Where do I buy acrylic sheets from?

[InTr4nceWeTrust]

It might have been asked before but I'm a little too retarded to search farther then "where to buy acrylic". I want to build an acrylic sump/fuge but Home Depot doesn't seem to carry it. Not sure where else to go.

[fierceseaman]

Home Depot should carry it but they are usually pretty expensive and sell much smaller sheets than what most people use to build a sump. If you go to Home Depot they may call it "plexiglas" or "lexan" which are brand names I believe. One of those, can't remember which one is NOT the right kind to use. I believe its lexan. Someone else can chime in and answer that but I'm 99% sure that its plexiglas that you want. If you don't want to go there I would go to the phone book and search under glass or glass window makers. Plastics might work as well. When I built mine I ended up purchasing from a glass supplier as they were able to get the best price for the best sheet that I wanted. There are also places online that will sell to you that provide services such as cutting to spec. If I had to do it over again that is what I would do. Unless you have the correct equipment handling a large piece of acrylic is difficult by yourself and having a jointer really helps the process. You can bypass all that by buying online and getting them to do the cuts for you. Its usually really reasonable. try ridoutplastics.com or if you are close to San Diego, order from them, have them cut it then just drive and pick it up. There you can get all the stuff like weld-on #4 and #16 and all the little things that help and acrylic project go smooth.

 

edit: it is definitely LEXAN that you DO NOT want to use.

Edited August 19, 2008 by fierceseaman

[disaster999]

what thickness acrylic sheet are you looking for? homedepot sells 1/4" acrylic sheets which is enough for most applications. if you need thicker, better hit up yellowpages and look for local plastic supplier

[nate82]

plexiglass and lexan are NOT brand names rather different types of plastic with different strengths and thicknesses lexan is much thinner and weaker i made a cheap top for my tank and it can't even hold itself up DO NOT make a sump out of lexan you can always order acrylic online if your depot doesn't carry it. or have them special order it for you

[disaster999]

lexan is NOT weaker. Lexan or polycarbonate is one of the strongest, toughest plastic. it is more flexable than acrylic hence making you think its "weak". it will not warp or deform under heat like acrylic would.

 

lexan isnt used for tank or sump making because of the bonding process is not the same as acrylic and a lot more expensive

[distantfire]

To build a sump tank or any tank out of plastic you want to use cell cast arcylic. And you have to order it online because places like home depot and lowes don't carry it. Do a google search for "cell cast arcylic" the vender's will cut it down to size for you. Then all you have to do is buy the weldon to put it together. All the online stores that carry cell cast arcylic also sell weldon and applicators for it. Shop around online for the best price.

[disaster999]

for a tank, yes, you should use cell cast, but not necessarily for a sump. sump have multiple baffles which acts as a brace the keep the tank from warping. if your building a huge sump, then using cell cast would be better.

 

i made a 10gal sump using homedepot acrylic and its been working fine since day one. no leaks...no warping.

[Kraylen]

USplastics.com

[distantfire]

The sump's baffles are really just simple dividers. In order to properly brace a tank you have to put wider strips around the top of the tank. Which is commonly called euro bracing and it prevent's the tank from bowing out after you fill it with water.

It's safer in this case for him to use the cell cast arcylic. Because we don't know how big he want's his sump to be.

[evilc66]

plexiglass and lexan are NOT brand names rather different types of plastic with different strengths and thicknesses

 

Actually, they are both brand names. Plexiglass is a brand of acrylic, and Lexan is polycarbonate. They have just been synonymous with the material they represent like Windex is used for any glass cleaner and Velcro is used for any hook and loop fastener.

 

And lexan weak? What do you think bullet-proof glass is laminated with? It's just not rigid like acrylic.

[InTr4nceWeTrust]

Great, so let me make sure I have this straight. If I go to home depot and get "plexiglass" that's at least 1/4" thick, it'll be all right to make myself a sump? The sump will be roughly 40" long, 10" wide, and 10"+ tall. I'm planning to put 3 sets of baffles. Possibly not? It's kind of a big sump.

 

edit: hm...looking at the pricing at usplastic.com I'm thinking it might be cheaper just to buy a used acrylic tank and cutting it up. Any problems with doing that? I should probably assume acrylic will absorb copper, right?

Edited August 19, 2008 by InTr4nceWeTrust

[StevieT]

Home depot will have the acrylic that you need. It is .220" brand name will be optiplex, I buy it weekly from HD or Menards. It will have blue protective plastic on it, it is located by the doors/windows usually in the rear-middle of their stores.

 

Cost for a 48" x 24" sheet is $38.00 (HD) $36.00 (menards). Prefered cutting method is a table saw.

 

I have found that going to the box stores is by far cheaper than buying online since shipping is added and they really don't sell for a great price.

 

don't cut up a tank, that will be way too much of a mess.

 

Use weldon or other MEK type solvent for welding.

[InTr4nceWeTrust]

Thanks for the replies. I'll be using all the info to carefully plan my sump ^_^

[fierceseaman]

Yeah, I ended up buying a large sheet of acrylic to build my sump and to be honest would have rather gone with the HD sized sheets. A large sheet (think plywood sized) it hard to handle as one person. After doing a bit of math I also calculated that I really only saved about 20 bucks by buying it from a plastic distributor.

 

To add to the argument, no LEXAN is not weaker, its just more flexible.

 

Also, if you construct the sump right and its not too big there is no need to add "eurobracing" around the top. I have a sump that is about 20"x17" that fits in the bottom of my Red Sea Max cabinet. I used 1/4" think acrylic with no eurobracing and I can guarantee it does not bow. The baffles do indeed as support to the sump. Now, if a large sump, yes you will need bracing of some sort.

 

Trance: to get the low down on building your own sump, check out melevsreef.com there are several great break downs for building a sump. I found the site indispensable when I built mine.

[masterbuilder]

Or..... go by just about any glass shop and they will have it. They can cut it to whatever sizes you need if thats easier for you.

[luckyhe98]

www.supremewolf.com，it's specialized in acrylic sheet &polycarbonate sheet& related products.