Ideas for a sump...

[SCUBA_STEVE]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I have been looking at the Eshopps Nano over flow box. They say it is rated for 25g so I figure that would probably work in my 29g. As for a sump I am still trying to figure out what to do. The stand I have currently doesn't fit a 10g tank in it so I may try out a DIY stand or just go with a tote.

[Albertan22]

So I'm not trying to be overly negative here, but I've been giving your issue a bit more though and thought I'd re-post on it.

If you're stand won't fit a 10g tank as a sump, you'll likely want to consider what you're hoping to gain with the sump and what you're planning on putting in it. Measure everything you want to put in the sump, maybe make a mock cardboard sump and see how it actually looks and if you've got room to work in it and clean it. I built my sump out of a 40g breeder and some acrylic for baffles. It sits under my 120g tank in a 4'x2' stand (give or take). The sump fills about 2/3 of the space under my stand an an ATO system takes most of the rest. While I've got enough room to do my water changes, etc., I'd love more space for a reactor or dosing system. Make sure that you can actually fit your body above the sump inside the stand so that you can reach stuff or siphon in the back. Also make sure that there is enough room in the stand to remove your skimmer (body and all), the return pump, and anything else you might put in there without having to drain it and pull the whole thing out of the stand.

With a sump that small, you will run out of space quickly once you place your skimmer and return pump in it. You may also be creating a top-off water nightmare for yourself if you can't make room for an ATO reservoir and top-off switch/pump. The upside of a sump is that you never see evaporation in your display tank, the level only drops in the return section of the sump. If there isn't much water there, the return pump can rapidly go dry. If you're sump isn't divided by baffles, this may also play havoc with your skimmer as water levels rise and fall. I've never had a tank that size so I'm not really sure how much of an issue evaporation would be in a 29g.

[SCUBA_STEVE]

Thanks Albertan that gives me alot to think about. The one issue I am battling in ym 29g right now is my salinity rises on me quickly. I'd say rises .001 every 2 days. While this isn't a big issue while I am around it's going to suck when I want to leave for a holiday. I was hoping with incorporating a sump it would help with my salinity (being new I am not to sure if adding volume will help with that.) If I do decide to go the sump route I will make sure it will work with everything I want to put in it. Once again thanks for your input.

[Mike-fish]

Purely out of curiosity what do you have for a cover. Since your evap must be rather high you get that much of a swing that fast

[Albertan22]

The sump itself likely won't help with your salinity issue; however, it does give you the opportunity to incorporate an auto top off system. If you can manage it, try to build in room for a top off reservoir. Maybe you could put something next to the stand? I used a narrow blue recycling bin (approximately 2.5 gallons), put a maxijet 400 in the bottom, used clear tubing to plumb water to the sump, and used a float switch system I found online. The whole system cost me a little over $100 (the float switch being the most expensive component). For my setup, this gives me about 3 days of stable water/salt levels. In a system your size it might last a week or more.

The nice thing about a system like this is that if you simply get some extra tubing, you can set up a larger reservoir (like a garbage can) for temporary use if you ever leave town. That way you don't have to worry about friends forgeting to add ato water.

If you do set up something like this, be sure to account for siphoning from your fresh reservoir to the sump. Keep the tubing out of the sump water, and tie it higher than the water level in your reservoir or it will siphon down to that point (a lesson I learned the hard way).