Top off water acrylic box

[puks]

Hi guys,

Planning to have following dimensions 7.5" x 23" x 30.5"(H) for acrylic (ideally black and clean) top off box.

Is 3/8" sufficient thickness?

Thanks

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Slightly less than 23 gallons to the very top.
3/8" is enough.

 

[puks]

What would be the max height for the same base and the thickness?

 

[OzIA]

If these are external dimensions, the volume is around 20 gal. Max height depends largely on the quality of your build. Corners are a bad thing and the taller you build this, the more pressure you have pushing at the seams. Polycarbonate is stronger, it won't warp nearly as much and the price has come down to the point where there it's not worth the difference.

 

[laverda]

A tall ATO may be prone to syphoning into your sump. It can be a problem any time your ATO water leval is higher that the output hose is. Plan accordingly. Also ATOs can stick on sime times, so make sure your sump can handle the extra 20 gallons if it should all get dumped in at once. Also consider the effect on salinity if thT should happen. Not a big deal on a 600 gallon tank but it would be on a 100 gallon one.

 

[puks]

A tall ATO may be prone to syphoning into your sump. It can be a problem any time your ATO water leval is higher that the output hose is. Plan accordingly. Also ATOs can stick on sime times, so make sure your sump can handle the extra 20 gallons if it should all get dumped in at once. Also consider the effect on salinity if thT should happen. Not a big deal on a 600 gallon tank but it would be on a 100 gallon one.

The tank will be 84x30x24 and the sump is 64x23x18.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

So 114 gallon sump on a 260 gallon tank.
Sumps generally run around 1/2 full to allow for shut downs, so 55 gallons.
Just saw a thread where the ATO was a large diameter PVC pipe in a corner behind the tank. The cap was not cheap he claimed.