+SChrisEV Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 For a sump should I use 1/4 or 3/8 thick acrylic? I have one section that will be about 30" long with no center support, if needed I could put a piece across the top to prevent bowing. Details of my design can be found here. Also looking on Regal Plastics site, there are a number of different types of acrylic, anyone have any direction on what kind to use? Thanks in advance! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I would say 3/8 eurobraced at a minimum. 1/4 is going to be too thin for most of everything. It would help more if your sump design had dimensions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 Wow, 3/8 with eurobracing? I've added some dimension, but they are not perfect, I was just going a rough layout. You can round most measurement to the nearest 1/4". Sometimes its just a pain to adjust size in Sketchup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Yes I would do a minimum of 3/8 with eurobracing 1/4" is going to be too thin. On a separate note I would move the probes to the skimmer compartment or the frag/Fuge compartment and move the heater to the return compartment or bubble trap. Your probes need to always be upstream of your heater. I would remove the weirs between the skimmer compartment and the rubble compartment. They don't seem to serve much purpose. I would just make the whole thing one big chamber and put LR and rubble in the empty spots. I'm not sure how I feel about bulkheading the two sumps together but at minimum I would use to 2 inch bulkheads. I didn't calculate the difference but I have always been told 4" total for the bubble trap on a big sump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 My sump is 3/16 cell cast acrylic with a black polycarbonate eurobrace and bottom panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 Yes I would do a minimum of 3/8 with eurobracing 1/4" is going to be too thin. On a separate note I would move the probes to the skimmer compartment or the frag/Fuge compartment and move the heater to the return compartment or bubble trap. Your probes need to always be upstream of your heater. I would remove the weirs between the skimmer compartment and the rubble compartment. They don't seem to serve much purpose. I would just make the whole thing one big chamber and put LR and rubble in the empty spots. I'm not sure how I feel about bulkheading the two sumps together but at minimum I would use to 2 inch bulkheads. I didn't calculate the difference but I have always been told 4" total for the bubble trap on a big sump. Thanks for the note on the probes & heater. I am going with an external pump so I will have plenty of room in the return section for a heater. As for removing the weirs between skimmer bad rubble, I guess it's not really weir but more of a bubble trap to keep any bubbles that might make it to the frag area. I'm definitely ok with removing it, easier build if it's not needed. "I didn't calculate the difference but I have always been told 4" total for the bubble trap on a big sump" I'm not clear on that you are saying here, can you elaborate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 My sump is 3/16 cell cast acrylic with a black polycarbonate eurobrace and bottom panel. cell cast acrylic, I guess that is the answer to the type. Thanks! As for the thickness, my existing PM sump is 1/4" thick (I believe) no eurobrade, but does have the three chambers so the longest "stretch" of unsupported acrylic is about 14" Thanks for posting a pic of your sump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan H Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Our sump is going to be 3/8", and it's 60" x 16" x 16". I always error on the side of caution as I'm paranoid and would rather pay a few more bucks than lose a system or damage my house because of a tank failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvrEnuf Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 I will agree with pretty much everything reburn said. Dan is correct too..err on the side of caution in this case. My roughly 30 gallon sump (typical 3 chamber, so lots of welds) was 1/4 inch and still showed a bit of flex when the return pump was off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Yea Dan I'm righ there with you. I'm currently having 2 sumps built. One of the sumps I'm having built is 55 long x 29 wide x 18 tall and the other is 55 long x 21 wide x 18 tall. They are both being built out of 3/8 and eurobraced. Chris, You have your return at 5 3/4" and your fuge at 30 1/16. With a total length of 37 3/4. That leaves less then 2" for the space your bubble trap occupies including material. You need 4" including material. I will break this down panel by panel for you so you can adjust in sketchup. From the top with a total length of 37 3/4" Acrylic 3/8 Return 5 3/4 Acrylic 3/8 Bubble trap 15/16 Acrylic 3/8 Bubble trap 15/16 Acrylic 3/8 Fuge / frag 28 1/4 Acrylic 3/8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvrEnuf Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Reburn must be an engineer. He is right again and it forces me to admit I don't have much patience for analyzing others dimensions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Ummmmmmmmmm. You said the E word............VICTOLY!!!!!! No I promise you I'm not a E. Just a simple rancher. Just good building things and I learn quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 I was thinking about building my sump too. Does Regal cut pieces to spec? or are you buying a sheet and cutting yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvrEnuf Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 There is a place in Austin to order cut peices from. It's really cheaper than online when time and shipping is considered. Austin plastics? Can't remember. Burnet / braker area. Good place to get weld on and tools as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Thanks, just emailed them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 I guess I'm even more paranoid, I'd use 1/2" with a 1 1/2" lip on the inside. And I get my stuff from Austin Plastics also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 I was thinking about building my sump too. Does Regal cut pieces to spec? or are you buying a sheet and cutting yourself? I'm thinking on buying whole sheets and cutting myself. I'll buy local. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 Yea Dan I'm righ there with you. I'm currently having 2 sumps built. One of the sumps I'm having built is 55 long x 29 wide x 18 tall and the other is 55 long x 21 wide x 18 tall. They are both being built out of 3/8 and eurobraced. Chris, You have your return at 5 3/4" and your fuge at 30 1/16. With a total length of 37 3/4. That leaves less then 2" for the space your bubble trap occupies including material. You need 4" including material. I will break this down panel by panel for you so you can adjust in sketchup. From the top with a total length of 37 3/4" Acrylic 3/8 Return 5 3/4 Acrylic 3/8 Bubble trap 15/16 Acrylic 3/8 Bubble trap 15/16 Acrylic 3/8 Fuge / frag 28 1/4 Acrylic 3/8 One of the reasons I did not include the dimensions was that I has not figured them out yet. At least not the internal. But thank you for the comments, that will be handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 What do you use to cut with? i don't have a table saw and would worry that I wouldn't get nice even / square cuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 What do you use to cut with? i don't have a table saw and would worry that I wouldn't get nice even / square cuts. Definitely prefer a table saw for large sheets, ideally with an 80+ tooth blade. You could probably use a circular hand saw but it's going to be difficult to get a straight enough cut for joints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 yup...that's why I'm going to see what Austin Plastics can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 Tools.... something I have plenty of. ... well not that I have enough, prolly never will. There is always a cool new tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 I use a cordless circular saw with a 36 tooth carbide tipped blade and a guide and run water on it to keep the blade cool. I get very straight and smoother than factory cuts. I also use Sci-grip's #40 2 part self-polymerizing glue which is much stronger than #3, #4 or #16. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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