Sump repair

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

Just picked this up from the Facebook marketplace. Didn’t notice the little chip until I got home. Is this repairable? It doesn’t leak water.

 

[Mebbid]

Image?

 

[Reef Jedi]

No picture attached…

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

No picture attached…

I cannot get the picture to post. I had it attached to the original posting. I’ll keep trying.

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

.

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

No picture attached…

Did it post?

 

[The Farmer]

I don’t believe it’s a concern, if the seam is not split it would hold.

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

I don’t believe it’s a concern, if the seam is not split it would hold.

Could I put silicone or acrylic cement on the corner just to help stabilize?

 

[The Farmer]

Yes shouldn’t be a problem. Weldon 16 is a thicker cement it should work.

 

[RobertK]

I repaired a leak in an acrylic drip tray for my stand using square acrylic rods and Weldon 16. Something like that on the inside of your sump might help stabilize that corner.

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

After further inspection I have found this as well. Starting to wonder if I got ripped off?

 

[UncommonSense]

That looks like a crack? If it didn’t happen during transport, I’d hope the previous owner just overlooked it and didn’t sell this dump maliciously…

There are several ways to patch this in acrylic… none are particularly pretty, but they definitely work!

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

That looks like a crack? If it didn’t happen during transport, I’d hope the previous owner just overlooked it and didn’t sell this dump maliciously…

There are several ways to patch this in acrylic… none are particularly pretty, but they definitely work!

It was sold as a set with a 90 gallon. I don’t think the owner ever used it. I think he bought it the year prior as a used setup and it just sat.

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

That looks like a crack? If it didn’t happen during transport, I’d hope the previous owner just overlooked it and didn’t sell this dump maliciously…

There are several ways to patch this in acrylic… none are particularly pretty, but they definitely work!

I have some pieces of acrylic that are just as thick as the original. Can I just cut a piece to put over the outside to the crack and use acrylic cement?

 

[UncommonSense]

I have some pieces of acrylic that are just as thick as the original. Can I just cut a piece to put over the outside to the crack and use acrylic cement?

You could probably get away with this… you might want to first drill the out the tip of that crack with a small drill bit (~1/8”), as this will prevent the crack from propagating any further after patching!

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

I have some pieces of acrylic that are just as thick as the original. Can I just cut a piece to put over the outside to the crack and use acrylic cement?

You could probably get away with this… you might want to first drill the out the tip of that crack with a small drill bit (~1/8”), as this will prevent the crack from propagating any further after patching!

Is there a better option to repair it?

 

[UncommonSense]

Is there a better option to repair it?

Potentially! More photos would help me there, if you’re able to get some from a few angles?

The answer will likely come down to just welding an acrylic patch over the crack, possibly drilling the end of the crack to prevent further spreading… but, you might be able to do the repair from the inside at least!

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

I tried to get every angle I could. Thanks for your help!

 

[UncommonSense]

I tried to get every angle I could. Thanks for your help!

So, it looks like you could actually patch from the inside here, though it won’t be able to extend all the way to the sump rim due to that perpendicular welded opaque plastic…

Conveniently, this crack runs diagonally through the material’s cross-section, so you can actually weld the crack itself back together by applying thin solvent to wick into the crack, then clamping it back together!

I wouldn’t consider this a permanent repair, though… I think you’d be best off adding a rectangular piece of 1/4” cast acrylic that extends at least 1/2” beyond the crack in any one direction to either the inside or outside, and ideally drilling out the end of that crack with a small drill bit as mentioned above…

If you lack the materials and experience to perform these repairs yourself, there’s a good chance you have a plastic fabrication shop semi-locally which can do them for you!

 

[RobertK]

It looks like a nice sump, interesting layout. Worth fixing IMO!