Alright, I’ve started to build a new sump, and I thought folks here would appreciate a little information of the build. Maybe it will even inspire someone to try building something on their own. This is the second sump that I’ve built, and I’m hoping it will turn out a little better than my first attempt. The first one I built is still in use and works great, but it’s got a few gnarly seams.
Well step 1, clearly, is buying acrylic. I’ve purchased from Professional Plastics before, and they are closer to my house than some of the other options (Regal), so I decided to go with them again. As long as you call first, they are very accommodating. I got a quote for a full sheet (48” x 96”) at $100. I didn’t shop around, so I have no idea if that’s a good price. BUT, I drive a Subaru Wagon, and they kindly ripped it a few times so I could get it in my car (no charge). I had two pieces cut at 37” by 48”, and then whatever was left over (one piece about 22” x 48”).
Another thing, when I called, they asked me if film-masked was ok. In haste I said yes, but I would much prefer and recommend paper-masked. The product I chose was clear 1/4” Acrylite FF (though it’s actually about 0.22” thick).
I actually own the majority of the products that I want to put in the sump, so I designed it to accommodate the sizes and requirements of the hardware I plan on using. Most specifically, I have a Euro-Reef CS250 skimmer, and I wanted it to fit with ease in the sump. That restricts the water height to about 8” in the skimmer/return section. Also, I want to be able to remove the sump to clean it, and the opening on the side of the stand will be about 19” wide, so I decided to restrict the sump width to about 18”. Based on all this, I decided that the sump would be 37” x 18” x 18” I drew it up in paint to get a good idea of how things would fit, and here is that image (although I am an engineer, I know absolutely nothing about CAD programs, so I use paint at 10 pixels per inch):
Once I got the dimensions figured out, I tried to lay it out to maximize the space on the acrylic sheet. Again, paint to the rescue. Sorry that there are not any numbered dimensions on the pictures, but you can use the pixel tracker on the bottom right of Paint while you’re building your pictures. Normally I print them out and write out dimensions to have before cutting the acrylic. Don't laugh at me, it works! Here was my take at that.
So once I got that figured out, it was time to start cutting. The main problem I had during the last build was that I assumed my table saw fence was parallel. It was not, by about 1/8”. This is hard to see, so I recommend checking your tools before using them. I measured each end of the fence before making cuts, and I secured the back side of the fence with the retaining screw. It’s a little more overhead, but with a cheaper table saw that I own, it’s a necessity. Here’s a shot of the saw, a Riobi 3100.
I’ve seen some folks recommend some relatively expensive plastics blades for cutting this material (upwards of $100), but for low volume projects such as mine, I decided to just use an $8 dewalt plastics/laminates blade. I got it at home depot, and it’s 7 1/4” with 70 teeth. It may be less clean than cutting with the more expensive blade, but I couldn’t justify the cost difference.
I had to take the anti-kickback feature off the saw, which I don’t really care to do (I’ve had a 2” square piece of wood slap me in the face before, which required a trip to the ER). Unfortunately, it’s not great for use with plastics, so I didn’t have much of a choice. When making cuts, what I made sure to do was stand to the side of the saw and pull the material across my body from side to side. This eliminates getting spewed with scalding acrylic dust as well as makes it easier to ensure that the acrylic stays flush against the fence.
So, here is the acrylic after I made all the cuts. I need to clean up 2 spots where the edges are a little bit gouged, and hopefully that will be done this week. More updates to follow
Well step 1, clearly, is buying acrylic. I’ve purchased from Professional Plastics before, and they are closer to my house than some of the other options (Regal), so I decided to go with them again. As long as you call first, they are very accommodating. I got a quote for a full sheet (48” x 96”) at $100. I didn’t shop around, so I have no idea if that’s a good price. BUT, I drive a Subaru Wagon, and they kindly ripped it a few times so I could get it in my car (no charge). I had two pieces cut at 37” by 48”, and then whatever was left over (one piece about 22” x 48”).
Another thing, when I called, they asked me if film-masked was ok. In haste I said yes, but I would much prefer and recommend paper-masked. The product I chose was clear 1/4” Acrylite FF (though it’s actually about 0.22” thick).
I actually own the majority of the products that I want to put in the sump, so I designed it to accommodate the sizes and requirements of the hardware I plan on using. Most specifically, I have a Euro-Reef CS250 skimmer, and I wanted it to fit with ease in the sump. That restricts the water height to about 8” in the skimmer/return section. Also, I want to be able to remove the sump to clean it, and the opening on the side of the stand will be about 19” wide, so I decided to restrict the sump width to about 18”. Based on all this, I decided that the sump would be 37” x 18” x 18” I drew it up in paint to get a good idea of how things would fit, and here is that image (although I am an engineer, I know absolutely nothing about CAD programs, so I use paint at 10 pixels per inch):
Once I got the dimensions figured out, I tried to lay it out to maximize the space on the acrylic sheet. Again, paint to the rescue. Sorry that there are not any numbered dimensions on the pictures, but you can use the pixel tracker on the bottom right of Paint while you’re building your pictures. Normally I print them out and write out dimensions to have before cutting the acrylic. Don't laugh at me, it works! Here was my take at that.
So once I got that figured out, it was time to start cutting. The main problem I had during the last build was that I assumed my table saw fence was parallel. It was not, by about 1/8”. This is hard to see, so I recommend checking your tools before using them. I measured each end of the fence before making cuts, and I secured the back side of the fence with the retaining screw. It’s a little more overhead, but with a cheaper table saw that I own, it’s a necessity. Here’s a shot of the saw, a Riobi 3100.
I’ve seen some folks recommend some relatively expensive plastics blades for cutting this material (upwards of $100), but for low volume projects such as mine, I decided to just use an $8 dewalt plastics/laminates blade. I got it at home depot, and it’s 7 1/4” with 70 teeth. It may be less clean than cutting with the more expensive blade, but I couldn’t justify the cost difference.
I had to take the anti-kickback feature off the saw, which I don’t really care to do (I’ve had a 2” square piece of wood slap me in the face before, which required a trip to the ER). Unfortunately, it’s not great for use with plastics, so I didn’t have much of a choice. When making cuts, what I made sure to do was stand to the side of the saw and pull the material across my body from side to side. This eliminates getting spewed with scalding acrylic dust as well as makes it easier to ensure that the acrylic stays flush against the fence.
So, here is the acrylic after I made all the cuts. I need to clean up 2 spots where the edges are a little bit gouged, and hopefully that will be done this week. More updates to follow
