Well, I finished building the sump. It was my first attempt at acrylic work... and it didn't leak!! Thanks to Melev's Reef for the tips. The only trouble I had was with the bottom. I have a few air bubbles in there so I'm going to but some extra #16
glue in later for safety sake. The side seams are flawless.
It bowed slightly at the top when I filled it all the way full, so I'm going to add a top rim for additional strength. I used 1/4 material (.220")
The 4x8 sheet cost $108, glue and 3 cuts at the Regal Plastics was about $30 more. So total w/tax came to about $160.
Here are the specs-
48L x 12.25W x 18H
45g total volume
30g operational volume (Leaving 15g of overflow) plenty of safety margin built in.
9.8g skimmer and intake area Intake area will house eggcrate for carbon
1" bubble traps
7.6g return area
10.6g refugium area (17 x 12 x 12)
Flow will enter the intake area, some will be diverted off into the fuge from the over flows.
Intake-> Skimmer-> bubble traps-> RETURN <-Fuge