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So, all the gear is getting to the wife. It must go, so sump it is. I have the old 55 with a broken center brace to start with. I'll just brace it with some 2x4 or something, doesn't have to be pretty as it will be hidden.
There's a fair bit of space to work with, so I'm thinking of having the drain and skimmer area be about 16". Even a really big skimmer would fit there. And my POS seaclone 100 (so glad I didn't pay much for it) certainly will until I decide what I'm going to do about that. Then some form of bubble trap, I was thinking of the usual 3-baffle setup with acrylic silicone glued to the tank walls. I know it doesn't hold super well, but should be ok for a bubble trap. Then a spot for macro, and a return pump with some sort of separation so I don't spray macro bits all over the DT. :)
I kind of like Mark's design with the rocks, macro algae, then the return as well. And no baffles to cut/glue. Any reason that's not more common? Just trying to gauge what the pros/cons are.
I've been reading up on old threads here, RC and melevsreef.com. Any other sources I should be considering?
The big issue is overflow. It sounds like to really do it right, I need to drill a hole in the DT. I can't say I'm excited about that. And it looks like 55s might be tempered all around. The more I read, the more I think it has to be fully tempered. So it's likely I can't drill.
So, assuming tempered back so I can't drill, I would need to use a U-tube style setup. I've seen plenty of plans for various siphon setups. I can build most of them with the tools I have. I would like to avoid using plumbing fittings in the DT for looks, but would prefer to DIY unless someone here has a decent setup they want to sell for a good price. I'll design some safety setups to prevent the return pump from overflowing the DT.
Out of curiosity, why doesn't anyone pump the water out of the tank as well? It wouldn't take much of a pump to do it, so I figure there has to be a good reason not to. It does add another moving/electrical part that can fail, so that's a down side. Getting flow balanced between them would be another trick, but most seem to use gate valves to limit the drain, so if you did that you should be able to do it. Probably just more trouble than it's worth, but doesn't hurt to ask.
I've also found people using the flexible reinforced nylon hose for plumbing. Any reason not to use that for the bulk of the runs?
Edited by ttabbal - June 12 2015 at 2:08pm
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Is there a source people here like for glass? I am leaning toward using glass baffles as I would like a little more depth for a couple chambers. I thought about the stuff at Home Depot, but it sounds pretty thin. Somewhere near Sandy would be ideal, but if I need to drive a while, that's ok too.
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