You're thinkin like I'm thinkin, but I think my version is better because I think yours is more complicated than it needs to be. :p Mine's simpler. All I gotta do is pull the emergency standpipe out and 9 gallons will flow into the sump. Tee off the return and the return pump pumps it out to a bucket.

I don't think you'll be able to empty the skimmer section would you? Or maybe I'm misunderstanding something. That's a good thought though - to be able to pull the volume from the skimmer section. Actually, I could put a hole of some sort in the partition that separates the return chamber from the skimmer chamber, with some sort of blocking mechanism too, and then my return pump can pull the volume from there too.

Hmm...

Well, this is why I posted my idea. To get you thinking ... :wink:

Mine will work for me as all I'll have to do is use a small pump to empty the big chamber and BAM big WC will happen. BUT my new sump will not be under my tank as I have a sump room and can pretty much build whatever I want.

Just thought I'd throw it out there for you as you started me off in this hobby and anything I can send your way is payback :mrgreen:

I'm jealous you have a sump/fish room. Mine has to be free standing. :(

I have a 3/4" Uniseal kicking around. I can put a plug in it that's super easy to remove. Now with this mod (thanks greg...good thinkin!!) I can remove a little over 10 more gallons from the system, so I could do about a 19 gallon water change without sucking on any hoses (yeck).

The black circle represents the Uniseal.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...3.0uniseal.jpg

Well, helps to own a house. And have a wife who is very forgiving.
Anytime with the help :wink:

I'm likin' how your build is going :biggrin:

We own our house, and I am the wife. :lol: We don't have a basement though, and the master bedroom closet is the only room adjacent to the livingroom. There's no way I'm cutting into the master bedroom walk-in closet (because I am the wife!). So the tank is actually placed on an exterior wall.

Still, I got you thinkin' ...

"How can I perform a larger WC with the little sump I have ?" :wink:

So I sent some fair bit of mula via EMT to some random dude on Kijiji. I'm hoping to receive an ATB 840 protein skimmer in return. :pray:

I'm interested to see how it compares to the Bubble King that's in the aforementioned Royal Exclusiv bag. I imagine the ATB will end up being my backup skimmer. If the pump ever dies on the Bubble King, I'm probably too cheap to replace it. :lol:

Well, he gave me weight and dimensions for the FedEx shipping label, and I can see he printed it off this morning, so that's a good sign. :D

I'm going to order the glass for the sump today. I actually have never built one from scratch before - I always used a fish tank and put baffles and such in it, so I hope I don't screw up my measurements.

Eek! Well, it sounds like you already knew that you were rolling dice with the kijiji transaction so I will throw a few extra prayers into my prayer reactor for you!

The tank order is going in to Concept Aquariums today! :whoo:

I shipped the ATB skimmer economy - I think it will show up today. It looks like I better get a move on with the stand and sump. I ran out of time on Wednesday and didn't end up getting the glass order in. Life is crazy until after May 1st, so I may not get a lot done in this time.