refugium on ebay..? any good?

[salty420]

so i have a new (used) 75ish gallon acrylic tank that i just drilled and am now planning out the sump/refugium for it. the tank came with an amiracle wet/dry that i first considered trying to convert into a sump/refugium but im not sure if it's big enough so i may just sell it and buy or build something. someone sells refugiums on ebay that are "easy to assemble" that seem a bit cheap but i think may just get the job done for about as cheap and WAY easier than doing it myself. here's the link http://cgi.ebay.com/30-PRO-REFUGIUM...oryZ3212QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
they say for an extra $100 they'll send a skimmer that fits perfectly in there. im a bit nervous about that not knowing anything about the skimmer... what do you guys think? the feedback is good, seems like ppl like the sumps... im soooooo confused!!!! any help is greatly appreciated, my 37 and 29g's don't have sumps so this is a whole new very confusing world for me that im still trying to figure out...

 

[clown-lover]

I personally would have a few questions for the seller before I would buy. Those are

1) What does some assembly required exactly mean? Does that mean the whole thing comes in pieces and you have to glue everything together (and are you personally ok with the amount of DIY your going to have to perform)

2) Will they include a top 1 1/2 inch brace piece around the top for a nominal fee - (look at http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/f/sump_f.html third picture down for an example) Without that piece I personally would be afraid that there isn't enough support for the water volume. I would also inquire as to the thickness of the acrylic that they are using for whatever size you are going to purchase. My 40 Gal uses 3/8th thick acrylic but I would be uncomfortable with 1/4 for that size.

3) Then I would ask what kind of acrylic exactly. I wouldn't put the kinds that are available but find out what he answers.. For water based applications IMO they should be using extruded acrylic, not cell cast not plexiglass. If they hem and haw on this specifically ask if they use plexiglass. Why because plexiglass is an inferior product, I've seen it absorb water and expand due to that absoption and crack glass tanks. Again I would be uncomfortable personally if they used this type of a product.

JMO and hth

 

[salty420]

thanks so much for the reply clown-lover, yes it helped a lot! i did ask the questions you recommended (and some others) and got some answers... nothing about the acrylic tho so i asked again... hopefully i'll get a straight forward answer about it. as far as the assembly he explains it in another auction and it seems very very simple so im not too worried. i'd also have him custom build for me a one a bit bigger since this one seems like it too would be too small for me... i'll letcha know if he answers about the acrylic, i am curious now what exactly he uses... thanks again!

 

[clown-lover]

no problem salty.. hope all goes well.