40 Breeder Sump & Refugium Design

[DirtDiggler2823]

Oh you bought extruded acrylic instead of cell cast. You got the cheap crap. Those baffles are probably going to warp. That tool you bought is not a good tool for making cuts with. With the thin acrylic you bought you may get away with it. They are just baffles so if they warp or pop out it’s not going to cause a flood if it was a tank I would say take the acrylic back. Where there is acrylic on acrylic I would use weld on to get a better bond. How much did the acrylic cost? I had a glass shop cut and sand my baffles to size and it only cost me $30. With everything my sump cost $60 to make that’s the tank baffles with them cut to size and the silicone.

Also, I plan on using weld where I can. I've done some acrylic work in the past, but mostly repairs and the such. Nothing this extensive.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Oh you bought extruded acrylic instead of cell cast. You got the cheap crap. Those baffles are probably going to warp. That tool you bought is not a good tool for making cuts with. With the thin acrylic you bought you may get away with it. They are just baffles so if they warp or pop out it’s not going to cause a flood if it was a tank I would say take the acrylic back. Where there is acrylic on acrylic I would use weld on to get a better bond. How much did the acrylic cost? I had a glass shop cut and sand my baffles to size and it only cost me $30. With everything my sump cost $60 to make that’s the tank baffles with them cut to size and the silicone.

Thickest stuff Lowes had in stock. I only hoped for bigger sheets, but this should work just fine.

 

[Reef-junky]

Extruded acrylic is the cheap stuff. I’m pretty sure hardware stores only carry that. I could be wrong though. For what your doing it doesn’t matter because even if the sheets fail it’s not going to flood your house. I’m not saying they but that stuff does have a lot of give to it.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Extruded acrylic is the cheap stuff. I’m pretty sure hardware stores only carry that. I could be wrong though. For what your doing it doesn’t matter because even if the sheets fail it’s not going to flood your house. I’m not saying they but that stuff does have a lot of give to it.

I get what you're saying, but this stuff, while extruded, is rather stiff at this thickness. I'll be sure to keep an eye on things while testing, but this was what i could find locally without getting gouged at a specialty shop.

 

[Reef-junky]

I get my acrylic from this place.

https://www.estreetplastics.com/

Even with shipping it still comes out cheaper then the local places by me. For the acrylic to build my sump and ATO all the local places wanted $300 and this place only wanted $150 with shipping. The only down side I would say is they are slow to process orders but I don’t know how big the places is and for 1/2 the cost I don’t care if it takes a while to get what I want. They do a pretty good job at cutting as well. I had them cut several pieces for me and not had a problem. Part of what drives the cost is how they cut the acrylic. If it’s saw cut it will cost you less money but you will have to smooth the edges. If they CNC cut it the price goes up but it’s a much cleaner cut. A router will give you a clean and accurate cut that you don’t have to smooth the edges on. You can buy one from Menards for pretty cheap. I think I paid $25 for mine. You can also use a table saw. The type of acrylic you have you can use that knife thing the least accurate of your options to cut and snap the acrylic kinda like drywall. For what your doing I wouldn’t worry to much worst case you buy new acrylic. If it was a tank or sump there is no way I would use that crap.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

I get my acrylic from this place.

https://www.estreetplastics.com/

Even with shipping it still comes out cheaper then the local places by me. For the acrylic to build my sump and ATO all the local places wanted $300 and this place only wanted $150 with shipping. The only down side I would say is they are slow to process orders but I don’t know how big the places is and for 1/2 the cost I don’t care if it takes a while to get what I want. They do a pretty good job at cutting as well. I had them cut several pieces for me and not had a problem. Part of what drives the cost is how they cut the acrylic. If it’s saw cut it will cost you less money but you will have to smooth the edges. If they CNC cut it the price goes up but it’s a much cleaner cut. A router will give you a clean and accurate cut that you don’t have to smooth the edges on. You can buy one from Menards for pretty cheap. I think I paid $25 for mine. You can also use a table saw. The type of acrylic you have you can use that knife thing the least accurate of your options to cut and snap the acrylic kinda like drywall. For what your doing I wouldn’t worry to much worst case you buy new acrylic. If it was a tank or sump there is no way I would use that crap.

This is great information, albeit a tad late since I've already cut the acrylic, but I have it available for for future projects. Thanks!

 

[Reef-junky]

We recently bought a house so my tank is all a part right now. But here some stuff I made out of acrylic.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/75-gallon-mixed-reef-build.342131/

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

We recently bought a house so my tank is all a part right now. But here some stuff I made out of acrylic.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/75-gallon-mixed-reef-build.342131/

Good looking stuff!

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Final cuts getting made. I can't find my dang acrylic weld, so I'll be picking some more up tomorrow. Should have the sump built by the end of next weekend!

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Found my acrylic weld, and the can was totally dry....... LOL. Looks like I'll be buying some more.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

We recently bought a house so my tank is all a part right now. But here some stuff I made out of acrylic.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/75-gallon-mixed-reef-build.342131/

Hey, I'm going to be using the marine pure blocks in the sump instead of a sand bed of any type, would it be wise to have rubble in the sump as well? I want to be sure I can sustain a good pod population. Also, thank you for all the help so far.

 

[Reef-junky]

You don’t need it. Pods can live in the blocks.

 

[Reef-junky]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.re...o_kick_start_a_tank_with_a_marine_pure_block/

 

[sneub]

Following

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Starting to put all the pieces into the sump. This is about as fun as fighting a polar bear in a phone booth, since I cut the pieces a bit too narrow....

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

I'm not sure I need this baffle...... Thoughts?

 

[User1]

Odd question. I thought I read somewhere that acrylic baffles on glass sumps are a bad idea. They can expand thus breaking the side of the glass. Not sure how accurate that is or myth vs. fact, you know.

 

[Reef-junky]

I would put the baffle down to contain what ever you put in it.

Odd question. I thought I read somewhere that acrylic baffles on glass sumps are a bad idea. They can expand thus breaking the side of the glass. Not sure how accurate that is or myth vs. fact, you know.

You have to leave a small gap on the sides. Also acrylic doesn’t bond to glass worth a dang. I read several post about the acrylic just popping out. I’ve also read several post about acrylic expanding and breaking the sides of the sump. Not something I would do.

 

[Reef-junky]

I'm not sure I need this baffle...... Thoughts?

If your going to put rock right there then I would have the baffle sitting on the bottom to contain it. I’m not sure if a marine pure block will stand up to a skimmer sitting on top of it. I would lose the second bubble trap by the chaeto and forget about the miracle mud.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

If your going to put rock right there then I would have the baffle sitting on the bottom to contain it. I’m not sure if a marine pure block will stand up to a skimmer sitting on top of it. I would lose the second bubble trap by the chaeto and forget about the miracle mud.

Yeah, the drawing is not what I actually installed, but I do have questions regarding that one baffle that is part of the build. I will not be propping the skimmer up on anything at this point.

This is what I have in the sump right now: