An Idea I Had...

[WhiteysTA]

Just wanted to run an idea I had past you guys to see what you think. Since i'll be picking up a 90gal rr tank this weekend, i'll be swaping everything from my 75 gal tank to it. Problem is I dont have a sump or even a pump to get the water from the 90 gal. to anything. My question is, would building a stand that would incorporate my 75 gal below the 90 gal as a fuge be overkill, or should I just get a 40g breeder and put baffles in it? Also, what pump should I go with to get the water back into the tank? I was thinking about a mag12 or 9. Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

 

[capncapo]

I don't think there any such thing as overkill when it comes to the size of a fuge.

 

[DrBDC]

If you can make a stand to get it under there, go for it. :thumbsup:

 

[Schplitter]

More water is always better. You have a larger margin for error...Make sure you leave yourself enough space to work and make sure you can get your skimmer in there and that it is not too deep in the water...

 

[paulamrein]

You can always raise the skimmer in the sump with some acrylic or crate so don't let that detour you from more water. I would love to get more volume, but I'm married to the sump I have for now atleast

 

[MRGolfo]

The mag 12 might be too strong. Are there two overflows in a 90? Coincedentally, I have an almost new mag 9 available if you want? Used it for about 1 minute but i lost the receipt and couldn't return it.

 

[WhiteysTA]

I was wondering if a mag 12 would be too much or not. It only has the one overflow in the center, so maybe the 9 would be better. I'm tight on cash for now, so it may be awhile before i'm ready to get this project rolling. As for a skimmer, I'll probably just hand my AquaC Remora Pro on the back of the 75g under the 90g for the time being. Only other thing I need to know is if I should have the side of the tank drilled or just run the plumbing out the top of the tank? Another question I had was what happens when the power goes out? Since the return pump is not running, how do you keep the water from overflowing the sump? I've heard something about leaving enough room in the sump to take on the extra water from the main tank, but what do you do if the overflow has openings both at the top and middle? I think the AGA megaflow overflows have slits cut into the center of the overflow.

 

[scubabill]

I know at the consignment sale they have a huge sale on aquariums of all sizes . Go for the 75 gal sump . Never enough room in the sump .

 

[MRGolfo]

The bottom slats that are open will not be a problem. I know that my overflow has the same slats and then there is an extra plastic piece in the back that prevents that from happening. You're right about keeping enough room so the sump does not overflow.

 

[BigH55]

Bigger is better. Mine overflowed last night and got all my electrical stuff wet. Woke up at 1:30am to a wet carpet and the smell of melting plastic. Wow what a scare. Flipped breaker and went to town for about 2 hrs soaking up the water and replacing the water. That being said I should have got the 30 long instead of the 20. going to upgrade asap to prevent tjis from happening. Come to find out the aor lifter pump return cane out of the tank and pumped the water onto a plant next to the tank and onto the power strip. In the process of drying it all out.

 

[StupidsReef]

Whitey, there is no such thing as a sump thats too big!! You've got the right Idea so run with it. A mag 12 is NOT to much for the system, I had the same tank & I ran a MAG12 and Rich1972 has one as well he's running the MAG12 I had. IMHO, the MAG12 wasn't enough, low flow keeps Rich's sand brown as it did with mine. But extra power heads will cure that, I just don't like extra power heads and cords running around. Just baffle the 75g and leave enough room for the main tank to fill it in case something happens. And that slit in the overflow has nothing to do with draining to the sump, it's there to help handle the flow of water to the pipes, what they don't take on will run through the plastic and come out that slit/ or vise versa. Best of luck with this project I love the Idea but couldn't go that route when I had my 90g .