Anyone build their own acrylic sump?

afboundguy

Acan's are inedible candy
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Anyone here ever built their own custom acrylic sump and care to show pictures? If I get the tank I'm hoping I can get I want to look at building my own acrylic sump....
 
I'm in the process of designing and building two acrylic sumps right now, using a CNC router table. Modeling panels at the moment. I'll share pics and details as I go.

Awesome thanks... My father in law was a commercial glazer but he doesn't have that fancy of machinery sad to say. I was thinking I could always order the pieces pre-cut and assemble it myself with his help...


Thanks Paul... If they don't reply I can start pm-bombing their inbox :cool:
 
I’m planning a type one pvc sump with clear pvc windows for my new tank. the pvc welder showed up today. If it works out well I’d be happy to help you build one at my shop if you’d like. I’ve done alot of bending machining and polishing of acrylic over the years and that part is pretty simple. I’ve just recently been messing around with bonding it. All I can say is the pro’s make it look a lot easier than it is. I’m hoping the pvc is more forgiving.
 
Couldn’t find anything to fit under my 92 gallon corner so I built my own. Designed it in solid works then sent part files to an acrylic shop in Worcester where I purchased the custom cut acrylic. Then was the long tedious process of bonding everything together. Lucky everything held up really well, tank has been running for 5 years now
 

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I built mine years ago, and it is still running:

(http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/index.php?threads/ready-to-apply-the-weldon.46845/#post-452486)

A couple of things I 'd do different:

Round off the edges

No longer need the through-hole, as now use a more energy efficient Eheim submersible for return

It is under my 180, so need to be a contortionist to get behind it, so would have shortened it a bit.

Make sure there is enough height clearances for a future skimmer upgrade, if that makes sense in your case. I went from a Euro Reef to a Red Octopus and can just barely clean it. A lot of measuring went on with that order.

Good luck
 
I did too. I needed a particular size/shape with particular partition placement. This was because I wanted it to be 18" wide, 15" deep and 32" long (maximizing space usage). I also got the colors I wanted (red top, black sides, clear front) by buying the acrylic locally.

Did the design in CAD, exported the flat cut drawings. See: link

Got the parts laser cut by joining Cambridge Hackspace and doing it myself. Then watched some videos online on how to glue acrylic.

Are the seams perfect with zero bubbles? No....
Do they need to be "perfect" to hold 10-15 inches of water pressure? No...

Bonus: There was extra acrylic and I used that to make:
- calcium reactor
- carbon reactor
- fluidizing reactor
- waste water chamber/reactor for skimmate and (eventually) ION Director waste

.... all black bottom and matching red top
 
Just finished fabricating this sump for my awesome brother. Perfect fit for his stand. Made all the flat pattern files in Aspire and cutout on a CNC router table. Made only one mistake. But it won't affect function. Let's see if anyone spots it.

First of many sumps I'll be making.
 

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Is it backwards ? seems like the flow should be reversed on the back left, not back right.
BUT I am LOVING that Seahorse Knight !!!
B E A utiful
 
Just finished fabricating this sump for my awesome brother. Perfect fit for his stand. Made all the flat pattern files in Aspire and cutout on a CNC router table. Made only one mistake. But it won't affect function. Let's see if anyone spots it.

First of many sumps I'll be making.
Baffles before the return section? Should be high, them low or floating then on the bottom panel.
 
Baffles before the return section? Should be high, them low or floating then on the bottom panel.
I robbed alot of this from a trigger systems sump geometry, and just scaled it. I'm aware there is no need to run the second baffle into the return, but I saw it as a method of adding a level of mechanical filtration to keep any macro algae from getting into the DT from the return. The perforated shelf is there to hold a foam filter block if one chooses.
 
Oh, no, the baffles in the center are two different heights, 13" and 14", and they should be swapped. But it really makes no difference. The emergency overflow will still work.
 
I see this post is older but thought I'd offer a couple tricks that really help with homemade sumps. Most don't have access to slick CNC equipment, but you can get some great results with a decent table saw with a fence and NEW carbide tipped blade with a high tooth count. The better the blade, the better the surface quality of the cut. Ready for assembly right off the table. For getting any exposed edges (like the top perimeter) to look professional, try supporting the assembly upside down and carefully apply Weld on 3 or 4 with a needle applicator so that it sort of hangs on through the liquid's surface tension and flows just on the inverted edge. This is done upside down to prevent a runaway drip from marring the panel's face. The solvent will make the cut edge appear polished and perfect, just remember to avoid retouching with the needle as the acrylic will be softened and contact with the needle can make an irregularity. The hardest thing to fab is proper weirs. Check Ebay, tons of styles and sizes. Attach to the last baffle with wingnuts and have an easily adjustable level. Much like Fiji Cube's DIY sumps.
 
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