Dumb Sump Question

[zoo-a-holic]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Ok. I have a 90 gallon and i am wanting to do a sump, this tank is not drilled. Is there any way to have a sump without having a drilled tank??? Also for a 90, what size should the sump be??#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Guido]

I'm in the same situation you are, except i already got sump under way. But, you dont need tank drilled (dont think you can drilled tempered glass), you just need an overflow box. Check www.marinedepot.com and check under overflow boxes. You can buy different ones at different places, but they all work the same. You can even build one, if you want. Just ask dakar, i belive hes got a diagram or DIY plans on how to (think he's made a couple of them for himself actually). As far as size of sump.... like many other things in life.... bigger is better lol. I'd say go with a 50g if you can afford, give you a lot of space to work with inside sump and a larger refug for more live rock. Just my opinion.

[graphixx]

Guido,
Look at you!!! That is awesome it sounds like you got the hang of it. I could not of answered that question any better, I cannot wait to see your tank when its set up.

[dakar]

I have to agree with Graphixx, looks like we've got some reefers in the making here :)

[graphixx]

I'll tell you what it aint gonna be too long till I am asking Guido questions :D

I wish I had forums like this when I was setting up my first tank. I still have the book that I bought when I first set up my tank the copyright on it is 1991 I was reading through it a couple of days ago and was chuckling at some of the stuff it said like one chapter was HOW TO INSTALL YOUR UNDERGRAVEL FILTER I got a kick out of that

[Guido]

LoL. Well thank you. It's nice having someone say that what i said was actually correct lol. Kinda reminds me of school... but just the opposite haha.

[dakar]

That's what CR is here for.... knowledge transfer :) I wish we'd had the foresight to actually research reefing a bit before we jumped in.... Almost embarrasing to admit an LFS soaked us for well over $500 for what we could have purchased online for close to $100 (it wasn't enough to even start the tank cycling). They should really be ashamed of themselves for markups like that.

Besides the better the info we collectively share the better the frags we get to share later ;)

[graphixx]

now that is a WIN+WIN situation :D

[Guido]

I know how you feel dakar... well, maybe not that bad lol. But theres a LFS around here that tried to tell me the best setup for a reef aquarium is a wet/dry.... when another LFS (Jacks Aquariums) and everyone here told me that a sump/refug is the better idea. Shows how much they care about the performance and health of others tanks....

[dakar]

Kinda got off topic a bit here... but BR did you get the answer you needed?

[zoo-a-holic]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Kinda and kinda not! how do i do it without drilling?? Also, i have an extra 55gallon kicking around. will that be good???#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[dakar]

The 55 would be great if you can fit it under your stand and still have room to work... in there. That was My original plan but with our current cabinet it would have only left me a 5-6" over the top of the 55 to manuever things around.... so I went the rubbermaid route for the sump.

Now since you are not drilled you'll need some sort of overflow box so you can let gravity pull water from the tank and get it to the sump. Commercially made ones are available, check out the usual online shops, marinedepot.com, drsfosterandsmith.com, get an idea of what you are gonna spend.... then lif you want scour eBay and see if you can get lucky, like everything else i think there some 'knock off' brands hitting the market now that are just copies of others that will do the job. Once you see how they are made you'll understand the principles of how and why they work.

The other route is a DIY (my preferred) route and build yourself an overflow or weir box. Davejnz posted pics of one I'd made last winter/spring (maybe ???) a little rough on some of the finish but quite functional. I really should have photodocumnted the construction I've made 6 or 7 of them now.

[zoo-a-holic]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I like DIYing too but i really dont know what all the componants are or what they do#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[dakar]

Take a look at this page here. http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/overflow.html

Marc has put some good info together on it, when time permits I've been planning on writing up a detailed explanation with pics and stuff on 'my' method and variations I found to make these more effective.

[zoo-a-holic]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Yea, that helps a little. Is there any other "big" equipment that i need to do this??#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[graphixx]

all you need really is an overflow and a return pump and then all the plumbing to complete this. melevs site should give you a good footprint of what needs to be done and then we are allways here for those unanswered questions you have