Acrylic Work

Sisterlimonpot · 05/20/2018, 08:22 PM

I'm finally getting closer to getting water in this 300g.

.

With the help of a local hobbyist Bill aka SawCJack00, we designed this sump to accommodate all my equipment. The outer dimensions measure 60"x24"x14.5" (roughly 90g) Then I made my way down to port plastics and purchased the necessary acrylic to do the job.

I have a laser machine that will make designs in the acrylic, in which, I had fun with all the different baffle designs

I still have 5 removable baffles to cut, they're going to all be slightly different.

My wife helped me cut the 4x8 sheets to manageable sizes and then I was off cutting all the pieces needed. Shortly after, I was able to dry fit everything to see how it was going to fit together.

Sisterlimonpot · 05/20/2018, 08:22 PM

Then I started peeling back a bit of the protective mask and glued panels on.... one at a time.... this process easily took 3 days to glue... one piece, let cure, and glue another wash, rinse, repeat.

After everything was in place and cured, my daughter helped move this beast outside for a leak test

I filled each section up letting it sit for roughly an hour to check for the less important internal leaks until all chambers were full.

Topped it of and let it sit for the rest of the day

No leaks.... moving on...

Peeled off all the masking to reveal the beauty within. again my daughter helped me put it in place

Sisterlimonpot · 05/20/2018, 08:23 PM

Added the removable filter sock holder

All the vertical pieces that you see are for the removable baffles allowing me to make different size chambers for things like chaeto, siporax, GFO etc...

And of course everything looks better under blue light, why not a dry sump??

It's a horseshoe design, water drains into the front right, travels to the left through what will be the siporax chamber, then the chaeto chamber. On the far left there is the skimmer section, which is where the water switched back to the right, next section is another adjustable chamber that can be baffled off for what ever I need it to be. And finally through the bubble trap and back up to the tank.

Hope you enjoyed this thread, I was inspired to do this because of the $1500 price tag that it would have cost to make a custom sump such as this one. Being retired, I have more time than money... so the decision was easy...

Sisterlimonpot · 05/20/2018, 08:27 PM

Oh and I also made this side by side 1 gallon chambers for my future auto water change system

Had to embellish the front with laser cut windows and laser etched graduation marks.

woodwrangler · 05/20/2018, 09:28 PM

WOW, Impressive!!
Awesome work 👍

drtrash · 05/21/2018, 06:39 PM

Great job

Sisterlimonpot · 05/21/2018, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodwrangler

WOW, Impressive!!
Awesome work 👍

Quote:

Originally Posted by drtrash

Great job

Thanks Guys! I'm about to glue together the ghost weir and external box.... The work never seems to end

reefstew · 05/22/2018, 07:07 AM

You have a lot of talent.

Sisterlimonpot · 05/22/2018, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefstew

You have a lot of talent.

Thanks, I now understand why these acrylic guys charge so much for sumps, reservoirs etc. There's a lot of work that goes into these things.

Here's the coast to coast porting of my ghost weir, I still have to polish the edges...

I had to put the bulk heads inside before I glued the final panel on

Today i'll be tackling the outside portion of the ghost weir, all the pieces are cut and drilled. Just need to create a water tight box... hehe

jporter · 05/22/2018, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefstew

You have a lot of talent.

Yes, I would agree. This looks as good or better than anything I've seen from the big shops. Pretty cool that it'll be one-of-a-kind as well. Great job! JP

Sisterlimonpot · 05/22/2018, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jporter

Yes, I would agree. This looks as good or better than anything I've seen from the big shops. Pretty cool that it'll be one-of-a-kind as well. Great job! JP

I think there's a lot to be said about be having a hobbyist do the work as opposed to someone that just does acrylic work. We know where to focus our attention and where certain things should go for compatibility.

I finished the outside box,

which concludes the acrylic work. If you would like to follow along on the build check out my build thread

Mebeknob · 05/29/2018, 08:25 PM

It all looks awesome! Who did the CNC work for you?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sisterlimonpot · 05/29/2018, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mebeknob

It all looks awesome! Who did the CNC work for you?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I did, I have a laser etcher. It makes for some fun projects.

Mebeknob · 05/29/2018, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sisterlimonpot

I did, I have a laser etcher. It makes for some fun projects.

I’m a little jealous now!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sisterlimonpot · 05/31/2018, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mebeknob

I’m a little jealous now!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, we had one at my work that I used all the time and when I retired I had to purchase my own....

It comes in handy for acrylic, but I think that the money could've been spent on a decent 3D printer instead...

Mebeknob · 05/31/2018, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sisterlimonpot

Yeah, we had one at my work that I used all the time and when I retired I had to purchase my own....

It comes in handy for acrylic, but I think that the money could've been spent on a decent 3D printer instead...

I worked in the 3D printer industry for a little bit and they can be pretty amazing. Also very finicky and difficult at times. I think I would start with a CNC router over a laser cutter or 3D printer though.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sisterlimonpot · 06/01/2018, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mebeknob

I worked in the 3D printer industry for a little bit and they can be pretty amazing. Also very finicky and difficult at times. I think I would start with a CNC router over a laser cutter or 3D printer though.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've never worked with a 3D printer but I have heard that they can prove to be a pain.

a CNC router with 3 axis control would be nice as well, the only downside would be that you're prevented from making complex strictures like these:

Each has there pros and cons, although it would be nice to have 1 of each, I personally can't justify it...

Sisterlimonpot · 06/06/2018, 06:49 PM

Made a siporax tray

Slides right into the sump right after the filter socks

Sisterlimonpot · 06/06/2018, 06:50 PM

Sorry,

Held together with these nylon sex bolts for easy maintenance

AZReef13 · 06/20/2018, 07:59 AM

This is trully an amazing build. Awesome Job...

Sisterlimonpot · 06/20/2018, 12:13 PM

Thanks you for the kind words, I just finished up the ATO

Edges could've used a good polish,

dvu · 06/20/2018, 02:19 PM

Hi Jim. How do you clean up and square the edges? I’ve always experienced tapering at the edges when I laser acrylic. Which over time, mine fails under pressure over time. BTW very nice work.

dvu · 06/20/2018, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvu

Hi Jim. How do you clean up and square the edges? I’ve always experienced tapering at the edges when I laser acrylic. Which over time, mine fails under pressure. BTW very nice work.

Sisterlimonpot · 06/20/2018, 04:54 PM

There's definitely a slight taper to the material after cutting it and there's a few ways to square it up. One easy way is to use a jointer or a router table. I have both and for ease I use the jointer because it's right there and ready to go. As far as the router, most tables will have an option to use it as a jointer, they usually come with spacers to go on one side of the fence to allow a perfectly straight edge by removing either 1/16" or 1/8" at a time. The router bit would have to be a straight carbide bit long enough for the material thickness.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages, the router allows you to lay your sheet down on the table as cut a square edge and opposed to the jointer, you have to keep the sheet flush on the fence otherwise you have anomalies in your edge. As mentioned the ease of the jointer makes squaring material easy because I use my router for many different things, it's hard to keep it in the configuration for jointing acrylic.

Another way is what most acrylic guys do if they're mass producing pieces is to use the laser to cut out templates and then use the templates to make exact replicas with a flush trim router bit and table.

I wouldn't necessarily agree that the tapered edge would yield failure down the line if done correctly. One thing that is lost on most people is the fact that weld on isn't an adhesive. It actually liquefies the acrylic to be joined and bonds the two pieces as one. One thing that I discovered is that you have to provide a gap between the 2 pieces (I use acupuncture needles) and allow the weld on to do it's job. once it had enough time to liquefy the joint, I remove the needles and lightly clamp the pieces to remove any air bubbles. If you do that correctly then what was once a taper has now oosed out providing a complete surface bond.

Frick · 06/20/2018, 09:32 PM

Nice build. I have 3D printer at the office but I wish we have a laser etcher.

05/20/2018, 08:22 PM	#1
Sisterlimonpot R.C. Fraternity President Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Litchfeild Park AZ Posts: 11,490 Blog Entries: 2	Acrylic Work I'm finally getting closer to getting water in this 300g. . With the help of a local hobbyist Bill aka SawCJack00, we designed this sump to accommodate all my equipment. The outer dimensions measure 60"x24"x14.5" (roughly 90g) Then I made my way down to port plastics and purchased the necessary acrylic to do the job. I have a laser machine that will make designs in the acrylic, in which, I had fun with all the different baffle designs I still have 5 removable baffles to cut, they're going to all be slightly different. My wife helped me cut the 4x8 sheets to manageable sizes and then I was off cutting all the pieces needed. Shortly after, I was able to dry fit everything to see how it was going to fit together. __________________ Jimmy MASVC President Dishes are done man! Current Tank Info: 300 in progress

05/20/2018, 08:22 PM	#2
Sisterlimonpot R.C. Fraternity President Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Litchfeild Park AZ Posts: 11,490 Blog Entries: 2	Then I started peeling back a bit of the protective mask and glued panels on.... one at a time.... this process easily took 3 days to glue... one piece, let cure, and glue another wash, rinse, repeat. After everything was in place and cured, my daughter helped move this beast outside for a leak test I filled each section up letting it sit for roughly an hour to check for the less important internal leaks until all chambers were full. Topped it of and let it sit for the rest of the day No leaks.... moving on... Peeled off all the masking to reveal the beauty within. again my daughter helped me put it in place __________________ Jimmy MASVC President Dishes are done man! Current Tank Info: 300 in progress

05/20/2018, 08:23 PM	#3
Sisterlimonpot R.C. Fraternity President Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Litchfeild Park AZ Posts: 11,490 Blog Entries: 2	Added the removable filter sock holder All the vertical pieces that you see are for the removable baffles allowing me to make different size chambers for things like chaeto, siporax, GFO etc... And of course everything looks better under blue light, why not a dry sump?? It's a horseshoe design, water drains into the front right, travels to the left through what will be the siporax chamber, then the chaeto chamber. On the far left there is the skimmer section, which is where the water switched back to the right, next section is another adjustable chamber that can be baffled off for what ever I need it to be. And finally through the bubble trap and back up to the tank. Hope you enjoyed this thread, I was inspired to do this because of the $1500 price tag that it would have cost to make a custom sump such as this one. Being retired, I have more time than money... so the decision was easy... __________________ Jimmy MASVC President Dishes are done man! Current Tank Info: 300 in progress

05/20/2018, 08:27 PM	#4
Sisterlimonpot R.C. Fraternity President Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Litchfeild Park AZ Posts: 11,490 Blog Entries: 2	Oh and I also made this side by side 1 gallon chambers for my future auto water change system Had to embellish the front with laser cut windows and laser etched graduation marks. __________________ Jimmy MASVC President Dishes are done man! Current Tank Info: 300 in progress

05/20/2018, 09:28 PM	#5
woodwrangler Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Chandler, AZ Posts: 804	WOW, Impressive!! Awesome work 👍 __________________ "Dream * Design * Build" Current Tank Info: 125 Rimless LeeMar - 48"x30"x20"

05/21/2018, 06:39 PM	#6
drtrash Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: S. Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 2,178	Great job

05/22/2018, 07:07 AM	#8
reefstew Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Phoenix ,Az Posts: 1,608	You have a lot of talent.

05/29/2018, 08:25 PM	#12
Mebeknob Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 123	It all looks awesome! Who did the CNC work for you? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

06/06/2018, 06:49 PM	#18
Sisterlimonpot R.C. Fraternity President Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Litchfeild Park AZ Posts: 11,490 Blog Entries: 2	Made a siporax tray Slides right into the sump right after the filter socks __________________ Jimmy MASVC President Dishes are done man! Current Tank Info: 300 in progress

06/06/2018, 06:50 PM	#19
Sisterlimonpot R.C. Fraternity President Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Litchfeild Park AZ Posts: 11,490 Blog Entries: 2	Sorry, Held together with these nylon sex bolts for easy maintenance __________________ Jimmy MASVC President Dishes are done man! Current Tank Info: 300 in progress

06/20/2018, 07:59 AM	#20
AZReef13 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Goodyear, AZ Posts: 277	This is trully an amazing build. Awesome Job...

06/20/2018, 12:13 PM	#21
Sisterlimonpot R.C. Fraternity President Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Litchfeild Park AZ Posts: 11,490 Blog Entries: 2	Thanks you for the kind words, I just finished up the ATO Edges could've used a good polish, __________________ Jimmy MASVC President Dishes are done man! Current Tank Info: 300 in progress

06/20/2018, 02:19 PM	#22
dvu Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Gilbert Posts: 351	Hi Jim. How do you clean up and square the edges? I’ve always experienced tapering at the edges when I laser acrylic. Which over time, mine fails under pressure over time. BTW very nice work.

06/20/2018, 04:54 PM	#24
Sisterlimonpot R.C. Fraternity President Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Litchfeild Park AZ Posts: 11,490 Blog Entries: 2	There's definitely a slight taper to the material after cutting it and there's a few ways to square it up. One easy way is to use a jointer or a router table. I have both and for ease I use the jointer because it's right there and ready to go. As far as the router, most tables will have an option to use it as a jointer, they usually come with spacers to go on one side of the fence to allow a perfectly straight edge by removing either 1/16" or 1/8" at a time. The router bit would have to be a straight carbide bit long enough for the material thickness. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, the router allows you to lay your sheet down on the table as cut a square edge and opposed to the jointer, you have to keep the sheet flush on the fence otherwise you have anomalies in your edge. As mentioned the ease of the jointer makes squaring material easy because I use my router for many different things, it's hard to keep it in the configuration for jointing acrylic. Another way is what most acrylic guys do if they're mass producing pieces is to use the laser to cut out templates and then use the templates to make exact replicas with a flush trim router bit and table. I wouldn't necessarily agree that the tapered edge would yield failure down the line if done correctly. One thing that is lost on most people is the fact that weld on isn't an adhesive. It actually liquefies the acrylic to be joined and bonds the two pieces as one. One thing that I discovered is that you have to provide a gap between the 2 pieces (I use acupuncture needles) and allow the weld on to do it's job. once it had enough time to liquefy the joint, I remove the needles and lightly clamp the pieces to remove any air bubbles. If you do that correctly then what was once a taper has now oosed out providing a complete surface bond. __________________ Jimmy MASVC President Dishes are done man! Current Tank Info: 300 in progress

06/20/2018, 09:32 PM	#25
Frick AZ FRAG President Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: TempE, AZ Posts: 4,312	Nice build. I have 3D printer at the office but I wish we have a laser etcher. __________________ Jason Frick "Polyp Whisperer"