After much debate about the risks and benefits to drilling a tank and adding a sump vs using a HOB overflow, I decided to go for it.
I have a 72G bowfront which makes the stand oddly shaped. I could not fit a 20g long in it, just barely and I did not want to use a 20g tall, because I felt I'd lose too much volume to just air. I wanted to maximize refugium space and the tall tank just didn't have enough room for everything. I ended up going with 2 10g tanks. One is a dedicated refugium and the other is a sump.
I ordered 2 overflows from glass-holes, one large and one small. The plan was to have the main tank drain into both the refugium and the sump, then have the refugium drain into the sump, and the sump pump back into the main tank. Then, I read all about cascading on here and realized that was a horrible design.
Now, the main tank drains into the sump. The sump has a return pump to the main tank and a smaller pump to the refugium. The refugium drains back into the sump.
I was able to drill the refugium without issue, which gave me the courage to drill the main tank. I already had fish in it, but after drilling the 10, I had it rather figured out. I put duct tape on the inside and a board, then put the template on the outside and clamped it all together. I also put paper towels under the "hole" on the inside, so things wouldn't drip in.
Took about 45 minutes to slowly drill it out. I plumbed it all up for all 3 tanks, waited, then started the pumps. Everything is flowing well without leaks. I'll post pictures later.
I have a 72G bowfront which makes the stand oddly shaped. I could not fit a 20g long in it, just barely and I did not want to use a 20g tall, because I felt I'd lose too much volume to just air. I wanted to maximize refugium space and the tall tank just didn't have enough room for everything. I ended up going with 2 10g tanks. One is a dedicated refugium and the other is a sump.
I ordered 2 overflows from glass-holes, one large and one small. The plan was to have the main tank drain into both the refugium and the sump, then have the refugium drain into the sump, and the sump pump back into the main tank. Then, I read all about cascading on here and realized that was a horrible design.
Now, the main tank drains into the sump. The sump has a return pump to the main tank and a smaller pump to the refugium. The refugium drains back into the sump.
I was able to drill the refugium without issue, which gave me the courage to drill the main tank. I already had fish in it, but after drilling the 10, I had it rather figured out. I put duct tape on the inside and a board, then put the template on the outside and clamped it all together. I also put paper towels under the "hole" on the inside, so things wouldn't drip in.
Took about 45 minutes to slowly drill it out. I plumbed it all up for all 3 tanks, waited, then started the pumps. Everything is flowing well without leaks. I'll post pictures later.
