Sump Layout - What to do with this hole?

[Swensos]

The stars have aligned and I can finally start to build my 90 gallon reef tank.

I have an Oceanic Reef Ready Sump made out of an AGA 30 gallon, but the return chamber, on the far right, has a hole drilled for an external pump. I want an internal pump to save space under the tank.

So what do I do with this hole? The plumbing will be a Beananimal overflow, so I was thinking of having the syphon feed into a central skimmer chamber and the open channel feeding into a refugium for pods and macro algae (for fish food).

Or should I have the central chamber be the return? In that case, can the hole be used for anything plus the already installed baffles that were designed for a return chamber on the right , or should I just plug the hole? Below is a crude first draft of a baffle layout with the hole presumably plugged.

 

[Clownfish Chris]

I would plug it with a capped bulkhead if you are not going to use it now. The bulkhead can be replaced later if you want to add a fuge or an other tank.

 

[elFloyd]

I had two holes in my MRC sump. I bought two clear plastic disks from US Plastic. I glued a disk on each side of the holes using silicon. Works fine and I can easily reopen the holes if I need to.

 

[A1t2o]

What to do with a hole? First off lets get our heads out of the sump.

You could always use it by plumbing the return line though the hole with the pump inside the sump, or cap it like Chris said and have the potential for using it later. Or if you are thinking about using a refugium, then you could split the drain water coming from the display tank then have the fuge drain into the sump though that hole.

Another idea would be to get another container to put the return pump in and have the sump drain through that hole into the return chamber. You might need to elevate that tank or use an elbow to raise the water level for a height difference. Return chamber could be placed where convenient then and used for topping off as well.

 

[Swensos]

I did think of putting the return or drain through the hole, but that would add extra bends and, thus, resistance, just so that I could feel like I was using the hole.

I also thought about having my reactor manifold piped down to drain into that chamber, but, once again, not the most efficient use of pipe, unless maybe it was the refugium...