DIY refugium help

[kingspade]

looking for some simlpe DIY guides to building a refugium from a 20 or 30g tank. and one question i had was if i could make the seperators from plexiglass?

 

[hurt]

yep, I used 1/8in plexiglass on mine.

 

[kingspade]

did you make it yourself?

 

[hurt]

No I did not cut the plexiglass, I went to Home Depot and had the plexiglass cut to my dimensions. I then used regular aquarium silicone to put them in place. Here's a pic of my fuge. Not the cleanest job I could have done, but it serves it's purpose very well.

 

[kingspade]

how many pcs of plexiglass are in that? and does each chamber have holes drilled leading to the next? im not familiar with the way they work. any help with building on would be great

 

[joyze1]

Is that a 20 gallon long? Did you use 3 pieces of PG? and what are the sizes you used? What size pumps to keep the water so level? Did you put a skimmer in as well? If so what kind?
I have seen some kits on ---- for around $30. I am thinking of DIY.
Thank you.
~Joy~

 

[hurt]

how many pcs of plexiglass are in that?
3 now, originally 5, but I ripped out two that were 2nd and 3rd from the left. You can still see the silicon of where they were.
and does each chamber have holes drilled leading to the next?
nope, my baffles are used for bubble traps.
Here is a basic diagram of my fuge.

 

[kingspade]

so the water just overflows the baffles? how do you keep a constant water level?

 

[hurt]

Is that a 20 gallon long?
Yep. Just a simple 20g long with 5 plexiglass baffles I glued in~$30 DIY fuge.
What size pumps to keep the water so level?
I use a via-aqua 3600. But, that has nothing to do with the water level. I drip kalk to "attempt" to and make the H20 level almost constant. Your fuge/sump (if below DT) is the only place in system where you will see water levels fluctuate.
Did you put a skimmer in as well? If so what kind?
Yep, two-both AquaC Remora's, but only one is in this picture.
Did you use 3 pieces of PG?
5 originally, but I took out two-so 3 now. Here is a picture with the original 5 baffles.

 

[scsinet]

Keep in mind that Silicon does not bond to plexiglass, so don't use it if you want a watertight seam (it will evntually fail). I am not sure what to use when joining Acrylic (PG) to glass.
In this application though, perfect watertight isn't a must, so you'll be fine.

 

[hurt]

I originally was told the same, but it is completely water tight with no leaks between baffles at all. I have had this same fuge for about 1.5 years with no leaks or breaks in the baffles at all. Not a pretty job, but silicone holds them in place.

 

[scsinet]

The other thing you have going for you is that there is little if any pressure on the joints. If you were, say building an overflow box into a glass tank and there was no standpipe, the pressure would eventually fail the joint.
And you're right, who cares about it being pretty. A fuge is supposed to look awful.