Refugium

[sirhelm]

Hello all,

I am considering adding a refugium to my current 30 gallon sump. I was thinking of 1 of 2 things

1) Buying some acrylic and cutting it to make a small fuge
2) Buying some sort of in sump fuge system.

If I went with # 1 where is a good place to get some small acrylic or glass sheets? Also what do you use to cut Acrylic and/or glass?


If I went with # 2 what do they make out there? I know you can get an HOB aqua fuge, so I may look at them, but I would prefer an inline in sump type if fuge (acrylic box with in and out that the water could flow thru)

Any ideas would be great.

Thanks

SH

[lukasnca]

I think that you can go to a place like TAP plastics -- they should be able to cut it for you.

[sirhelm]

Hi lukansca,

Do you know what they would charge?

Thanks

SH

[lukasnca]

They have prices on their website:

http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=334&

I think that they'll cut it for free but don't quote me on that.

[sirhelm]

Cool! Thanks for the link.

SH

[Vincerama2]

For other acrylic working tips, check out the DIY forum

V

[Mekong]

You could also use a rubbermaid bin for a fuge, just plumb it in.

I used a 55g old scratched up acrylic tank.

[sirhelm]

Hi Mekong,

I thought about doing that, however not enough room in the stand. I could hide it outside at the rear, however I think for now, I would like to keep everything inside the sump to reduce the chances of leaking etc..

Thanks

SH

[Bamm Bamm]

I was going to build a tank the other day would've only been 20 gallons and the acrylcit o build it from tap was going to be about$240..OUCH..... You can always buy an acrylic or glass sump and add baffle/partitions.. I have a 40g I'm partitioning off for my next sump..

[sirhelm]

Yeah I am leaning towards buying a 4X6 sheet for 20.00bucks at tap plastics and then getting them to cut a couple of partitions/baffles. Then using "generous" amounts of silicon or acrylic bond to create it.

However, I am still looking at used HOB or inline fuges for the right price.

Materials are cheap, but my time isn't.... well it is... but I am too lazy.. LOL

SH

[Bamm Bamm]

What size do they have a 4x6sheet for $20 in?? That's cheap... I'd buy a sheet of 3/8" for $20..

[lukasnca]

This place seems to carry cheaper acrylic:

http://www.modernplastics.com/plasticscarry.htm

I wonder how much the stuff at home depot costs...

[sfsuphysics]

Well tapplastics does not have anything that cheap, they have 2'x4' of 1/16" acrylic for $20, not 4x6

But yikes $240 to build it, I wonder how much of it is material how much is labor.

[johnvlahos]

The last time I was in TAP - they had a bin of odd acrylic scraps. They were cheap and I was lucky enough to find what I needed for an overflow I was building. You never know.....

jv

[lukasnca]

That's a good idea... I've been thinking about building on of those HOB fuges for my nano. The small ones are $130+.

[Vincerama2]

Yeah, there is no way Tap sells plastic that cheap. I think I had a piece of 3/8" 12x12 cut and it was 6 bucks or something like that .

Each Tap handles it's scrap differently. For instance, the one in Mountain View has a bin and each piece is 50 cents, in San Mateo, they have the same thing BUT each piece of scrap is cut to 8"x8", so you don't get the big pieces, and in San Francisco, each piece of scrap has it's own price. So, I prefer the Mountain View Tap, though sometimes I like the precut SQUARE 8 inch pieces from San Mateo. I think for larger pieces of scrap, all 3 Tap's individually price them.

A HOB fuge, if you are patient and pick thorugh the bins shouldn't cost you more than 5 bucks worth of scrap.

(NOTE: If you DO pay for cut pieces, they will often throw in a few scrap pieces, just ask for them to practice on)

V

[bookfish]

The TAP in San Leandro charges by the pound for scraps.-Jim

[lukasnca]

How big do the scraps get?

[Bamm Bamm]

THE TAP IN dUBLIN CHARGES BY THE THICKNESS. like $0.50-$0.75 per piece.. I picked up a bunch of scrap there I actually picked up two sheets of 18"x6' smoked extruded acrylic in 3/8" for $15 each when I was there=) I made a small little acrylic tank to place my calcium reactor and pump in Just in case it leaks on me=)... Also I'm planning on using the extruded to partition off my 40g acrylic sump.. Scraps from my expierence are usually smallish.. Basically sizes they can't use. like 6-15"x6x20".. I iddn't find any scraps that were big enough to partition my sump...

[jedininja]

It would be much cheaper to find a used acrylic/plexi tank from CL and go to tap plastics to buy sheets to make the baffles with.

[sfsuphysics]

Dan, you picked up a piece 18 inches by 6 feet for $15?

[Bamm Bamm]

Yep...=) Extruded polypropylene actually I used one sheet to make a small tank to hold the calcium reactor in case of a leak.. and the other sheet is awaiting me hacking it up in my garage=).. Yeah I saw them leaning against the wall by the register and in magic marker they said $15.. So I asked if they were scrap and got the yes so of course i had to buy a few... Still ended up spending over $100 though since I bought more scraps and a Acrylic Blade for my table saw...


Sir Helm.... Hey I just wanted to say it was great meeting you saturday.. I actually was the guy that came up stairs and sat ont he table by you and the other guy with the red ice chest before the meeting started. Sorry i didn't formally introduce myself...

[sirhelm]

Ahhh.... now I know who you are! I was wondering if I had missed you.

Well it was cool meeting you as well. You have also been one of the many who have helped me out in the past!

SH

[Bamm Bamm]

I always try to help out a fellow reefer however I can.. I should've introduced myself but I was kinda just there adn trying to somewhat keep a low profile...LOL...

[sirhelm]

LOL......

I had a good time at the meeting.

Didn't win a thing in the raffle :mad2: .....

Poor me...... just wanted to win... would have given the frags away (as the 180 is not near ready for corals yet)....

Just wanted to yell Bingo!!!!!!

I blame Teacher Dan and Dudley for winning all the raffle stuff at our table!!


:mixed:

SH

[Bamm Bamm]

LOL.. I won three things as well.. A Nice Yellow Zoo Colony from Gresham(Cortez Marine) these guys are awesome Gresham is great!!! a bag of that salt from Randy Reed. and a $30 GC for Atlantis Aquarium(ended up using that then spending $95 or something there though of course=)

[sirhelm]

Man... I wanted 1 of those GC's. I thought it was going to be destiny.... me with my 20 tickets (and Steve helping me look at them).......

But Alas it wasn't to be.

I do like Atlantis. When I first started with my 30 gal 2 years ago, I went there and Joleen was awesome in helping me out.

so what did you get???

I was eyeing those Hawaian Bi-color anthias they have there.....

Sigh.... Paitence..... Patience...

SH

[Bamm Bamm]

Well I picked up a beautiful dark blue valida frag($50) so I got it for $20.. I ended up splitting it into two fras for myself=) and a tourcoise acro with purple polyps.. Not sure what it is though actually, as well as 10 peppermint shrimps and a tube of that IC-GEL.. That stuff is the bomb!!!!!!!!!
Yeah I seem to win about $100 worth of stuff each time USUALLY... I always just spend $20.-

[sirhelm]

LOL.... Sweeet. Those are going to look good!!!

Man I need some of your Mojo. Next meeting remind me to rub your head!!!


I never win anything........

But it is still fun to play!!!!

SH

[capescuba]

Originally posted by Bamm Bamm
... I was kinda just there adn trying to somewhat keep a low profile...LOL...

LOL - Please Dan, you, keep a low profile? :rollface: I've only been with the club for about 6 months and still find that amuzing :D

[Vincerama2]

Hey Dan (totally off topic now) How much was the tablesaw blade? I picked a stainless steel one up from HD, it's for plywood, plastic, etc. 80 tooth, but not a carbide blade. If Tap actually has a reasonably priced one, that might make more sense.

V

[GreshamH]

Originally posted by Bamm Bamm
Yep...=) Extruded polypropylene actually I used one sheet to make a small tank to hold the calcium reactor in case of a leak.. and the other sheet is awaiting me hacking it up in my garage=).. Yeah I saw them leaning against the wall by the register and in magic marker they said $15.. So I asked if they were scrap and got the yes so of course i had to buy a few... Still ended up spending over $100 though since I bought more scraps and a Acrylic Blade for my table saw...


Sir Helm.... Hey I just wanted to say it was great meeting you saturday.. I actually was the guy that came up stairs and sat ont he table by you and the other guy with the red ice chest before the meeting started. Sorry i didn't formally introduce myself...

Watch out for extruded. It has a odd surface tension (IIRC) that doesn't lend itself to gluing all that well, with out stress cracks. It also isn't great for gluing as it isn't a uniform thickness (gaps at gluing edge)

The stuff you getr at HD and OSH are both extruded FWIW.

[Bamm Bamm]

Thanks for the tip gresham yeah it was kinda interesting with the small tank thingie I built to hold my reactor... I can't get it to cut all that great. I got it to hold water after a sceond gluing I had a small pinhole in it to begin with..

Vince- I think the blade was $55 or $60.. Yeah I didn't see anything at HD that was the correct one IIRC

[sfsuphysics]

If you have a router and guide rail you can cut acrylic pretty nicely too without getting a $60 blade.

[Bamm Bamm]

NICE>.. Yeah I wish had a table for my router..... That's another thing on my To Do/To Build list for my tank=)

[lukasnca]

I was looking at modernplatics.com to see how much the materials for a tank would cost. It looks like I buy the materials for a tank for less than it would cost to have someone else build it ... but not for much less.

On the down side it would probably take quite a few attempts to get it right and even then it would probably fall apart after a week :)

It would be fun though... well maybe.

[Bamm Bamm]

Yeah that's the point I'm at.. I really want to bulb my own 120g cube tank BUT I'm afraid I might cut it wrong/glue it wrong and then all my money and time I put into it will make it look like crap.. if I did it wrong that is.. I don't trust my table saw to be honest I can never get any good cuts with it.. I'm putting a nice one on my Wedding Registry for next year hopefully someone will buy it for me..=)
I want to put a 240g on there but don't think any of the LFS's have gift registry's for weddings..

[sfsuphysics]

That's what scraps are for, buy a few, hopefully of a similar thickness, see how straight you can cut. Then use the approriate weldon (can't recall their numbers now), see if its water tight, then go onto the big one, with the forsight that you can't uncut the acrylic. If you goof, then you shave a little more off and you might have a 116g cube :) Just be careful you don't end up with a 10g cube :D

[ejamsrhere]

Just a note about Taps... Avoid the tap's in san jose on the alemeda like the Plague. Worst service I've ever had anywhere. My GF actually had to go to the car because she was going to snap at them. 5 people walking around doing nothing while we waited at the counter for 5 minutes. It was really bad. I've been going to the one off Blossom Hill as of late. Worlds better. Much nicer people

[Bamm Bamm]

damn eric that sucks.... the guy at the one in Dublin Highly misquoted me over the phone then I got there and got the right price which was more than double originally quoted. BUT they don't honor quotes over the phone of course=).... The kid working there(not the one i talked to over the phone though was cool) he was trying to symphathize with me with how much the acrylci i wanted to buy cost by telling me that the 2ft BONG he built the weekend previous cost him about $70 to build... HELLA FUNNY. I'm wearing a suit I had just gotten out of an interview and this kid's telling me about building a BONG I thought it was just classic..

[ejamsrhere]

Thats funny as hell. I guess one look at you and he knew you would understand... J/K ;)

$70!!!! He must have gone crazy with it... A bong any one who has protein skimmer lust would drool over.

[Bamm Bamm]

LOL.. yeah I wonder if I give off that persona or something maybe it's because I kinda talk like a stoner or something?? I dunno. It was funny though.. I had made one a few years back.back in my college dayz at fresno. with stuff purchased from there as well.. But then you realize that Glass ones are sooo much nicer.....=) ok back to fish tanks even thoguh we are all member of Bay Area REEFERS...lol.