle, and clamping it without it moving sucked..
Although I'd never done it before and had no help or guidance so I'm sure that contributed to my failure.

After building it, I tested it for water strength and it was working, till I added one more cup of water and then the whole side joint split and all the water came gushing out making a mess..
Doh!!

I gave up after that, I'm sure I could do it, but I need a quick and dirty "This is how" lesson from someone cause I really had no idea what I was doing..

I thought hoh this is simple, just spread this glue on the joint and clamp, let sit, repeat on other sides.. Easy!!

I found out it wasn't that easy, or I had the wrong tools for the job..

PS I got my acrylic from TAP, I don't know of anywhere else that will give you a super smooth edge cut for gluing.

 

[miracles38]

I have a 30" sump that I am selling. I think it is 30 x16 x 18. It is at my old house. PM me if you are interested.

 

[c2300]

You can ask Keith for all your questions. He is doing a great job for my custom sump. I highly recommend him if you need a special design or dimension tank or sump.

 

[bored4long]

Steve, did you use the pin method?

Kim, YGPM.
I'll try to dig up Keith's RC handle and PM him.

 

[funman1]

Keith's handle is: gotfin
See Mark, I have no idea what you're even talking about, I had no method other than my madness
Told you I needed a small DIY on that before I ever try again..

I will bring that up at the next BOG meeting, perhaps we could have someone do a workshop on gluing acrylic for a meeting subject?

I'm sure I could master it, if I had a place to start.
And like most things, I'm sure once I got it down, there would be acrylic DIY projects all over the house after that!!!

 

[bored4long]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11764367#post11764367 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by funman1
I'm sure I could master it, if I had a place to start.
And like most things, I'm sure once I got it down, there would be acrylic DIY projects all over the house after that!!!

This is exactly why I wouldn't mind getting into it. I have access to a highspeed table saw and a router already. After acquiring the saw blade, router bit and weldon #4 its just practice. And I have a bunch of scrap acrylic to play with right now.

I think there would be tremendous interest in a DIY acrylic class. Just teaching the basics on how to build a box would be fantastic. It would give us enough info to go off on our own after that.

Now all I have to do is finish my dang tank stand so I can move on to the next DIY project!

 

[funman1]

So what is the pin method?

 

[bored4long]

In a nutshell, you place pins between the two pieces of acrylic to create a very small gap be welded. Apply the glue, let glue stand for 30 seconds, then remove the pins to weld the two pieces together. I'm not sure of the reasoning of this method, but my guess would be to allow the glue to start 'working' on the each plastic piece individually, doing whatever chemical magic it does before being welded to the other piece.

Here are two pretty good explanations of the process:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=3824387#post3824387
http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/chvy/chvy_sump.html