Acrylic colored sheet for refugium

I am thinking of putting a light over my sump to grow chaeto, however I have had issues previously with light bleed in the skimmer and elsewhere. Could I get a couple sheets of colored aryclic and stand them up vertically to block the light? Is there a preferred source or type? I was thinking of using Weldon to bond maybe 2 pieces and notch the bottoms so water can still flow. Thoughts?

 

Something like two of these?

.125"(3.2mm) x 12" x 24" Black 2025 Acrylic Sheet | U.S. Plastic Corp.

 

Awesome, thank you so much!

 

I know I bought a 2'x3' piece of black acrylic from Menards for like $20 a while back. I think it's a quarter inch or less

 

That is a great tip about Menards, even better if you have some I can buy Bud! I really don't need much. I have a heat gun, would that work to bend it around the skimmer shape?

 

Ok, no worries, it's not expensive so don't go out of your way!

 

I used 1/8" sheet of white acrylic attached to a 1/2" piece for this purpose in the refugium section of my sump. I went with white for reflective purposes rather than black. It doesn't totally black out the light but does a pretty good job. Rather than trying to notch teeth in I decided to just use some gutter guard to try to catch any chaeto from advancing through the sump.

 

For blocking light I just used some black plastic corrugated poster board...cheap, find it anywhere.

 

Great ideas!

Where did you find the white acrylic?

 

So I happened to notice an old 3g water jug that used to use many years ago to get RO water from Walmart before I had ro/Di. The curve and height match the skimmer really well, so I cut it and hit with a coat of krylon fusion. The end result should block light and hug the skimmer closely as I don't have much space. I even left some of the bottom so the skimmer can partially sit on it to hold in place.

 

I got mine from Regal Plastic Supply in Clive.

 

Skimmer sets on the bottom of the jug and wraps right around!

 

Here you can see how nice it fits.