IF I were to convert my 72...

DebsSisterFlo · 03-08-2006, 11:31 AM

...and note that I said "if"...
would a 20g be big enough for a sump? How would I go about getting overflows installed? I'm afraid of those hang on back ones, but I DO NOT want to drill the tank. What options would I have? I'm just trying to do some research for the day when those fish are gone... (ideally I'd get a 125 reef ready, but until then...)
Oh, remember, laymans terms, I still don't get a lot of this, and if you start throwing out "mag this" and a bunch of weird numbers I'm going to glaze over cuz I don't know what any of that stuff is!
Thanks all, now have fun telling me how to do this! lol!

Wiskey · 03-08-2006, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DebsSisterFlo

...and note that I said "if"...
would a 20g be big enough for a sump? How would I go about getting overflows installed? I'm afraid of those hang on back ones, but I DO NOT want to drill the tank. What options would I have? I'm just trying to do some research for the day when those fish are gone... (ideally I'd get a 125 reef ready, but until then...)
Oh, remember, laymans terms, I still don't get a lot of this, and if you start throwing out "mag this" and a bunch of weird numbers I'm going to glaze over cuz I don't know what any of that stuff is!
Thanks all, now have fun telling me how to do this! lol!

Well you really have 2 options, either drill the tank, or use one of the HOB overflows.

On weither or not the sump is big enough, what do you want to put in it? If you just want a place to store a little water then it is fine, but if you want to locate your skimmer and equiptment down there, you need to make sure that fits first.

What do you want to do with this tank? That will determen some of the equiptment you need to have in your sump.

HTH,
Whiskey

reefBoyDc · 03-08-2006, 12:16 PM

IMO, there's nothing wrong with the HOB overflows. I used one for 3 years without a problem, except once a snail clogged it, but that would have happened with a drilled overflow too.

Like wiskey said, the only other option is to drill the tank.

And yes 20 is fine, depending on what you want to do with it.

gwen_o_lyn · 03-08-2006, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DebsSisterFlo

Oh, remember, laymans terms, I still don't get a lot of this, and if you start throwing out "mag this" and a bunch of weird numbers I'm going to glaze over cuz I don't know what any of that stuff is!
Thanks all, now have fun telling me how to do this! lol!

ha ha Jessica- boy those words sound familiar!!

Yes a 20g sump is perfect for a 72g- don't ask me how to hook it up- I have no clue!! lol
But keep in mind- if you have the 72g bow with the stand and you are using a 20g long for a sump- there is only one way to get the sump in and that is through the top of the stand. So once you have the 72g empty- take it off the stand, and throw your 20g long in the cabinet. Make sense?

Don't do like I did and break the sump- never try and move a tank filled with water

. So now I use a rubbermaid and that works great and fits in the cabinet without having to take out a support or moving the tank on top.

Good 'frickin' Luck on hooking it up!! I do use a Mag7 which is a pump that sits in my sump- it sucks the water up the pipes and throws that into the 72g and then the 72g overflows, the water goes down the tubes and into my sump. So my point is- I guess a Mag7 would work fine, but I have no idea how you would get it to work.

What a waste of a post!! ha ha- sorry Jessica- I tried!!

dobejazz · 03-08-2006, 12:26 PM

Uh oh Jees your Hooked! those poor fresh water fishys don't stand a chance

gwen_o_lyn · 03-08-2006, 12:32 PM

ha ha Kelli- you're right- those FW fishies are screwed!! ha ha

DebsSisterFlo · 03-08-2006, 01:07 PM

oooohhhhh no! I'm keeping them until they decide it's time to go (ie: tank in the sky!). I was just afraid of those hob overflows as I've heard stories of floods and that really scares me!!! This could be literally years down the road, if at all...
I still want a lion, and according to Scott Michael's Reef Fishes vol. 1 book I can have a volitan in a 72. I still want a lion...

gwen_o_lyn · 03-08-2006, 01:18 PM

oh I wasn't trying to say you would kill them- I know you wouldn't dare, but when the last one dies... he he he, here comes the saltwater!!

Caoineag · 03-08-2006, 02:54 PM

Hangons aren't that scary if you know how to use them and maintain them. I have a U-tube one running flawlessly. Unfortunately, I nearly overflowed it twice before figuring it out because I didn't understand that the return pump needs to be pushing water through the U-tube as fast as possible to prevent bubbles(which for me meant that I needed to crank my motor up a speed, adjustable ones tend to be handy for figuring this out). Now I don't wake up twenty times a night to check and see if the overflow failed because I know it hasn't. A snail couldn't clog mine but a shrimp could so I recommend some sort of screen on the overflow box to keep critters out.