Sump.

mandi29221 · Feb 1, 2018

I need help. I've never did a sump before but I'm about to upgrade to a 90 bow front. Any suggestions on where to start and the needed items for them. Any help will be greatly appreciated. It's not a drilled tank.

Crabs McJones · Feb 1, 2018

mandi29221 said:
I need help. I've never did a sump before but I'm about to upgrade to a 90 bow front. Any suggestions on where to start and the needed items for them. Any help will be greatly appreciated. It's not a drilled tank.

For starters if the tank is drillable I would highly highly highly recommend drilling it you'll thank me in the long run. As far as a sump are you looking for something pre-made or do you want to build your own what are your plans for the sump do you want to do a refugium or reactors what is your end goal

mandi29221 · Feb 1, 2018

I don't know anything about refugium or reactors. I had a 55gal with a fluval 305 on it. That's my knowledge. Any good reading I should do and what site. I am doing a reef this time

mandi29221 · Feb 1, 2018

Also my husband is very handy so I can make one

Crabs McJones · Feb 1, 2018

Give this thread a look through.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sumps-the-rundown.271381/#post-3258179
Hopefully that helps

WWIII · Feb 1, 2018

I would drill it and put a ghost/shadow overflow on it. Then get the biggest sump you can fit in the stand and go from there. If you diy the sump, there's lots of examples online. There's quite a few decisions to make, such as skimmer size, refugium, no refugium, return pump size, filter socks, no socks, etc... I would just keep doing lots of reading and get an idea of what you would like to do. Starting by making sure you can drill the tank (non tempered glass), drill it, and buy a nice overflow! The synergy shadow is really nice setup!

Crabs McJones · Feb 1, 2018

mandi29221 said:
Also my husband is very handy so I can make one

It's not very hard to do. all you basically need to do is pick up a tank from Petco or PetSmart during their dollar per gallon sale. stop at a hardware store and pick up some acrylic and just a cheap acrylic cutter and some silicone aquarium grade that you can use and make your own. there are dozens of videos on YouTube on how to make your own sump or you can also buy sump kits from modular marine. But I believe it has to be an aqueon tank for them to fit.

Crabs McJones · Feb 1, 2018

The eshopps eclipse overflows are nice to in that they include the diamond bit you need to drill the tank, along with a template so you know placement and where to drill

mandi29221 said:
I don't know anything about refugium or reactors. I had a 55gal with a fluval 305 on it. That's my knowledge. Any good reading I should do and what site. I am doing a reef this time

WWIII said:
I would drill it and put a ghost/shadow overflow on it. Then get the biggest sump you can fit in the stand and go from there. If you diy the sump, there's lots of examples online. There's quite a few decisions to make, such as skimmer size, refugium, no refugium, return pump size, filter socks, no socks, etc... I would just keep doing lots of reading and get an idea of what you would like to do. Starting by making sure you can drill the tank (non tempered glass), drill it, and buy a nice overflow! The synergy shadow is really nice setup!

WWIII · Feb 1, 2018

crabs_mcjones said:
The eshopps eclipse overflows are nice to in that they include the diamond bit you need to drill the tank, along with a template so you know placement and where to drill

They do look nice! I almost tried one on the last tank I drilled, but stuck with synergy (my 3rd one). They do include a template, but no drill bit. If you do end up with synergy's overflow, they recommend 63mm diamond bit, brs recommends 65mm (mainly bc that's a size they carry) anyways, long story short a 2.5" diamond bit works perfectly and is a little easier to find.

An overflow with 3 holes/pipes is nice to setup a bean animal style overflow. They can flow as much water as you like, are safe, and are silent!

There's a lot to absorb when moving to a sump for the first time. Feel free to ask any questions that come up and someone here will be able to offer advice!

Fin · Feb 1, 2018

I believe those bow fronts can present challenges with getting a sump to fit inside the stand, because of their shape. I have never had one, but I have seen others that have posted about it. Make sure you measure your available space really well to make sure you can get whatever you decide on inside of the stand without any problems.

Drilling for a Ghost Style overflow is the way to go, IMO anyway. Determine if your tank has a tempered back panel before attempting to drill it though. You can look on YouTube and there are loads of videos demonstrating how to do a simple test with a laptop screen and a pair of polarized sunglasses.

Good luck with the new project. Sounds like your husband will be busy.

mandi29221 · Feb 1, 2018

So I just saw a diy glass drilling. They guy said tempered glass shatters? I thought a tempered glass was able to be drilled.

Fin · Feb 1, 2018

mandi29221 said:
So I just saw a diy glass drilling. They guy said tempered glass shatters? I thought a tempered glass was able to be drilled.

No, definitely not.

mandi29221 · Feb 1, 2018

Oh okay so a regular glass is able to drilled just learned something

Fin · Feb 1, 2018

mandi29221 said:
Oh okay so a regular glass is able to drilled just learned something

Chances are that your glass is not tempered. Usually the bottoms are tempered, but not the sides or back. No hard fast rule about that, so you should always check before drilling.