| General Reef Discussion In this forum we discuss issues related to keeping marine and reef aquariums in a friendly flame-free environment. |
Registered Members don't see these ads. Register now it's free!
11-25-2005, 01:08 PM
|
#1
|
|
Filamented Flasher
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: California
Posts: 77
|
DIY sump questions
I am about to fabricare a new sump for my tank. It will be about a 15gallon sump and I need to make it custom to get the most volume for the space limitations. I was wondering what you would recomend to use to hold the sump together so it wont break open and flood my apt, and also so there is no chemicles that will harm my reef. I am using plexi-glass and will be assembling the tank myself. What thickness should I use, I was thinking half inch plexiglass for the foundation of the tank and then thinner and easier to work with plexiglass for the baffles. Does this sound good or should I go thicker???
|
|
|
|
Registered Members don't see these ads. Register now it's free!
|
|
|
|
|
11-25-2005, 01:55 PM
|
#2
|
|
squid
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Anchorage, AK
Posts: 7
|
I'm not quite sure what to use to bond the plexi together, as all I've used is glass, but 1/4" should be more than enough thickness for a 15 gallon sump.
|
|
|
|
|
11-25-2005, 01:57 PM
|
#3
|
|
Plankton
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: oregon
Posts: 45
|
I'm sorry I can't figure out how to send a link but if you type in google search"melev"s reef site" you will get this guys site, that explains how to build a sump.
|
|
|
|
|
11-25-2005, 01:59 PM
|
#4
|
|
Plankton
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: oregon
Posts: 45
|
I'm sorry its"meliv's reef site" you type in
|
|
|
|
|
11-25-2005, 02:35 PM
|
#5
|
|
It can be rebuilt.
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Pittsboro, NC
Posts: 19,158
|
1/4" is plenty for a 15g sump. if you have access to 1/2" acrylic, than you should have access to the cement. it is called Weld-On. it comes in different viscosities. from 1 to 32 i think. 1 is thinner than water, while 32 is like a paste. this is the only adhesive that works well with acrylic. the same place that sells acrylic that size will have the ahesive.
G~
__________________
Think Tanker
Friends Don't Let Friends Use Refugiums!
Reef Knowledge Impaired
"J" crowd member.
My Build Thread
|
|
|
|
|
11-25-2005, 02:45 PM
|
#6
|
|
Nucular Hermit
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Takoma Pk, MD
Posts: 2,172
|
as stated above, check out http://melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html. He has a lot of great info on there. I just built my own sump using info from there and I've had no leaks. HTH.
__________________
Mike S.
65g acrylic tank with 520W PC
Basement Sump w/ EuroReef CS6-1
My TRT Blog
|
|
|
|
|
11-25-2005, 03:28 PM
|
#7
|
|
Filamented Flasher
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: California
Posts: 77
|
thanks everyone, now I am ready to start my weekend project and hopefully there wont be tons of bubbles in my tank when I am done  |
|
|
|
|
11-25-2005, 03:30 PM
|
#8
|
|
Nucular Hermit
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Takoma Pk, MD
Posts: 2,172
|
Make sure you let it dry at least 24 hours (maybe more) before adding water
__________________
Mike S.
65g acrylic tank with 520W PC
Basement Sump w/ EuroReef CS6-1
My TRT Blog
|
|
|
|
|
11-25-2005, 03:35 PM
|
#9
|
|
The Dude Abides
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: RI
Posts: 1,129
|
If you can't find the weld-on, you can get it from www.craftics.com
Also, check out the tank building section under diy at http://www.garf.org/
It has a great calculator and tutorial about building acrylic tanks.
__________________
- Chris
Proud member of the
 
All Hail Discordia!
|
|
|
|
|
11-25-2005, 03:44 PM
|
#10
|
|
The Dude Abides
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: RI
Posts: 1,129
|
Oh, incidentally, as geoff said, you MUST use an acrylic cement. This is a non-negotiable when building a water holding acrylic system. Most people use weld-on #4, and keep some weld-on #16 around to fill in any holes that were too large for the #4
__________________
- Chris
Proud member of the
All Hail Discordia!
|
|
|
|
|
