My sump situation pros and cons?

So I ended up finding this tank I had plans in doing a bit of mods to fit it in my tank but I think the freaking glass is tempered.

So I'm losing my mind I decided to get this clean, re silicone and use it as an external sump. Going to have to live with this until I upgrade.

48" L x 12 1/ 2" W x 12" H
Fits my sump design which I fix but haven't posted the new layout I will later.

 

take a look at this thread, it may help - sump help

 

Thanks!! That thread is very helpful and very identical to mine will post in a hour my layout. Some concerns I have is since I was thinking the same of dumping my drain line to my skimmer section without a sock, sponger, etc to catch debris is there any risk?

 

Short answer- YES

I had issues with both bubbles and unwanted debris. IE. when my sand got mixed up it would continue to cycle through. Once I added a sock, the sand would filter out very quickly and keep the water clear. I am sure this happens with other suspended particles!

 

Can I just use a sponge? I'm not. A fan of socks even though I haven't test them out but I don't like the concept. I will be cleaning the sponge out frequently to avoid "nitrate factory"

 

I decided I'm going to go ahead and get the whole sump custom made of 1/4" thick glass.

So far this is the layout and dims I have in mind, nothing has been yet physically done so I am trying to get the green light so I can proceed with the plan. First I need advice on this.

Sump dimensions- 40"L x 10"W x 20"H

I have a Aqua C 180 skimmer with a Mag9, Mag12 for return, and will also have socks in my skimmer sec.

I know my skimmer outlet needs to stay above water surface. I've measure from the bottom of the skimmer to the outlet is about 7" Height and I plan in raising up my skimmer about 3". This gives me about 10"H of water in my skimmer sec and the outlet staying above surface.

Skimmer sec- With a baffle of 10"H and the area being 12"W.

2nd baffle being 15"H and 3rd baffle being 13"H for the bubble eliminator process.

Return section will be 10"W and refugium baffle will be 15"H with an area of 15"W.

What do you guys think?

 

BTW sorry for the long wait of posting back, I've been busy with work.