sump help

i would really like to create my own sump instead of paying 200 dollars for a pre-made sump i bought for my 90 gallon reef. i want to create a 10-20 gallon sump for my 55 gallon reef, but im not which would fit into the cabinet stand...i would like to make a bigger sump but im not sure if the tanks would fit into the cabinet(the cabinet is wood with a divider on the outside near the middle, so it might be difficult to fit it under). since i have never built a sump, i need some help... basically all i know is that i need a overflow which is connected to some air line tubing of the same diameter size connected to some sort of pvc connecter, then through baffles which exits throught a mag pump. but the thing i need help with is the parts and preventing overflows. the over flow im looking at is the:
Reef Aquarium Filtration: Eshopps Overflow Boxes
what im confused is, would i use a standard air line tubing that will be the same size as the bulkhead, do i need a clamps for this part? then for the intake do i need a pvc control valve which also requires some sort of plastic insert thing with the ridges(not sure which one so if someone tells me that would be great! also would this be the same size as the air line tubing?) then it would go through series of baffles into a refugium then to the outake pump, i was looking at the:
Mag Drive Pumps
im not exactly sure on which one to get...so some help would be great. the height from the main tank to the sump is around 4-5 feet.
so now i need to connect the pump to some air line tubing of the identical size of the pump, so would this require some sort of plastic insert to connect the tube and pump as well as clamps? then i would connect this tubing to:
Aquarium Plumbing: Directional U-Tube
to connect this to the tubing does this also require some sort of plastic insert too? im sorry for all this confusion and the length of this question...i just need a lot of help and probably a precise walkthrough(parts included or where to buy!) i just want the best for my reef...so all advice is greatly accepted. i almost forgot about overflowing! how do i prevent this from happening, like how do i make a maximum water level cause i see people have those lines where the water is exactly.

 

As far as the overflow, don't get the ones that have a little pump to suck the air out of them. Buy the simpler, more reliable "U" tube overflow. I got the eshopps brand and I'm very happy with it and it never looses siphon.

As for how big of a sump, I would say a 20 long would be ideal. I ended up getting a 30 long for my 55 reef, but it's only because my eshopps PSK-200 has a monster footprint. So the footprint of your skimmer needs to be accounted for.

I'm not understanding very well what you're saying about the return pump. Mag drives are very good pumps. I bought a Mag Drive 9.5 which gives me 850 gph with the 3 feet overhead and some would say it is still a bit overkill, since you don't need more than a mag drive 5 for a 55 setup.

How about you measure the space where you have to fit the sump, and we go from there?

- Mag.

 

I bulit my own for my 55. I used a 10 gal tank for it but plan on building a larger one because I may want to add a fuge to it since this is the only "hobby" I have and want to do it right. If you look under the bulid forum I have a thread with the title "the perfect sump instructions." It could give you a starting point. I'll look up the thread for ya.

 

By the way, you may want to check out this thread:

http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-aquarium-articles-how-tos/all-about-sumps-filters-fuges-79852.html

 

http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/perfect-sump-instructions-99622.html
Here ya go, link to my thread. Good luck!! ;D

 

im sorry i couldnt ask this clearly... what im really asking is what parts do i need, like you know those plastic things that connect the tubes to the outtake pumps, and overflow, i really dont understand them or the ones i need(the male inserts and the female insert ones...) also on the u-tube siphon thing, how would i get it started? like when you want to change the water with the tubing one would suck on one end to start the pressure, how would you do it with the u-tube siphon?

 

OOO Not sure on that as I don't have an over flow yet but mine should be here in the next few days.

 

Let me know what your plans are so far for the sump. Please, measure the interior area that you have to work with, and we can go from there. As you can see, we don't mind helping over at 3reef and we can guide you through, step by step

 

Hey there, bud. Just checking with you to see if there was any progress on the sump design. Trust me, the plumbing is the easy part. You just need to get a plan going first, you can even hand draw it and people will suggest changes as they see fit. I went through the same stuff you did, check out the thread I had going at that moment:
http://www.3reef.com/forums/refugium/trouble-choosing-return-pump-81870.html