Recommended Acrylic Thickness

T

ToddLaCo

Premium Member
Marc, or anyone in the know,
I am going to build a sump and need a recommendation on acrylic thickess to use.

The dimensions will be:
36Lx35Wx20-24H (still gave to calculate my tank, refugium and RDSB drain back to establish the required height)
 
I'm not "in the know", but I just bought two big sheets of 1/4" acrylic from Regal Plastics, to use for my new sump.

It is seriously heavy stuff. I can't imagine needing anything thicker for the size you're talking about, especially if you have a frame around the top the way Marc does it.

I think it sort of depends on the structure of the inside of the sump, as far as cross-pieces and sections that add structural integrity to the whole thing. i.e., a big four-walled box might bow, but divide it into sections, and it becomes a lot stronger.
 
I would use 3/8's. The width and height together is whats going to give you trouble. I have no where near the experience that Marc has in buliding sumps but your sump is not that much smaller than his current one. He used 3/8's and has a eurobraced rim and a center brace, but he has a 60" run. I think you could get away with just using eurobracing. What do you think the running water level will be? At 18 inches it would be about 90 gallons.
 
I am looking at an 11" normal running depth.

I have roughly calculated the drain back from Tank, Refugium, and RDSB at about 40 gallons. 11" running depth would keep me very safe with a capacity of 71 gallons if I make the sump 24 tall.

If everything turns off including skimmers, reactors etc I should be good with 20", but I will give it that extra 4 for the just in case factor.

I think I will go with 3/8". I like safety!!! There will obviously be some bracing in the sump due to baffles etc., and eurobracing. I wish I could show y'all what my proposed design is, but I don't know how to draw with any programs on the computer like some do.
 
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