Ray,
Sorry I couldn't respond last night as well, i wasn't in the best of spirits.
Codetoad mentioned that he was "completely lost" and wanted to know if they "even make a little fuge for a tank like that". All I was trying to do was explain to Codetoad the beneficial features that people seek sumps and fuge's for.
It appears that you have had some very bad experiences with sump set-ups. As for the flooding, the chances of this happening are greatly reduced with a Reef Ready tank. I should have stated in my first post that the only way I would ever feel comfortable doing this, is with a reef ready tank, as the complications of using a syphon overflow can be overwhelming. Also I would only feel comfortable having enough room in my sump to accomodate the water over my overflow. I appologize to CodeToad for not making these two points in my initial observation. It was irresponsible of me to point out only positive points on a subject to a person who had already stated they were "lost". Sorry Coadtoad anything you do in a tank will have positives and negatives...
I was not trying to lead Codetoad into something dangerous or even deadly as your fire story shows can happen, only explaining the reasons people want sumps, as I believe the majority of reefers that I have spoken too not only want a sump, but want larger areas for more equipment/dosing/feeding etc.
Lastly I think it is obvious that you can keep your heaters pumps skimmer and heck even a refugium inside your tank if you chose too. There might not be enough room for fish or corals, and it may not be appealing to the eye but it can be done. In fact it sounds like Codetoad currently has his tank set-up in this manner (all equipment in tank/ontank), I was merely pointing out the positives.
I don't want this message to come off wrong, or make it look like a flame, I just want to make sure Codetoad knows that although there are risks involved in keeping a sump, most reefers (in my opinion) believe the benefits of these outweigh the risks. I haven't been on this forum long, and I don't want a reputation for someone who gets defensive everytime thier point of view is questioned, but I did want to make sure, for Codetoads sake, that it was understood that I was only attempting to be helpful, and that none of my points were made out of ignorance, or to lead anyone in the wrong direction.
Dave