sump question

i'm not sure what size sump I have now I think its a aquaclear 175 but i'm like lots of people I dont have room for a skimmer in there and would like to add I have a skimmer I used to use but it was a hang on and it started leaking where the inlet pipe goes in the bottom soi'm thinking about just connecting pump straight to the bottom of the skimmer.....my question is can I just buy a big plastic tub from wal-mart and just drill holes in the end of the sump and just run it out in the tub so I can put my skimmer and return pump in there my main tank is a 55 gal

 

Would it not be easier to simply get rid of your current sump and make a new one out of a glass aquarium? Say, a 30 gallon long, if you have room for it? I know from first hand experience that making a sump is very easy. If you want, there are lots of designs - you can search this site for several of them. This would, IMO, be easier than drilling your current sump and attaching another tub to it, which only provides more potential for leakage and problems.