AIO or sump

pirate · #1 03-31-2010, 12:21 AM

Well I was given a stardard 50 g tank by a co-worker and it came with a stand and cheep hood/light, and I was thinking about drilling it and going with a sump, but then I keep reading about the noise from the drain.

Then I thought My BC29 is quite. Could I do a AIO inside of this tank?

If I do an AIO how big should the internal sump be? The full width of the tank or only half, maybe just the middle of the tank?

Or am I just dreaming and just get the thing drilled already. I have lots of questions but I need to figgure out what I'm gonna do with this tank first. AIO or sump it

brizzo · #2 03-31-2010, 01:31 AM

Look into a herbie drain setup, also known as a full siphon drain. Requires 3 holes drilled; main drain, backup drain, and return.

I'm a big fan of all-in-one tanks. I have a 28g nanocube drilled with a sump

If you're going to setup a 50g tank, you may as well setup a real sized sump. 20-30 gallons with a refugium section.

BlueAbyss · #3 03-31-2010, 04:23 AM

I agree with nazerine (welcome back, BTW

), if you want to do a sump definitely look into a herbie style drain. Durso's can be good too, but seem more fiddly IMO.

AIO is nice because you don't have to worry about plumbing as much, but it's sort of wasted on a tank of that size... you'll likely want to have a decent bioload (I would want a number of medium sized fish if I had a 50 gallon) and that will require a good skimmer which would be a pain to make space for in an AIO set-up. Also, if noise is a consideration things like skimmers are pretty noisy and you'll want to enclose that in a cabinet of some sort, a sump seems like the best option.

Just on the offhand what are the dimensions of the tank?

pirate · #4 04-01-2010, 10:37 AM

36" l x 16" d x 20" h. Glass is approx 1/4 thick.
It's a Hagen tank with a store bought tank. It's home now. Inside ofthe stand the space is as follows 26.5" long 14" deep and 24" high. I was leaning towards drilling it when I got it but then thought it would make a really neat AIO but not sure what to do. Since I have never drilled glass befor and don't have a bit to do it with, it scares me just a bit. AIO is just silcone I can do that. But i'm still on the fence. Any other opinions out there! 2 for drilling

mark · #5 04-01-2010, 01:33 PM

When started this hobby jumped in with a 75g DAS AIO. Had a small compartment in the corner (~8x16") for the overflow, skimmer and pump return. Quiet as all pumps submerged and really no complaints other than pump return section sort small so would need topping up every few day or blowing bubbles.

Never really considered converting to put a sump under the display as couldn't see any great advantage other that increased size of display and volume of water plus hiding the heater. Did though think a basement sump directly below made more sense from the convenience factor.

Think AIO okay for small tank.

BlueAbyss · #6 04-01-2010, 03:51 PM

It all depends on what you want. Depending on how you do the AIO, you'll lose probably 6" of space at the end of the tank, making the display area 30 x 16 x 20. IF you feel you can afford the loss of display space, go for the AIO simply because it's easier. If you feel you need those 6", go for a sump. If you do an AIO, use automotive window tint to hide the AIO area somewhat, so the equipment isn't as easily seen.

pirate · #7 04-04-2010, 07:58 AM

Well I started to play around with the tank and I think I will be going with a sump, I don't really want to lose that much of the tank. So now the next question is how big of a hole do I need to drill? I think I want to gowith a herby type drain. How big of a sump should I go for? ( what firs inside of the stand or somehjng else?) how big of a return pump? Should I drill it my self or is there anyone in Calgary that you guys would recomend? It is an older tank if that makes a difference. Or should I do one of those siphone type drain boxs? Any help is good help.
Thanks

mark · #8 04-04-2010, 02:34 PM

just put this up in another post but here's Reefjunkie's Herbie, doesn't take up a lot of space if you want to drill the back.

pirate · #9 04-05-2010, 07:09 PM

The more I look into it I think I'm gonna go with a herby. But now the quesion is gonna be how big of a hole do I need to drill. From the link he had a 3/4 drain line and a 3/4 overflow? What size hole then do I need? What size hole line do I need for the return? That was a very clean setup and I think I might copy that one.

Do I then match the pump to the main drain? or does it really matter? Lots of newb type question I know. Where do I get the bit for drilling the tank (anywhere local in Calgary?)
Thanks

mark · #10 04-05-2010, 07:37 PM

from Bean's calculator if using a Herbie, a 3/4" could give you around 1000gph which according to a few in this thread is way more than you would need. Could go with 3/4" return just to keep everything the same.