55 Gal Beginning

the overflow has a t in it to drain to both sections, with a valve to control how much goes into the fuge tank, to control flow. the fuge then overflows into the return section of the sump. i attached a pic, i have updated this plan a little as i went, but the basic principle is the same. My overflow has 2 drains, but one would do the same thing. the 2 ten gallon tanks are connected through bulkheads

 

hmmm, thats very interesting...i may steal your plan

 

thats cool, hopefully i'll have it complete this weekend, ill post some actual pics when i do. i had it up and running this past saturday but had to tear it all down cause i cracked one of the tanks

 

well that sucks. lol. at least they are super cheap. can't wait to see pics. do you have a thread somewhere??

 

i really dont have a "build" thread but did get some great feed back on a few

http://www.3reef.com/forums/refugium/refugium-sump-design-75230.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/filters-pumps-etc/can-sump-quiet-75227.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/my-first-attempt-drilling-cutting-glass-76459.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/cracked-another-tank-today-76852.html

this board has been a huge help getting this project going, although it is still alot bigger then i first anticipated. It is still alot of fun though

 

55 is a nice size tank for starting your first reef. that is what i have its not huge that performing water changes is a pain, but roomy enough to make a good reef. i also got a 10 gallon refugium. as for the skimmer i got the remora aqua c i barely got any bioload at all yet and it pulls gunk out every day they work great. best of luck with your new tank

 

thanks so much! i am so excited about starting. I always wanted a 55gal. i love the size since i am not wanting big fish. I think i am going to buy that skimmer. do you get microbubbles??

 

i will be watching your threads

 

yes i do get microbubbles with my remora, i think they end up being an issue with any skimmer since bubbles are what make them work. keep the skimmer in your sump/refugium and contain the bubbles down there. i have been battling bubbles for a month since i got my 55 up and running. the 2 sources of bubbles in my system are my protein skimmer and the outlet hose of my overflow where it drains into my refugium. to get the bubbles entering my display to a minimum what i did was go to petco and buy a big piece of marineland filter sponge and section off the area that my return pump is in so it is not sucking up all of the microbubbles and putting them into the display. i also got creative and bought a small garbage can, drilled it all full of small holes and stuck the overflows hose and the return water from the protein skimmer into the pal to further contain bubbles. also i have chaetomorpha algae in the pal. i think many would agree with me that bubbles are a pain in a the butt to deal with i cant seem to get rid of them 100% but i can deal with the little amount that i have

 

i was hoping there was enough room in the 10gal under my tank to fit the p. skimmer, but space is very limited under there. really small stand. i figured you got bubbles with any protein skimmer out there. thats pretty creative with the garbage can.