I did it! - Built a sump all by myself :-)

A

Amanda

[This was a surprisingly easy project, especially after picking Marc's brain the way I did. It is going under a 44g pentagon where the inside of the stand is soooo small. Ive been using a 10g tank on a table next to it for months, and while functional it was an obnoxious sight. Hopefully Ill have the new one in place this weekend.
It only measures 10 x 14 x 17tall and holds 10 gallons to the top. It will run with about 4 gallons.

Hers a pic of my not-so-pretty but oh-so-proud craftsmanship!

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[Great job! Is this your first construction job. It looks like it is going to work great.

I thought the ten gallon sitting next to the tank made maint. easier :laugh long:]
 
[Thanks guys!

Im sure Doug will be thrilled to have the crashing waterfall out of sight.
This was my first time constructing something out of acrylic, but not at construction. I love knocking out walls to put in new stuff! :laugh long:
It actually looks tons better than my 55g sump, but weld on seems to be a bit more forgiving than globs of silicone :lookaround:]
 
[LOL! A newbie giving other newbies tips :laugh long:

Draw it out first! That was probably the only thing that made this easy, and then I still made a stupid measuring mistake. Really, if all your dimensions and measurements are on paper you will be much less frenzied when it comes time to construct.

The shop cut my acrylic to my specs, so all I had to do was put it together. Thankfully all the edges were straight and I didnt have too much trouble.

Read Marc's DIY sump pages!!!

Dont do your project on a beat up linoleum floor! Weld on will weld your sump to the floor :laugh long:

If in doubt, hire a pro to build it. I didnt save a huge ton of mula, acrylic isnt cheap. It isnt as pretty and perfect either. I now fully understand the cost of the custom jobs!]
 
[It does give you a better appreciation for some of the beatuiful work people like Marc construct.
I made a small surface skimmer for my PS and it is so ugly I believe that I really think the scum looks better. :D]
 
[Hi Amanda,

Looks good. Do you guys own a router? If so, run it along the edges with a "laminate trimming bit" so that you have pretty corners.

Be sure to put a piece of foam padding under it to avoid any pressure points that lead to failure.

For those of you asking for 'tips', there is a thread in the DIY forum called "What is a sump" (I think) and I went into massive detail in that thread.]
 
[Thanks everyone!

It honestly does give me a much bigger appreciation for the work Marc (and others) does. Not that it was difficult, but doing a nice job of it seems to be a bit of an art.

Yes we do own a router and a laminate bit, I hadnt decided yet if my corners were that important. Since I havent mastered it on wood yet, the fear of tearing my little sump up is a big one!
I do have lots of foam, so no worries there.

The acrylic came from the Home Depot. Before Marc jumps my tail, it is acrylic and not acrylite or plexiglass. There does seem to be a bit of a difference. Im not sure all the stores carry it, mine is relatively new and had a decent selection of plastics.
As for the rest of the supplies, they dont come from Sherman! One of the sign shops special ordered the weld on 4 for me. Marc kindly mailed me an applicator from his neck of the woods. Another good friend picked up some weld on 16 for me today in Dallas.
I think the only other things I used was a plastic carpenters square (which you can also weld to the acrylic!) and my poor hubby's hands to hold a few pieces in place.

All in all, not a bad little project. Only took a little over an hour to construct, and could have been faster if I had any clue what I was doing! :laugh long:

Oh Marc, just one last question(hopefully!) Do I really need a crossbrace on such a tiny thing?]
 
[No, you can skip the cross brace. Because you will run it at 25% capacity all the time, it'll be fine. The few times you fill it up, it'll be strong enough.

You can route the walls very easily. The bearing on the bit will follow the walls, and the exposed part of the cutting blade should only be out about 3/8". Enough to trim the acryilic that overlaps, and some glue.

Just glue together some scrap, let it cure for a few hours, clamp it to a solid surface and try out the router on that piece. Or not if you are uncomfortable. My first sump was unrouted for the 1.5 years I used it. And still people were copying it left and right on RC. :D

AcryLite is fine, just plexiglas is a poor choice.

The plastic framing squares need the corner cut off (at the 90 degree angle). You buzz off about 1" worth, and now the weld-on won't wick under the square to glue it to your project.]
 
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