mhart032 Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 You would be surprised how easy it is to put acrylic or plexi together, they use a solvent, You could easily build one with the dimensions you want and suit your needs for fairly cheap. the hardest part is cutting the material, but even then its just score and brake, or use a use a table saw with a plastics blade. you can make a nice sump for under 100 bucks with as many chambers and prob racks as you want. Regal Plastics is where i used to get my acrylic to do this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted June 12, 2018 Author Share Posted June 12, 2018 Really? I had no idea. I’ll seriously look into that. Being that I’ve never done anything like that, of course I’m worried it will collapse like a deck of cards once full of water. I’ll research that when I get home from work. Thanks for the infoSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhart032 Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 It wont, not if you take your time, the bottles for the solvent are easy to work with they basically create a chemical reaction and for lack of a better word melt the 2 pieces together, what i have done was ordered the pieces individually for the sides, and bottom so they were good straight cuts and did the in sump area myself, make sure you get a decent thickness, but the reaction is immediate and pieces bond very quickly. use tape to get good seems so the solvent stays on the parts you want bonded. its basically like taking 2 pieces of glass and using calking to hold them in place, but there is no cure or dry time with this stuff once its on there is no moving them around. If you do it you will see and once you see it go together and see the seems and process you will feel more confident. they are real nice at Regal too, they will give you advise and tell you the processes if you ask. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted June 12, 2018 Author Share Posted June 12, 2018 Thank you so much! What is a Reef safe silicone to use on the acrylic? Or is the silicone the same for glass and acrylic? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhart032 Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 you wont need any for the sump if you build it, it will be water tight. But GE1 is aquarium safe i believe, but its not clear it white. stay away from anything that is mold free or mold resistant types they are very bad for aquariums. If your looking to reseal a tank RVT-103 is the rite stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Dogfish Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Silicone will not stick to acrylic for very long. Why do you ask. If its seam welding for a sump, as mentioned above you will be using solvent to melt the pieces together. You can look at my thread for the 500 and see how i did the sump and tank. I used a 2 part (Sci Grip #40) because I could not get bubble free seams with the water thin (Sci Grip #4) on the thicker acrylic. Timfish said it was stronger, I listened to his advice. If you are doing a new one in glass then RTV103 silicone is a good one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted June 12, 2018 Author Share Posted June 12, 2018 ok. I guess i was picturing the baffles and pieces on the inside needing to be siliconed in place because of how the solvent needed to be applied. But now that I think about a trigger sump, there is no silicone. I say things without thinking sometimes (a lot. lol) I did follow your thread, Dogfish, but guess I didn't pay that much attention to the acrylic welding. I'll go back and check that out. Knowing a custom sump is even a possibility is pretty exciting Today was pretty hot and gruesome at work, so no work on the tank in the hot garage. Rest in the AC and on the couch. We shall reconvene tomorrow. And I'm so used to my iPhone correcting all of my spelling, punctuation, and capitalization mistakes, please excuse the ones I make when trying to learn this mac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted June 17, 2018 Author Share Posted June 17, 2018 Whew!! What a day! I got a lot done yesterday on the stand. Completely ready to begin painting today. I figured I'd catch everyone up to speed while I'm waiting on first coat of paint to dry. Well, as you can see in the picture I need a truck! LOL!!! I didn't like all the holes in the top of the stand so I added a piece of 1/2" plywood to it and secured it down with 1-1/4" screws, countersunk about 1/8" so the tank doesn't sit on them. I felt like the holes took away from the integrity of the wood and I want this thing to be sturdy! I'm also going to put a yoga mat under the tank just to be on the safe side. I also added two pieces of 3/4" plywood in the back of the stand. I knew I wanted to close it in but didn't think 100% was necessary. I cut two pieces 16" wide and that gave me a perfect 2-1/4" gap between all the panels. Now I have the real estate to hang things if I need to, but still some gaps for ventilation. I decided to do it this way bc this stand I'm using was already used by someone once. I was able to see all the water damage on the inside and I thought having some areas for air to circulate may help. The bulk of my sanding and "fixing" was because of said water damage. This also lead me to another thought...Caulk I used the standard bathroom tub, tile, and window caulk to do all the seams in the inside of the stand. I can't say as I've ever seen or read of anyone doing this, but as a plumber it made sense. LOL And also because of the water damage on the inside of the stand. Since this upgrade has taken so many years, I don't plan on doing another one soon.... Need to make sure this one lasts! I caulked all the seams on the inside of the stand and the 3 doors. Using the same 1/2" plywood I used on the top, I cut a piece big enough for the bottom and reinforced that. I also added 4 feet I'd kept from an old couch (for this project and true to my thrifty self lol) I still need to add support in the middle, but that will be easy. Having the stand off the floor for ventilation is important to me. I got one coat of paint on the inside and the inside of all 3 doors. I'm Using oil based paint so I can't rinse the rollers and reuse them. I have to paint it all at one time and then toss that one in the trash. I feel good about the progress I made this weekend. This and tree trimming with my landlord has made for a busy weekend! Once the stand is complete, the plumbing will be the easy part!!!! And Dogfish..... I may have learned some more on this ole computer LOL I thing I put the photos into the text.... We'll see when I hit send Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Dogfish Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 Looks great. Lots of good ideas. I do have a beef. Why is there black paint on the floor? Maybe that was there when you moved in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Stand is looking great. The guy who built my stand caulked the inside with clear (the stand is stained, not painted). I added a cut-to-fit sheet of shower liner on the bottom. That shower liner has been great, and I'm so glad I did it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted June 18, 2018 Author Share Posted June 18, 2018 Stand is looking great. The guy who built my stand caulked the inside with clear (the stand is stained, not painted). I added a cut-to-fit sheet of shower liner on the bottom. That shower liner has been great, and I'm so glad I did it!Is it like a tray? Did you DIY? I’d love a tray at the bottom. I think Meg and Dan have a tray under their sump as well and it has a sensor/float? connected to their apex. So if it gets water in it, they can turn off the pumps before a catastrophe happens. Need to contact Meg and incorporate that into my stand [emoji106]Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 No, I used the soft PVC shower liner, grey in color, comes in a roll. It would not hold a large spill, but it has protected the wood bottom of my cabinet MANY times while I am in there doing things 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 Slowly plugging away. Got another coat of white on the inside of the stand and doors. One more should do it. Ill have one coat of black on the outside and the stand will be good to go. This wkend I picked up a ATO from Rory, a sump from Chris, bag of sand from Jen, and some rock from Dana. Thank you all! The way the baffles are currently in this sump, the water level in the return side will never be over 3” deep. I’m thinking I’m going to add another baffle on the left to have a place for a refugium and extend the short baffle 4-5” to have a fuller area for the return pump. My skimmer is external which is good, but I’ll need to build a platform for it to stand on in order for the return on it to be high enough to dump into back into my sump. Dogfish has helped me so much and I got to see his system today. Amazing!!! . Possible rough draft of rocks. Including some great pieces I got from Dogfish. The left side will actually be the home of my GSP tree. . Guess that’s all for now. I’ve got to drill one hole for my bean animal, and begin to purchase all the fittings and pipe. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen_McG Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 2 hours ago, Christyef said: Slowly plugging away. Got another coat of white on the inside of the stand and doors. One more should do it. Ill have one coat of black on the outside and the stand will be good to go. This wkend I picked up a ATO from Rory, a sump from Chris, bag of sand from Jen, and some rock from Dana. Thank you all! The way the baffles are currently in this sump, the water level in the return side will never be over 3” deep. I’m thinking I’m going to add another baffle on the left to have a place for a refugium and extend the short baffle 4-5” to have a fuller area for the return pump. My skimmer is external which is good, but I’ll need to build a platform for it to stand on in order for the return on it to be high enough to dump into back into my sump. Dogfish has helped me so much and I got to see his system today. Amazing!!! . Possible rough draft of rocks. Including some great pieces I got from Dogfish. The left side will actually be the home of my GSP tree. . Guess that’s all for now. I’ve got to drill one hole for my bean animal, and begin to purchase all the fittings and pipe. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk It’s coming along very nicely 😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 It’s coming along very nicely [emoji3]Thanks!!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 Got the final coat of white on the inside. One last coat of black on the outside and the stand is done! Woohoo!! [emoji122][emoji122][emoji482][emoji122]Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted June 28, 2018 Author Share Posted June 28, 2018 Ok, guys. I’m kinda overwhelmed with this bean animal research. There’s no cut and dry way to do it. I don’t want to do it wrong and I want it to look good and work. My bulk heads are 2-1/4”, but I’m reducing them all to 1-1/2” drain lines. No need to have 2-1/4” drains. So..... I’ve been looking and reading and looking and reading. Because I’m trying to order all my material. Some of the BA pictures have sanitary tees. Bean’s original design uses sanitary tees. I do get why. But then I’ve seen some that use just a 90 or p-trap “90” with no tee. And then an emergency standpipe. I see how that would work also.. So, which one is right, wrong, or indifferent? Is it just preference? I’ve read why Bean used the tees, but can’t find why they were omitted in other models. Someone with more insight please enlighten me. [emoji847]https://upl Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Dogfish Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 They will all work. No need for 3 gate valves. You just need 1. Better flow thru sani "T" . Just be sure that in your trickle drain, you have air coming in, so it does not create the full siphon unless the air tube/ hole gets covered. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 I did mine like your last picture. Works great for me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted July 5, 2018 Author Share Posted July 5, 2018 Drilled the 3rd hole for my overflow. Also got my rocks cooking so they’ll be ready to go. Stopped at a supply house and got my plumbing for the bean animal. They gave me regular tees instead of sanitary tees. Come to find out, 1-1/4” santees aren’t that easy to find. I had Ferguson supply house order me some. Hopefully be here tomorrow/Friday. Hope so! They’re holding me up. Lol. I also ordered my bulk heads from BRS, marine pure balls, and my 2-part dosing liquids Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 wow, nice progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted July 19, 2018 Author Share Posted July 19, 2018 Ive decided to paint my own pipe. Couple of reasons. The 1-1/4 pipe was out of stock. And A lot of the fittings were also out of stock and I’m tired of waiting. And I’m cheap. Lol. The underside of the tank is mainly gonna be seen by me, so it’s not really not that big a deal. I went with red fittings bc I have a lot of red in my house, so why not. Lol. I’ve read about it, and Krylon fusion seems to be the reefer choice. It has a long dry time, but that’s ok. It becomes inert once dry. People have reported no ill effects after years of having it in the tank. I did order the wrong size bulkheads for the overflow box so have sent those back. Waiting on the new ones to show up. I’ll be ordering my light any day now. I need to get a good return pump. It’s a 140. 40 gal sump. 6’ head. 4-tee manifold. Suggestions? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted July 21, 2018 Author Share Posted July 21, 2018 Houston, we have a problem. I didn’t even notice until now. 🤦♀️🤦♀️. . It has tape on it to keep the paint off the glue part, but see how the 90 is coming out of the overflow box? And it’s sitting on the bottom. Doh! My overflow box is only 4-1/4” deep. Do I remove the box and make another one?? Ugh. Cut down the 90 and then make cuts in it like the top of a castle? (Can’t think of another way to describe that) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Sorry, I can't totally tell what I am looking at here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted July 21, 2018 Author Share Posted July 21, 2018 Face them up! Cut 2 with slots and leave the emergency solid. Whew. Panicked there for a minute. Lol. Ok, carry on. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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