Do It Yourself

If you mimic the layout of the Model F on my site, you will be creating three zones. The layout is Skimmer zone on the left, Refugium zone on the right, Return zone in the middle.

Make sure the baffles fit. There should be a little play. If they are snug against the walls of the aquarium, it may crack the tank. If snug, you'll need to trim off a little more acrylic from the end of each piece to achieve the proper length. Ideally, you want about 1/16" of space on each end that the silicone will fill. You can cut these on a table saw, or clamp them to a board and use a router with laminate trimming bit to trim off the fraction that needs removal.

You need enough room for the skimmer and drain pipe, then you'll put the three baffles next to that area. The baffles are marked with an arrow indicating the top rounded edge I routed for you. This is a comfort edge so you don't get cut by a sharp edge when reaching into the sump, ever.

The space between each baffle needs to be 1" and the middle baffle should be raised up 1.5" from the bottom of the tank. I prefer to do the middle baffle first. You can place a small block or two of wood under it to keep it at the right height, and use aquarium-safe silicone to secure it in place. It will take a few hours for the silicone to cure. The second baffle (on either side of the first one) needs to be 1" away, and you can glue that in next.

While those set, glue in the refugium baffle with teeth. Odds are you'll want that section to be 8" or 9" long, but ultimately that is up to you. Glue it in place with silicone.

You will have one baffle left to install, but can't do it for a few hours because of the blocks of wood holding up the "middle" baffle. So once that has had time to set and cure, then pull out the support blocks and glue in the third and final baffle, again 1" away from the middle one. Remember, 1" gap between baffles.

This is the silicone you want, sold at Home Depot in the Glues Section for $5. Made by DAP; it's Aquarium-Safe. Just use this and avoid issues using something else (unless you buy some at your local fish store.)

Working with silicone is easy. I like to use blue masking tape, affixing it next to the spot I'll be applying silicone. It takes quite a bit of prep time to get all the tape in place, but the final product looks MUCH better. Plus the tape gives you some visual guidelines as you work so everything stays nice and straight. Once prepped, place the baffle in place. It will be a little loose, but silicone will fill the void. Squeeze the tube and apply it to the joint. As soon as you're done, take your finger and run it along the joint to create a smooth finish. If you wetten your finger, that will help smooth the silicone more. In exactly 5 minutes, peel the tape away to reveal a nice clean finish. Move on to the next spot and repeat, but always remember the 5 minute rule.

The project needs to cure for 24 hours before being used with water.

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DJ88's DIY calcium reactor

melev — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 21:49:00 +0000

DJ88's DIY calcium reactor melev Tue, 11/21/2017 - 00:49

This is a very old page I compiled way back in 2004 to help organize a lengthy thread about a DIY calcium reactor. I'm reposting it because all of the included pictures, but I'm not offering up any other support or answers. This is simply documentation - learn from it, build your own, that's all up to you. :)

The purpose of a Calcium Reactor is to create a constant supply of calcium in the reef environment. Numerous corals and invertebrates use calcium to build their skeletal structure, which depletes this element from the water column. Using a two part solution once a day is an alternative, but on larger setups it is more cost effective and efficient to set up a reactor instead. Below is the latest design I came up with which has worked quite nicely. It is easier to build than typical round reactors, and hopefully you can build one for yourself as well.

This page is not designed to provide you with a model that you can copy for the purpose of reselling. It is intended for a guide for DIY'ers everywhere, to help save them a few dollars and give them the satisfaction of a job well done.

My logic for the design of this reactor is this:

I wanted to minimize fittings outside the reactor and plumbing. To do this I had to have both fittings come out of the bottom.
I also wanted to have an upflow reactor. To be able to do this I needed to draw the water in the reactor back down. Without having a stupid amount of piping inside I needed to split the chamber in two.

Easiest way to do this is exactly that. Split it in two. Doing this with a circular chamber would be a bit tricky to ensure a strong bond of all the acrylic inside. So I went and bought $25 worth of pre-cut arcylic and made it square. It turns out I had twice as much as I needed.

In one half of the reactor the water is forced up through the media and then passes over the divider and then back down to the outlet and circulation pump. The downflow area should trap any possible bits of media that were broken apart and would then possibly be sent out of the reactor as particles. Thus giving the benefits of BOTH styles of reactors currently used. To make sure that I am sending the "cleanest" possible effluent out I have built in a small diameter acrylic tube inside the downflow side to just above the outlet to the circ pump. A piece of poly tubing is then fed down to the void space between the foam and the outlet which is used as the effluent out to the tank.

Below are pictures from several angles to help you visualize the construction.

This will hold approx 1.9 gallons of media. I am guessing that one container of ARM is pretty close to a gallon. So it will hold more media in it than my old 24" high 6" diameter monstrosity reaction chamber did. All in a package that is under 17"(reaction chamber) in height. I was suprised at how much more volume that square shape holds than the cylinder. Do keep in mind that the sides of this reactor are 6.75" and not 6".

This reactor cost me under $30 for the acrylic to make it. But that is using cut offs at the local supply store. That is only using 1/2 of the acrylic I bought. I had enough pieces left to make the reaction chamber for one more. Plus purchase the pieces for a top and base(about $1 per piece in the cutoff bin). I was paying much more per foot for 6" diameter round stuff before this... I don't know why I didn't try this earlier!

Building a reactor is quite easy if you have the equipment to make all the cuts. Even without the saws etc you can still do it. Most plastics shops will do cuts for a price. Once you build one and get the idea the next one is a piece of cake. Some will say no but I think they are easy to build.

It took two containers of ARM to fill it(more than my 6" dia. monster I had built previously). The little venturi I built for the recirc/CO2 injection into the circulation pump is working fabulously! This reactor is a winner. The flow inside is great. Below is a picture of it running on my tub of LR. Well worth the effort, that is for sure. I'd say less than it was making a round one. But when you don't have a shop for making round flanges etc. Square is sure easy to do if you can get your hands on a table saw.

I use a minijet to feed tank water to the reactor. I placed a 1/4" irrigation valve immediately after the pump to control the drip rate.

All I had to do is set the flow rate, then once that is stable I set the bubble rate to about 30 per min. Then measure the alk. Once I get the alkalinity set to the levels I want by adjusting the bubble rate I then measure the pH of the effluent. Then all I use is a pH monitor to make sure nothing is changing.

Notes after 6 weeks: Running it at about 80 ml/min and 15-18 BPM. Effluent is at pH6.9 and dKh of 24. Seems the venturi for the intake of water and the recirc line is working great. Better than I expected actually. I took the BPM up to about 30 and it dropped my pH to 6.5 in short order.

I have been doing some thinking on why there is such a drastic difference between my design and a standard Ca reactor. Two things I think:

The first is the spray bar. By having the water forced into the media through several small outlets instead of one large one as most reactors have it is massively increasing the surface area contact between the CO2 laden water and the media. (don't quote me on that but it sure seems logical and reasonable)
The second is that by first forcing the water up through the media and then having an open area at the top any excess CO2 still in bubble form collects there to be re-introduced into the pump via the recirc line. Minimizing actual micro bubbles of CO2 leaving the reactor before having a chance to touch the media. The second half of the reactor aids in this by having the water again turn down and it is only after this second area of media that I remove the effluent. In effect I have created two zones in my reactor. A "dual stage" reactor within one chamber, in effect. The first is where the primary contact with the CO2 is done and the second is where any remaining CO2 is used up. With a recirc loop in between.

Construction

Acronyms for each fitting:

FPT - Female Pipe thread. Threads are on the inside of the PVC.

Slip - Standard slip fitting. No threads at all.

MPT - Male Pipe Thread. Threads on the outside of the PVC.

MPT goes into FPT.. you can attach FPT to FPT fittings with a nipple

Those three are all dealing with PVC. As well I mentioned a nipple fitting. That is a small piece(depending on how long you need it) that is entirely made up of (or just the ends if long enough) MPT. It looks like a tube that is threaded on the outside.

A John Guest fitting is a fitting that allows you to just plug in a 1/4" line without having to thread it. Slips in and locks and seals. If you take a close look at the pictures you will see where the poly line goes into the reactor at various points there are small grey fittings that the lines go into. Those are John Guest fittings.

After the acrylic reaction chamber is built -- where the PVC needed to go through the bottom pieces -- I tapped (threaded the acrylic) them and used MPT fittings to thread through them until the fitting was tight against the acrylic. Then put a FPT over the open thread which the spray bar is attached to on the outlet side. The intake side for the pump is a FPTxFPT 1/2" 90 degree elbow with a 1/2" nipple through the acrylic. To ensure a seal I ran a bead of Weld- On around the PVC. Where the PVC goes into the pump is a bit more complicated.

There is a threaded 90 in there. Into the 90 I put a 1/2" threaded barb. Onto this threaded barb I wrapped a rubber sealant tape around the barb. This taped end was threaded into a 1/2" FPTx 3/4" slipxFPT Sched 80 fitting. This was then slid into a 3/4" slipxslip fitting which has two 1/4" tapped holes for the CO2 intake/water in and the recirculation loop. Into the other side of the slipxslip fitting goes a second 1/2"FPTx3/4" slip fitting into which a 1/2" nipple goes in. Attched to that is a coupling which is threaded into the pump. Confusing huh? Below is a picture. I can't really explain it any better. Really. ;) What that whole last bit does is creates a venturi. A small one. But enough to ensure that there is suction going into the pump. This pulls water in from the recirc loop and also assists with the intake of water and CO2 to a small degree (I think).

As for construction order... here is a brief rundown:

Fit the bulkheads into the bottom, whatever you are using for bulkheads. Ensure they are in there properly so they won't leak.

Start by placing the sides of the reactor onto that base plate and bonding them as you go. This way you have the base plate to ensure a square fit. Let these dry for a while.

Then fit the spray bar onto the bulkhead that will be attached to the outlet of your circ pump.

Fit the inner baffle/divider into the reactor. glue it in place. Make the strainer plate so that it fist snugly inside and bond that in place. You should now have the shell and interior of the reactor completed.

Take a large piece of acrylic and start mounting the reactor supports to the reactor and then to this plate. The supports are the pieces I used to elevate the reactor so the fittings underneath are easy to access.

Once this is all done all you should have left is attaching the flange that glues to the reactor body.

That is it for the actual use of Weld-On.

If you take a look at the pictures on this page or in the very first few posts in the discussion thread you should get an idea of how I did it.

Diagrams

Side View

Front View

Venturi Fitting

Flow Diagram -- Where it says "recirculation in" will also be where the feed from the tank goes in. "Outlet" goes into the "Feed into Reactor" If you look at my pics you will see this.

Vinyl Tubing Explained: First set of tubing is for injecting water into the reactor from the tank. This is fed by a small pump like a mini jet or something like that into the intake of the recirculation pump. A second tube is used for the effluent returning to the tank. A third is for injecting CO2 into the reactor to decrease the pH of the reactor's water, this as well is injected into the intake of the recirculation pump so the CO2 is chooped up into finer bubbles. I have one extra tube running in mine. It is a recirculation loop that removes any excess CO2 collecting at the top of the reactor and reintroduces into the pump to be chopped up and put back into solution.

One additional step not included in these instructions nor the pictures:
Add a small square piece of acrylic to the top lid of the reactor, tapping it with the two JGF. By adding this piece, any air trapped under the reactor lid will accummulate in this smaller area, and be sucked out through the fittings.

How to start up a Calcium Reactor from scratch:

Fill it with water. Hey some people don't .. really .

Fill it as full as you can with a cup or something. Close the top up. Open up one of the fittings on top to bleed off excess air until all of it (or as much as possible is out). Use the feed pump to do this.

Seal off and start up recirc pump. Let it run for a while with the feed pump running as well. Set the effluent rate at about 100ml/min.

Once you have a steady flow rate and are satisfied all is fine(no leaks etc). Turn on the CO2. Aim for 60 BPM to start. Let it run over night.

Measure effluent alk. I aim for double what I want in my tank to start. ie 24 dKH or there abouts. Once it has settled in at the alk you want after a day or so(possibly as fast as a few hours).

Measure pH of effluent. Record this number.

Over the next few days monitor tank's alk and Ca. If they drop increase the bubble rate. This will decrease the pH of the effluent and will increase its effectiveness at keeping your levels higher.

Adjust the flow rates and CO2 rates as necessary. Repeat.

Remember this: Increasing flow rate increases pH. Increasing bubbles decreases pH. I usually aim for 6.8 to 7.0 to start and go from there.

Comments about the size of the reactor: Media is one part of the equation. Another to think about is total water volume. When you start running a high demand system or volume to be able to meet the demands you will need to replace what is taken away. In a high volume system you are going to need to have a higher volume output out of a reactor than say a reactor for a 30 gallon system. When you look at the amount a reactor generally runs for a smaller system you can expect ~ 100 ml per minute to be able to keep up to the demand (as the size of the tank's volume in comparison to the turnover through the reactor isnt too bad). But if you were to try and run 100 ml/min on say a 300 gallon tank you'd not be able to keep up with the demand. in a 30 gallon system 100ml/min is about .9% turnover per minute. In a 300 gallon system 100 ml/min is .09% or ten times lower. With ten times the tank volume you aren't going to be able to work it.

Now where I was going with this is that to meet this higher need to achieve those results as far as effluent rate you are going to not only need more media but more water volume as you are going to be turning over the volume of the reactor at a much faster rate. By this I mean to achieve the same percentage turnover that meets a 30 gallon tanks demands you are most likely going to need a similar rate(most likely less but) for a similarly stocked tank(how full it is not how many corals it has total). To get that percentage of what is needed you are going to be pushing a higher flow rate through. It may not need to be ten times as high but it will most likely be higher. And so you aren't pushing a ton of unused CO2 into the tank you'll want to have a smiliarly larger reactor volume so that the CO2 has time to be consumed.

For a while you will be able to just keep boosting the CO2 rate and flow rate. But after a while it will be counterproductive by increasing the amount of CO2 entering the system.

In a nutshell-- to meet the needs of a larger system media is one thing you will need more of, reactor water volume is another.

Is it worth it? If you are running a system that has a high Ca demand like I have in the past these reactors are worth thier weight in gold in my opinion and in my experience. Have you ever tried to dose two part solutions for a fully stocked tank? If you have, you'll understand why this is such a time saver and money saver! It costs me about $20 to fill my 10lb CO2 tank a year, maybe. Less now with this reactor I am betting. That $20 wouldn't even have gotten me one month's worth of additives for dosing. The build cost of this reactor for all my acrylic was around $35-45. I bought off cuts (or drop). Total outlay for this reactor... and additional equipment? Umm say $300CDN. To automate my system with this piece of equipment so I can leave it run on it's own.. I can't calculate how valuable that is.

The CO2 decreases the pH in the reactor to a level that the Calcium Carbonate based media breaks down and dissolves into solution for use in your tank. Basically to replace what is used by corals and other creatures and plants to grow and thrive.

After a few months of operation, a few more comments:

Well after having my feed and return lines continually blocked by algae growth. I took the advice listed elsewhere in this thread and wrapped the lines in heat shrink tubing. Works great. Nice Red colour too. Hasn't blocked up or had any growth problems since.

Another slight change I made was running the CO2 on its own into the venturi with the Recirc loop running into the other input on the venturi and the feed pump T'd into the recirc line.

Still running a very low bubble rate. Somewhere about 15-20. Don't really pay attention to it right now. Setting up my new tank. Getting good coralline growth in the tub. Hopefully it continues in the new tank.

Over the last number of months I have noticed that my CO2 rated had to be slowly increased to keep my pH at the level I like. Turns out a check valve that I had after my bubble counter had become slowly blocked, thus not allowing CO2 to pass. Put a new one in two days ago. I am now back at ~15 BPM or so and the pH is back at 7.0. So word to the wise.. keep an eye on those check valves. Even the ones not dealing with water.

The upflow side of the reactor uses up media more quickly than the downside. By moving the divider slightly to increase the size of the upflow side (thus decreasing the downflow side), the media should be consumed more equally.

Costs? These are estimates:

$35 for the acrylic. (scrap bin cutoffs as I said)
$15 for PVC fittings.
$80 for pump(orignally MAG 3 I traded for an EHEIM1250)
$20 for misc John Guest fittings, glue etc.
Also needed: 10g CO2 tank, Regulator, Needle Valve, ARM media, Vinyl Tubing.

Darren's CO2 gauges

I found ReeferMadness.com has a gauge with solenoid, to shut off CO2 in the event of power failure.

Send a PM to DJ88 on Reef Central

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DIY Overflow Box (Weir)

melev — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 00:51:00 +0000

DIY Overflow Box (Weir) melev Mon, 11/20/2017 - 03:51

You need to break out the Yellow Pages and look up "plastics"... call one up that seems near you, and ask if they sell AcryLite to the public. Most do. You want acrylic, not plexiglas - the stuff Home Depot sells. Plexiglas ages, turns yellow, gets brittle, and cracks. Acrylic is harder, and you can buy various thicknesses.

For an overflow box, 1/8" is ideal. I built mine out of clear acrylic, and I can see if any problems develop and make sure all is well. Being clear, I see when a fish or a crab or a snail climbs in (all three have), and I've seen copepods walking around in there (which was cool). The BAD thing is that it loves to grow algae in it, and it is rather annoying to clean out. I clean it about once a month, and pull out some thick matted hair algae that definitely restricts the flow.

Ideally, you'd want to build it out of black acrylic, which costs a little bit more (a few dollars at most), but if it is black, you can't tell if something is in it, if it is losing suction, or anything. If you could somehow build some type of shade to keep your lights off of it, it might help. I have a couple of pieces of black acrylic, and I've been thinking about making a shield to lay over it to help reduce the algae thing, only because it is a pain.

I don't remove it to clean it, I simply bend a flexible brush to fit, and work it back and forth. Takes about 20 mins once a month.

The plastic is bent by heating it over a propane torch. As it begins to give, keep applying heat and fold the plastic gently. Don't rush it or it can crack (break). Don't overheat it too much or the plastic will get a bunch of bubbles. Just take your time, and use your judgement when you think it is getting too hot. You can pull it away from the flame and let the plastic cool down for half a minute or so... It is really easy once you get started.

Here are the specs for you. I'll try to be specific, but ask more questions if you have any trouble understanding them.

You want the inner portion to hang down inside the tank below the water level. I like my water to be right at the brim, just below the plastic frame that caps my tank that the glass lids used to sit in. Then I added the additional height to get it up over the plastic trim. That total was 3". So 2" is underwater, with water pouring into the chamber.

I'm recommending you put the outer portion lower than the inner one, by maybe an extra inch. Mine works fine, but I'm guessing that extra fall only could help matters.

To assure there was enough flow, I made the overflow chamber (the upside down "u" area) 1/2" gap at all times. You might prefer 3/4" to assure volume. I think going larger would be detrimental to keeping the weir primed. Remember, that would be 3/4" x 7" wide.... which should really be plenty.

The main piece is built with 4 pieces of plastic. The first one is a 7" x 22.5". This is the breakdown, where the folds would go: 2" , 2.5" , 3" , 1" , 4" , 5" , 5"

I marked these with a Sharpie, but as I heated the plastic, the marks faded. I used a straight piece of wood as my surface to bend the plastic. After each fold, I put the piece on its side, to make sure things were still square. It was an eyeball job, nothing precise.

The first fold you have to make is the 1" fold, or center. This is the one that fits over the side of your tank, so you want that to be right. Then the other folds work nicely. One thing to watch out for is too much heat. It can make bubbles appear in the plastic, but it isn't a disastrous thing. I kept the piece moving over the heat - back and forth - as the plastic became pliable. As you make your folds, you might notice the very edge on the 90 degree angles flaring out a tad. If you can prevent this, it will make glueing the sides on easier. I didn't sweat this small stuff, but sanding can help take some of that off as well.

After you've made this piece, you need to make the inverted "U". That is a piece that is 7" x 9.5" The folds are: 3" , 2.5" , 4". I drilled a small hole in top (at what I considered to be the highest point where air might collect) and inserted a 1" piece of rigid tubing that I glued in place. Remember, it only goes in a tiny amount, as close to the inner surface area as possible so you don't have air collecting around this tube. Btw, gluing on this piece is the last thing you do, after everything else is done.

Your side pieces will be approx 9" x 6"... maybe a tad larger. I glued them on, and then used a router to cut them to shape. It was a 3/8" straight bit with a ball-bearing guide. The guide comes on the better-made (more expensive) bits, and will roll along the edge of the overflow box as the excess material is trimmed off.

I used Weld-On #16 to assemble the pieces. I glued the big "w" piece to one side, holding it firmly in place for about 30 seconds. Then I put my "U" piece in place visually, and traced the outline with a pen. After taking the "U" out of the way, I ran a bead of glue, and quickly put that piece in place. To do the other side is a little more complicated, because you'll have to trace both parts onto that plastic, run two beads of glue and assemble it quickly.

Give it a day to cure. Then test it in your sink. Fill water on both sides, stick a piece of airline tubing on the rigid piece, and suck the air out. Clamp down on the tube with your teeth or fold it, and watch your box VERY carefully to see if you have any air bubbles leaking into the unit, or water dripping out/off of it. If you do, dry it off and put more glue in that area. You should be able to pinpoint a problem area by visually inspecting the joints extra carefully. I had one problem spot that I reglued 3 times. Finally I took a large drill bit to that spot, leaving a hollowed out 'v' to fill it with plenty of glue. Problem solved.

Gee, I hope I've not scared you with all this information. It really isn't hard, just a little challenging. But I thought it was fun, and people are impressed when I tell them I made it myself. Makes me feel like a die-hard hobbiest. grin

The last piece you need to glue in would be a small divider. 7" x 2" tall in the outer section. This is important, as it is the only thing that keeps your weir from sucking air back into itself. Just glue it in place about 3/4" to 1" from the inverted "U".... please look at mine closely again if that doesn't seem clear enough.

The drain is a 1" bulkhead I bought from MarineDepot.com. (I drilled the hole in the center of the box. I think it was 2 3/8" - Your new bulkhead should be labeled to tell you what size to drill.) It is smooth inside, threaded outside. I was able to add that 90 degree elbow that you see in the next picture to avoid the slurping sounds. It just sits there - it isn't glued.

Like I said, it's pretty easy to build. I think it took about 30 minutes to bend and glue it together, after my pieces were cut out. That took maybe 10 minutes.

If you hate your first one, do like I did and make another one that is better than the first.

Due to a number of emails about this project, let me add a few more thoughts:

I don't make these for others. I made a couple for myself, because like any DIY project, it needs to be tweaked to my specific needs. If I can help you solve an issue, feel free to contact me.

I did make a black shield to fit over my weir snugly. There is no picture of it because #1) it isn't much to see, and #2) it's ugly. ;) You can't see it since it is within my canopy, but it creates the perfect dark condition to avoid any algae growth in the overflow section at all. I've not had to clean it once since the shield was installed over 6 months ago.

I switched the airline tubing to black. You can get it as irrigation tubing from Home Depot. Using black, it again prevented algae from growing inside of it and creating blockage. Where does it lead? It runs from the top of the overflow chamber to the intake of a MaxiJet 1200. I pushed it up through the basket/screen to always pull out any air that might accumulate in the weir and blow it out into the tank.

It works 95% of the time without issue. When for some reason I do get a ton of air in there, I pull off the basket, push the hose back into the intake, and use my finger to block the rest of the intake opening. This forces the pump to suck everything it can through my airline tubing, clearing out all the air in the weir. It is a lazy solution, but occasionally I have to do so.

How do I know when the weir has some unwanted air in it? When my surface isn't pristine and stuff seems to be clouding or floating there. At that point, I check the weir and do the above.

Here are some pictures of the weir being routed once glued, to give you some visuals of the process.

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Simple Sump Assembly

melev — Sat, 11 Nov 2017 13:37:05 +0000

Simple Sump Assembly melev Sat, 11/11/2017 - 16:37

If you want to try your hand at building your own sump, I'd recommend doing something small at first. Take your time and do a good job so the floors stay dry. If you opt to build something big, make sure you know what thickness of material you need to use before you start construction. Here's a simple sump based on the Model A that I used under my 29g reef years ago.

It is made of 1/4" AcryLite (Acrylic), and glued (bonded) together with Weld-On #4. Weld-On actually melts the acrylic into one piece, so it is important to use it the full length of any joint, and watch out for bubbles / air pockets. Silicone will not work, because it can't adhere to acrylic like it can to glass.

I measured the opening in my stand, and figured I could fit a retangle 22L x 14D x 12T (all in inches). After I knew the exact size of each piece, I cut them all on my little Black&Decker table saw, with a 7 1/4" circular saw blade with 80 teeth. Raise the blade as high as you can, so that as you push the acrylic through the blade, only the teeth will touch the material at the front and back edges of the blade, reducing any melting of the plastic. Also, leave the protective paper on the acrylic for as long as possible, even during most of the gluing stages (except the bubble trap, because you will have no room to remove it later).

Peel back a little of the protective paper along the edges you are about to glue. This will also prevent getting glue on areas where you don't want it. Each joint MUST be glued together horizontally, so put the first piece on a smooth level surface, and position the next piece where it goes. Using Weld-On #4, wick the solvent into the seam (or joint) with a needle-tip applicator . Specifics about tools

Adding each piece in place, it bonds nicely. Remember to anticipate the sizes of the pieces. Example: My tank is 12" tall. But with each wall being 12" tall, once they are glued on the base, the sump becomes 12 1/4" tall. In this case, the four walls would need to be 11.5" tall, because when you add your base and the top flange, it will be 12" total. The side or end pieces need to be smaller to fit.. With the front and back pieces on the top of the base, the side pieces would be 11.5" wide, to accomodate the 1/4" for the front piece, and 1/4" for the back piece.

Btw, since my sump was small, and had a bubble trap in the center to help hold it together, it doesn't bow outward. However, I decided to glue an extra piece on the top as well, to keep it strong. You might decide to got with 3/8" thick material, or thicker.. It gets more expensive, but it will remain rigid and avoid bowing.

The plastic shop where I bought the stuff could make my cuts for me, but for the price they charged, I was able to purchase a full 4'x8' piece instead, and had extra for future projects.

I decided I wanted my reef tank to drain into a small area of the refugium. It's only 4"x5"x10" tall, and filled it with LR rubble to control the air bubbles. I routed (straight 3/8" Laminate Trimming bit) small openings on both sides of this column, but of course water also goes out over the top of this section. That doesn't cause any problems for me. I still have nice, smooth, calm circulation in my refugium area, even though my tank & sump are cycling 10 times per hour.

After this was assembled, I let it stand for 24 hours before even attempting to add water to it. Then I filled it all the way up, and left it for another 24 hours, to see if it would spring a leak. It didn't, and I was ecstatic. Then I went on a 10 day vacation, so it had lots of time for the glue to cure. After 24 hours, you can route the edges around the sump to create clean smooth corners.

If you look closely at the Model A sump, you can see the triple baffle bubble trap in the center. Your first piece goes to the floor. The next one should be raised up about 1" from the floor of the sump, and then third one goes back to the floor of the sump. I solved my mistake by adding a 4th baffle, which took up a little more space in the return area, but all is well.

Depending on the size of the sump/refugium you want to build, try to leave enough room for several gallons of water to be in the return area. Mine holds approximately 4 gallons to the top of that section, but I only keep about 3 gallons in there. As evaporation occurs, that section will gradually lower, and I'm topping it off with a gallon of fresh RO/DI every other day. So if you have the space, increase that section to hold as much as 10 gallons or more, so you don't have to watch it as closely, and can take a 3 or 5 day vacation without worrying. Or build an automatic top-off system to replenish the water each day. :)

Click for DIY plans to build your own overflow, including description.

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Make a Sump using a 20g Long

melev — Sat, 11 Nov 2017 12:46:08 +0000

Make a Sump using a 20g Long melev Sat, 11/11/2017 - 15:46

Do It Yourself sump using glass or acrylic baffles: Building your own sump using a glass tank isn't hard, nor does it have to be expensive.

Many hobbyists choose to use a glass aquarium, and then insert 1/4" (glass or acrylic) baffles, bonding these into place.

Below is merely an example. You may tailor the design to your particular needs and space.

Prior Layout: The 20g Long aquarium above had some baffles wedged in place to stop microbubbles, but the layout needed improvement. You can't see the return pump, which is hidden behind the macro algae. The sand could very likely be sucked into that pump as well. The skimmer's output was pointed into the bubble trap.

The flow of this sump is from right to left, entering near the protein skimmer, flowing through multiple baffles and then pumped back up to the tank.

Updated: This is the same sump, modified only slightly and yet far more effective. Baffles were cut to fit, and glued in place with aquarium-safe silicone. Silicone does not bond with acrylic, but will bond with glass. In this application, the silicone acts more like a wedge than a true bond, as it adheres to the glass walls of the tank. If strength is an issue, use glass baffles instead. I recommend getting 1/4" glass cut at your local glass shop because it should be strong enough for this application. Windowpane glass (1/8" thick) is too thin and brittle. Have the glass shop polish the edges so you don't get cut while building your sump, as well as any time you need to reach into it for any reason in the future.

In the second picture above, you can see the return pump is after a small acrylic divider. This keeps the sand out of the pump and in the refugium section. By using eggcrate as a divider, the return section is enlarged to include the refugium section. As evaporation occurs, the refugium will become more shallow by the hour, so an automatic top-off device would be wise in this specific layout.

The tank drains into the first section on the right. The skimmer's output is in that first section, preventing microbubbles from passing through the rest of the sump. The bubble trap (the triple baffles) between the skimmer section and the refugium section assures this as well. Water flows over-under-over through the bubble trap. The third baffle (making up the right side of the refugium) has teeth to keep the snails in that section and out of the skimmer zone.

The item to the far right next to the sump is a Waste Collector for the protein skimmer.

Eggcrate is the white material you see above, and this is sold as Lighting Diffuser at Home Depot & Lowes. A 2' x 4' piece will cost $10. Aquarium-safe silicone is available at Home Depot for $5 near the glue in the Paint Department. Click the thumbnail above to see the Dap silicone product.

This sump still has enough empty space to hold any water that drains when the return pump is off. When you design your sump, you must make allowances for this water, or the sump will overflow.

The jug on top of the eggcrate is filled with one gallon of kalkwasser, which is dripped into the sump over time. The small black object is the light for the refugium zone, to encourage growth from the macro algae.

The black object above the sump that has tubing connected is a SCWD device. As water passes through it, water will flow out one side at a time, switching back and forth every 7 or 8 seconds.

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