Buying Acrylic for Sump

[aravindk]

I am planning to buy clear cell cast acrylic from mcmaster.com based on a suggestion by a fellow reefer. A 1/4" acrylic sized 48"X24" costs $87 from this website. I am planning to build a sump and is this the material should I use?

TIA.

 

[Serge]

Before knowing if that thickness is appropriate, how about you tell us the dimensions of the sump you whish to build? That could be swell for a mini sump, but if you are going to build a king size one, you might need 1/2" thickness. So, tell us more about your dream sump!

 

[aravindk]

sump specs

The approximate dimensions are 48X22X16. I am not planning to build the entire sump with just this one sheet. I gave that dimension to see if that is a fair price. I am sure this size sump could take 3 or more such sheets.

I have attached the sump design. As you may see this is not a dream sump, but likely to become one in future. I want to keep lots of room for future upgrades. I have a 72g bowfront which is placed in the first level and thesump is going to go in the basement and water will be pumped up to the display tank.

Fuge is not part of this design. I am going to build the fuge separately and place it on the sump later on.

Pl. review and comment.

TIA

 

[Serge]

Umm.... Looks like it will be quite the sump there! From the given dimensions, I think that you will require thicker acrylic than 1/4". I would suggest that you visit the link below for a lot of information on sump construction. That guy is a genious when it comes to sumps and most things made of acrylic. 8O

http://www.melevsreef.com/links.html

Who knows, you may even discover that one of his designs fits your requirements better.

HTH and good luck.

8)

 

[BillyZ]

Just a quick comment on your sketch.

I would be very careful with the way you have the valves set up on the overflow line from the main tank. Since you have a valve on both outlets (I'm assuming to control how much goes into the skimmer and howmuch goes straight to the return pump?) there is a possability that you could end up with too much restriction (just from buildup of gunk or incorrect adjustment or a sudden clog from something coming down your overflow line), which would result in a backup in your overflow and could end up in... overflowing your overflow onto the floor 80

I would just put a single valve on the side that flows to the collection side of the sump. THis way, no matter what happens, there is always an unrestricted path the water can follow.


JMO

 

[Sicklid]

Just so you know, you can get all the acrylic you want for your project from one 48" x 96" sheet. Also, buy it locally. What is the cost to ship such a sheet? I know you can get the plastic and the weld-on from sign supply or plastic companies near you in the yellow book.

 

[aravindk]

Billyz: Thats right, I dont need that valve that goes to skimmer compartment. I am going to skip it.

Thanks for all your comments guys.

 

[Wallace]

aravindk,

2ft x 4ft 1/4 inch acrylic for $87 seems expensive... my local hardware store (named Roush Hardware) sell 1/4 inch thick acrylic for $4.99 per square feet, meaning a 2x4 sheet would cost me $40. In addition, they will also custom cut them into any size I want, and I only pay for it by size... e.g. if I want a small 8 x 18 inch sheet, which happens to be 144 square inch (1 square feet), they will cut me a piece of 8x18 and only charge me $4.99.

On the same subject, I also just built myself a sump with 1/4 acrylic, much smaller then yours at 19x15x8 due to size limitation (see picture). I used less then 11 square feet of acrylic sheet which cost me $55 to built (plus half tube of Weld-On #16 and a little bit of Weld-On #4, which I already have).



Wallace