Figured it’s time!

[jdubya]

So I have my panel above and to the side and haven’t had any problems out of it. Plus it’s rated for a wet environment so if there were any issues or is equipped.
My biggest problem is the layout. Mostly the included ato is useless in my opinion and does nothing but take up space. It’s size is not very proportional. Unfortunately running the life reef skimmer I have no room for anything else, including any reactors if need be or even a small refugium. The way the panels are placed also make it difficult to alter them in anyway.

ah gotcha, yeah i've heard similar things about the ATO - how often did you have to refill it when you were using it? i've heard some people try and turn this area in to a fuge area, i was thinking of separating the main area with some egg crate with 1/3 for a fuge and 2/3 for a smaller skimmer

 

[2Wheelsonly]

I ended up selling my sump to my waterbox 60.3 frag and just ran the plumbing all the way to my main system. The biggest annoyance with the sump, the ATO red would need to be refilled every two days and the baffles were a bit high not giving a lot of play when you turn off the pumps. I had to almost set my return jets above the waterline to prevent as much siphon as possible. I also find that those smaller filter socks are more trouble than they are worth. The sump design does not give much room for water if the level over the sock changes due to not swapping weekly.

Drilling out the built-in ATO is not as easy because there isn't much room to drill due to the compact design.

 

[jdubya]

I ended up selling my sump to my waterbox 60.3 frag and just ran the plumbing all the way to my main system. The biggest annoyance with the sump, the ATO red would need to be refilled every two days and the baffles were a bit high not giving a lot of play when you turn off the pumps. I had to almost set my return jets above the waterline to prevent as much siphon as possible. I also find that those smaller filter socks are more trouble than they are worth. The sump design does not give much room for water if the level over the sock changes due to not swapping weekly.

Drilling out the built-in ATO is not as easy because there isn't much room to drill due to the compact design.

oh interesting! so when you turn off the pumps all the water in the return pipe and in the overflow comes back and floods the sump so water spills into other chambers? do you have same issue on the 45 @Keithb22 ?

yeah i really wanted the 60.3 but can't find one anywhere, but i did see that the ATO reservoir is the same size in the 60.3 and the 45.2 at ~3Gal so makes sense that its even more underwhelming for the 60.3. was never a big fan of socks either, the system is probably small enough to not use them or use some other substitute like a pad or filter floss changed weekly

 

[Keithb22]

Because of the size I never used it. It’s completely blocked off so you would need a pump to get water into and out of the compartment. Unless you’re going to run two skimmers, I would plan for the largest you can get. Just my opinion

 

[2Wheelsonly]

oh interesting! so when you turn off the pumps all the water in the return pipe and in the overflow comes back and floods the sump so water spills into other chambers? do you have same issue on the 45 @Keithb22 ?

yeah i really wanted the 60.3 but can't find one anywhere, but i did see that the ATO reservoir is the same size in the 60.3 and the 45.2 at ~3Gal so makes sense that its even more underwhelming for the 60.3. was never a big fan of socks either, the system is probably small enough to not use them or use some other substitute like a pad or filter floss changed weekly

The water level would just get extremely high (almost even with the top) where it could spill into the cabinet. The biggest problem was that if I wanted to shut off the return pump and do a deep clean i'd have to shop vac the sump because if I just put a finger in the thing it would spill over into the cabinet.

I could have used a check valve but I just know that would give a false sense of security as they never last in salt systems (my experience) and it would stop working when the power goes out while im on vacation.

In the last 11 years, all my tank/hardware failures always happened when I was out of town lol.

 

[Keithb22]

There is enough room to keep it from overflowing but it does spill into the other chambers. I stopped running my socks except when it is needed, regardless of size.

 

[jdubya]

Because of the size I never used it. It’s completely blocked off so you would need a pump to get water into and out of the compartment. Unless you’re going to run two skimmers, I would plan for the largest you can get. Just my opinion

Good to know! I have a small 10g right now so don't even run a skimmer and my nitrates /phosphates are really low so was considering going skimmer less on this tank too since I heard they can be overkill on smaller tanks and just using the whole mid section as a fuge for chaeto.

There is enough room to keep it from overflowing but it does spill into the other chambers. I stopped running my socks except when it is needed, regardless of size.

Thanks! Also didn't mean to hijack your thread with all the questions but it's been super helpful

 

[Keithb22]

thought the same thing but as the tank matured it definitely called for one. Plus every reputable author I’ve read in regards to marine life swears by them. Just my .02