to sump or not to sump

[reefburnaby]

Hello,

Link should answer most of your questions....

As for sump vs no sump...have your tank drill with two or four holes (two in each corner) regardless of which one you decide. If you are not comfortable with a sump...then at least your tank can be quickly and safely modified to handle a sump. The extra two holes will ensure flexibility in your overflow design.

Successful reefs can be kept with or without a sump.
http://saltaquarium.about.com/librar...y/aa061900.htm

- Victor.

[BCReefer]

Pardon my ignorance but if you predrill holes for the future and then I presume you add some sort of stopper. How do you add the equipment at a latter date with out popping out the stopper and having water run out? I am in the midst of looking at getting a 50G tank with a sump etc and I am interested in this also. The above link is good help.

Thanks

[Troy F]

BCReefer, you could use gate/ball valves.

[DJ88]

Yup.. I agree. set it all up but have a good quality valve closed until you need to hook up the drains and returns in your new fancy sump.. [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[reefburnaby]

Hello BCReefer,

Yes, you can use a ball valve. A cheaper way is to place NPT threaded plugs on both sides of the bulkhead -- available at HD. Besure to use teflon tape on the NPT threads to provide a watertight seal.

Once a hole is cut through the tank, a bulkhead is usually placed through the hole. The bulkhead provides pipe threads (usually called NPT threads) on both sides of the hole. This allows you to connect NPT pipes to the tank without leaks.

The only thing you need to figure out is...how big of a pipe do you want to pass in and out of the tank [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

- Victor.