New setup. Lots of questions

[RichNY]

I have the following setup:

29 gallon tank salt water reef tank
Coralife 2x65 watt
Fluval 204 filter
2 submersible heaters 78-79 degrees
2 Rio 50 powerheads
1 air pump

I ran a reef tank a few years ago but I had to stop my senior year of college. I am now attempting to get back into the game.

I believe I have already made some mistakes with having some cured rock in the tank for a week then putting in 3 pieces of live rock to cycle.

I am now wondering what sort of Protein Skimmer to deal with a possible heavy load of waste.

Also any suggestions on what else I should add to the tank so that I can have some pristine water. Trying to do this right and don't mind spending a little extra for it but not much.

Thank you for any help.

[crvz]

I don't think the added rock would be too much of an issue, but adding a skimmer is a good idea. Any chance you could add a sump to this setup? That will surely add in your ability to filter the water, and it opens up skimmer choices considerably (as opposed to having to stick with a hang-on model).

[RichNY]

I am not sure how to do a sump but I think I could do it. I am not sure how to begin the process. Could I put the filter and the protein skimmer within the sump? Thanks for the reply.

[crvz]

Yep, the idea of the sump is to house equipment and create more water volume. Really all you need is another tank that fits under the current one (as big as you can fit), a good overflow box (that water overflows into and drains to the sump, and a return pump (something like a magdrive 5 or so to push water from the sump into the display).

[RichNY]

Do you think you can point me in the direction of where to buy an overflow box and how would i know what power pump to buy to resupply the water from the sump to the tank?

[crvz]

Pump is usually needed in the 4-5x system volume per hour, so on a ~30-40 gallon system something on the order of 200-250 gallons per hour would be fine. I've bought a lot of stuff at www.marinedepot.com or www.premiumaquatics.com, and for a submersible pump like that I like the eheim and magdrive brands.

I'm going to let someone else talk about the overflow box, as I've never used one and don't want to steer you in a bad direction.

[RichNY]

You can set up a sump without an overflow box? It doesnt seem to be an item that is sold widely or I am just looking in the wrong places.

[scoop]

At premium aquatics just look under wet dry/overflow, there are sup categories w/ choices under them, you need an overflow if you are getting a sump and don't have a pre-drilled tank.

[depitch]

You will need a means to draw water from the tank into the sump, which should be below the tank. An Overflow box is your best option without having a "reef-ready" tank.

Consider the "u tube" type overflow box, they are more reliable.

For a small tank, like a 29 Gallon, a rubbermaid container or 15 Gallon tank with a partition might be enough.

www.drsfostersmith.com , www.marinedepot.com , www.aquacave.com ,www.saltysupply.com and www.petpromenade.com are a few of the websites you can check for a sump or just an overflow box.

HTH

Doug