sump for idiots part III (revenge of the sump)

parrotchute

DUSTOFF MEDEVAC
So...
I finally got my acrylic sump/refugium in. I had measured it prior to ordering it (ebay) to make sure it would fit under my tank. Unfortunately, I foolishly did not measure it to make sure it would fit through the DOOR under my tank. If I could magically teleport it, it'd fit. The door is 16" wide and the tank is 15" wide. DUH!

Think it'd be too hard to cut the sum open, trim its width down a few inches and reapply silicone?

-A
 
Take a 2x4 and brace the stand between one of the doors. You can remove the center brace carefully to put the sump in. Once the sump is in just replace the center board and take your brace out. I have done it on a 90 and 120 full of water.
 
Take a 2x4 and brace the stand between one of the doors. You can remove the center brace carefully to put the sump in. Once the sump is in just replace the center board and take your brace out. I have done it on a 90 and 120 full of water.

I've done a couple systems like that.No big deal,you just have to be careful about knocking the temporary brace out before your finished.
I've also set the sump up beside the display.Which makes cleaning a lot easier.
 
M construction skill really doesn't make me feel comfortable about knocking the brace out. I am thinking about putting it next to the tank, like Yote said. Unfortunately, then I'm taking up more floor space and I think it'd look a little bad; also, I'd be losing out on the ability to put it on a reverse cycle for PH.

At work, however, we have a really good sheetmetal shop at work where they have a lot of skilled people and tools. Think it'd be possible to shrink the sump down, or is it pretty much too hard to work with once silicone is put down?
-A
 
There is a product called weldon (I think thats the name of it) thats for acrylic.It pretty much welds it back together.Silicone dont hold to good on acrylic,so I wouldnt go that route.You could end up with a busted sump and big mess.
 
you certainly can cut it. That's the beaty of acrylic is that it is very easy to cut and can be plastic welded to itself. You should consider this though, you said already that your craftsman skills are lacking. Are you sure you want to risk damaging your new sump? Your cuts need to be accurate and straight, and you need to properly finish the edges for the weld to hold. Wouldn't it be easier to enlist the help of a friend from work to remove the center brace on your stand than to cut, finish, and weld your sump? Good Luck! Let us know what you decide
 
I gotta agree with Justin.
I work sheetmetal everyday and I'm fairly confident I do about whatever I need too.
But I personally wouldnt run the risk of cutting my new sump and trying to make it smaller.There just to much that can go wrong there.
 
I ended up going to the LFS and buying another one....
I'm going to ebay off the larger one I have, unless anyone here is interested?
The guy at the LFS was really cool, the ones with a built in fuge were pretty expensive, but he made me one himself while I waited!
It's still drying, so tomorrow I'm going to buy some base rock and some live sand and get it going....
Think there's any need to put a piece of live rock from my tank in there, or should the base rock be fine? I think it'd work, just by being seeded by the water flow. Then I'm going to get a timer, a cheapo light, and some algae and hopefully I'll be all set!! Of course, I'm sure I'll run into some sort of issue..
I'll post pics when my girlfriend (she's a photographer) finally gets sick of me whining and takes some photos.

-Alex
 
Get a pic of the one you want to sale,and post it in the classiffides section.You never know,it might sale pretty quick.

Have your GF show YOU how to use that camera:D
 
Have you mentioned the fact that you handle multi-million dollar aircraft? Surely you could handle a few hundreded dollars worth of camera:mrgreen:
 
congrats on what sounds like a great setup! you better talk to that GF and get her on board. This hobby tends to be time consuming and addictive and it helps quite a bit when the woman of your life is supportive of the hobby and not jealous of the time you spend on it. All that to say...POST PICS! NOT NOW, BUT RIGHT NOW!
 
HAH, she still won't let me use it...something about the helicopter belonging to the gov't and the camera belonging to her.
She's really good with the tank, even if sometimes she does get jealous of the time I gaze over her and at the fish tank. Actually, she's been wanting a fish of her own for a while, so I brought her to the LFS with me today to pick something out. She really wanted a puffer, but I had to tell her no on that one...she ended up picking out a gorgeous fire shrimp, which is a nice addition to the tank.

Okay, I'll post some pics! Give me a lil' bit to take 'em.
 
So I'm trying to assemble my fuge still. I have a 1" bulkhead fitting on the overflow; it is threaded on the outside - what sort of connector do I need to hook it up to the hose? (not using pvc)

I went to home depot to try to find an adapter, but they were useless...
 
I used a threaded PVC coupling,then a thread to barbed adapter from the black pipe department.
I carried my bulkheads in with me and matched up what I needed.
 
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