To sump or not to sump?

[TheGooseWhisperer]

I have a 29g that's been going for 2.5 yrs and I think I am finally tired of all the "HOB" equipment. I had a skimmer and whisper that was running GFO/carbon. I got tired of replacing the GFO every couple weeks and I just don't feel confident that it works as well as a media reactor so I finally got one of those. I would kind of like to still use the whisper for the filter sock affect though (always pretty nasty when i rinsed it out every couple weeks). There isn't room with the skimmer, media reactor and frag rack though so it has me thinking about using a 10g tank for a sump.

 

The debate of overflow box versus drilling the tank has me leaning toward an overflow...I'm a bit terrified of having the tank drilled and really dont want to mess with taking every thing out into buckets, hauling the tank somewhere and then putting it all back together. On the other hand I know having the tank drilled would be the "pro" way of doing it.

 

So I guess the bottom line is...am I making a big mistake doing the overflow? and what is the basics that I need for sump design? A couple considerations are that it will need to accommodate my HOB skimmer, the media reactor and I think i want the return pump to be in the sump to save some space. A proper filter sock will alleviate my desire to use the whisper for particulate matter. Are there some additional benefits I can get out of the sump? What GPH should I shoot for on a return pump (I dont think i need any additional flow in the tank really)?

 

Thanks in advance for your help to a "sumpless wonder" (laugh)

[reef165]

More water volume is never a mistake. If it were me I would drill, I think nick (Rose City) has a dimond bit hole saw he lends out maybe or ebay has them for like $10, make sure you have all the plumbing parts you need, empty the tank about 1/2 way, pull it away from the wall to be able to drill from the outside, use a spray bottle with cold water to mist it as you drill, go slow. Maybe even have a practice drill or two on a dif piece of glass

[jgf86123]

Drill always, and always do a sump, I made the mistake on our first system of not having a sump and I'll never do so again.

 

Talk to Alex aka grassi, he can show you how to set up the perfect overflow system, drilled, that will be absolutely quiet.

 

I'm currently running a 55g acrylic sump for our system, but if the stand was wide enough, and we were sure enough of the flooring, I would of put the 90g glass sump we picked up a while back under it, or I'd be using one of the 100g rubbermaid tubs, either way, the more water volume you have, the better off you, because it is easier to keep parameters stable.