Acrylic Refugium Question

[cbayer]

I am about to order some acrylic for my refugium and was wanting to know if quarter inch material would work or would I need thicker material. Here are the dimensions. 22"L\18"W\16"H.

[matt]

Well, I certainly would not use 1/4" for that size, but everyone's different. I'd use 3/8" cyro GP or spartech polycast, (I'd avoid all other brands) and solvent weld with MC bond if you can find it, or weld-on #4 (not #3) if you can't get the MC bond.

OTOH, there are lots of people who DIY sumps that size with 1/4" extruded and it holds together fine. Take your pick!

[LoneStar]

OTOH, there are lots of people who DIY sumps that size with 1/4" extruded and it holds together fine. Take your pick!



I think it just depends on how many baffles (if any) that you use with that dimension refugium (or sump). If you add baffles, and brace it on the top, 1/4" would work fine, since the baffles help support the sides and make it strong. If its all open and you can swing the higher cost of 3/8" material, do like Matt said!

[captexas]

Yeah, I agree that 1/4in. would work fine for those measurements as long as you have some baffles or top brace to strengthen it from pulling apart and as long as the joints are done well enough. The only time I've used thicker acrylic was when I built a fuge that was like 32 inches tall.

[hobogato]

i build these all the time with 1/4" extruded without incident, but i also eurobrace around the bottom and top to add strength. anything taller than 18" i would not use 1/4".

[matt]

The cyro website has a calculator for estimating the necessary thickness of CAST acrylic for aquariums. With 22" length and 16" height, it specifies 3/8 (actually .354") as the minimum thickness with a top brace. This does not take into account dividers which can add structural integrity. The calculator is pretty conservative. I've used 3/8 cyro for 100 gallon sump/refugiums in the past with no problem.

The other thing is that you're probably not going to keep it filled all the way like you would an aquarium, although in a power outage in can fill up pretty quickly. If it were me I'd use 3/8" cast. It's much tougher stuff. The calculator also suggests using polimerizing cement (weld-on #40) for any joints which are subject to water pressure. Almost nobody does that, but if you've ever seen it, the joints properly done are fantastic. If I ever get around to building a nice big acrylic cube, (unlikely) I'm going to solvent weld the sides and use weld-on #40 for the bottom joint.

[cbayer]

Thanks for all the input but I think I am in over my head and in danger of flooding my house. With that being said I am going to get Ace to build me one.

[matt]

I'm sure Ace will do a great job!