Return pump - to drill or not to drill the sump?

[jessezm]

Hey all, I have a question I could use some thoughts and opinions on. I am just getting back into the hobby after about 10 years and I see there are some new toys and methods out there... I'm sure I will have tons of questions but here's the one for this morning:

I am for a planning a 90 - 120g SPS display tank, and it will be several months before I get there, but in the meantime I am working on the fish room in the partially finished basement below. Down there will be the sump/filtration, a 45g frag tank (48" X 18" X 12") plumbed into the main system and a separate hospital tank. Also possibly a separate remote refugium.

I already have a sump - it's an Eshopps 300-Adv, which seems pretty well-built but the return section is a bit small (7" X 7.5"). In the past I have always externally plumbed a reeflo Dart return for its efficiency and low heat exchange, but these DC pumps look fantastic on both counts, plus they are contollable/variable.

My current dilemma is a friend will make me a good deal on a DiabloDC-10500. I want to set up the frag tank now, and was planning on making a manifold for that loop and tee-ing off the pump for future expansion and just running on low speed for now. But that pump doesn't fit in my return compartment.

So question: Should I wait till I find a good deal on something like a Varios 6, or should I plumb the Diablo DC 10500 externally? or think of another solution altogether?

If I go external, it expands my pump options, but it also means drilling this nice sump and more plumbing.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[mfinn]

If you drill it now, then you have options for both, forever.
Very easy to cap it off if you go internal. But the bulkhead is there, just in case the internal pump fails and your next best option is a external pump.