Banner image

Best place to get a custom acrylic overflow box (1 Viewer)

NickMan

NickMan

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2010
Messages
526
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Hey all,

Im downsizing my reef for the time being and need to get an overflow box made for my 40 breeder. Im using the herbie method on both of my current tanks and refuse to do this one any other way. only prob is, i need to get a custom overflow box made and im a little shocked at how much the places on-line are getting for them. Maybe im just being cheap but id also like to avoid ordering online

Im not opposed to putting it together my self but id like it to have teeth and im not thrilled about doing that, mainly because i dont want to buy a saw blade for this one project.

Ive seen that A-1 is a popular place but are there any closer to St. Paul you guys (and gals ;) ) have had good exp with? Or does anyone know if Spazz is still doing acrylic work for fellow reefers?

Thanks!

-Nick
 
Angie is right, they are easy to build. Even a guy who has never built one was able to build one out of 2 dollars worth of a1 scrap on his knees outside in the cold on the ground. AND managed NOT go give Angie another BUTT shot photo :)

I think it was built in about 20 minutes.

If you want perfect check with bob or I think SWE carries his stuff.
 
Merkurfan said:
Angie is right, they are easy to build. Even a guy who has never built one was able to build one out of 2 dollars worth of a1 scrap on his knees outside in the cold on the ground. AND managed NOT go give Angie another BUTT shot photo :)

I think it was built in about 20 minutes.

If you want perfect check with bob or I think SWE carries his stuff.
Click to expand...

How did you make the teeth on yours? table saw? router?

Im handy and have access to all the tools id need. Its just a matter of having time to do it. ill look into getting some scrap at A-1 and giving it a shot it i cant get a deal on one.

I sure do miss my buddy with the acrylic shop, he did my overflow for my 120 for $20 bucks, laser cut teeth and all...too bad it took him 3 weeks to do. i had to stop in and actually help him with it to get it done, not playing that game again.
 
I think overflow boxes are hard to build (nice looking ones.) And I have a bit of experience :)

I have some mostly finished boxes that were the wrong size for our needs (they have the three main sides done).

Otherwise bob is the man to call at http://www.reefmania.net/

Overflow boxes arnt cheep when you get the teeth done. they take time.
 
I used a table saw. Did my box look perfect? No. But from outside of the tank it looked just as good as a store bought one. Perhaps they are hard to make like fritz said. I've been building things with wood since I was old enough to build a bird house with grandpa. Considering the cost to try it your self is about 10 bucks (if you have a saw) its worth a shot. Getting the teeth right is the hard part.

NickMan said:
How did you make the teeth on yours? table saw? router?

Im handy and have access to all the tools id need. Its just a matter of having time to do it. ill look into getting some scrap at A-1 and giving it a shot it i cant get a deal on one.

I sure do miss my buddy with the acrylic shop, he did my overflow for my 120 for $20 bucks, laser cut teeth and all...too bad it took him 3 weeks to do. i had to stop in and actually help him with it to get it done, not playing that game again.
Click to expand...



Sent from my SPH-M920 using Tapatalk
 
i might as well just do it my self. I have weld-on and an applicator as well as a nice table saw at my disposal. Id rather spend an hour or 2 getting the teeth to look nice than spending twice that at work to pay for the dang thing!

Thanks for the push guys, ill take some pics to show off my handy work!

-nick
 
best way to do the teeth on a table saw is to draw a line where the teeth end. Mark how far apart you want the teeth (I think I did 3/4) and always cut on the same side of the 3/4 line marks right down to the line where the teeth stop. One side of your material will have a nice clean line where the cut stopped, the other will have the half moon from the round blade. Set the blade has high as it will go as this will lessen the half moon cut) Plan on clean side out and you'll have a nice looking box when your done. Just make sure it does not leak when assembled because a leak will cause your tank to drain down to the bottom of the opening in your bulkheads (that could be a LOT of water).


Also use at least a paneling blade with many teeth. The rough cut ones work but the cuts are not as clean as they should be. Go slow when cutting to help prevent chipping.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the help guys, great tank build threads! Ive never managed to keep one going troughout the process. I could have had 10 of them by now! haha

ArstenA, those teeth look great! did you polish them afterwards? Ill be using black acrylic so it doesnt matter as much for me but im hoping for the same outcome. Im going to try to make up a jig to make sure all the teeth are even (and in turn have good surface skimming, i hope) I was thinking 1/4" between the teeth, also 1/4". im going to experiment with scrap acrylic before hand to make sure it will go smoothly.

Merkurfan, thank you for the detailed run down. I def make sure all my seams and seal below the water lins are COMPLETELY water tight. ive had enough floods on my hands of the years! :nuts:

im going to call A-1 tomorrow on my lunch break and make sure they have some black 1/4-3/8" black acrylic and see i can swing by after i get off. Id actually love to swing by DA while im out there too! Not that I have any money to spend but "window" shopping is just as fun!

I have weld-on 4 at the moment which i have used before so ill hopefully have the overflow ready by monday when ill be picking up my sump. Ill try my best to take pics of my progress so far and put together a half-arse build thread.

Thanks again!

-Nick
 
NickMan said:
Thanks for all the help guys, great tank build threads! Ive never managed to keep one going troughout the process. I could have had 10 of them by now! haha

ArstenA, those teeth look great! did you polish them afterwards? Ill be using black acrylic so it doesnt matter as much for me but im hoping for the same outcome. Im going to try to make up a jig to make sure all the teeth are even (and in turn have good surface skimming, i hope) I was thinking 1/4" between the teeth, also 1/4". im going to experiment with scrap acrylic before hand to make sure it will go smoothly.

Merkurfan, thank you for the detailed run down. I def make sure all my seams and seal below the water lins are COMPLETELY water tight. ive had enough floods on my hands of the years! :nuts:

im going to call A-1 tomorrow on my lunch break and make sure they have some black 1/4-3/8" black acrylic and see i can swing by after i get off. Id actually love to swing by DA while im out there too! Not that I have any money to spend but "window" shopping is just as fun!

I have weld-on 4 at the moment which i have used before so ill hopefully have the overflow ready by monday when ill be picking up my sump. Ill try my best to take pics of my progress so far and put together a half-arse build thread.

Thanks again!

-Nick
Click to expand...

I am going to A1 this morning. I don't need black but if you want, I can grab you some and you can just pick it up at DA this evening. I don't open till 4.
 
I used a router with a 1/4 inch bit and a separation of 1/4 inch. I think it looks good. I did notice when i was trueing up edges with a bigger bit, the higher speed (at the blade tip, due to a larger diameter) cut a much nicer edge. So, run the router as fast as you can.
 
ok, i got the box put together and the teeth cut, turned out pretty well. ill post pics later if anyone is interested. Only problem is that A-1 was out of black acrylic, i used clear that i had laying around and now i need to paint it of build a new one.
Merkurfan mentioned painting one he just built but after doing some research I have found mixed reviews as to how well this works. Has anyone else painted acrylic that was submerged? I have painted PVC before with no problems so I cant imagine it will be too bad, just want to make sure before i silicone this thing in place.

-Nick
 
I would like to see the picture.

I painted the back of my 2.5 gallon pico and that is holding up well. However, it is not submerged.
 
for pics of the overflow box, and the rest of the project for that matter, check out my build thread.

Thanks for all the input guys!

:beerchug:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top