Adding sump to 75 gallon tank

Fishn28 · Sep 1, 2024

I have battled with every form of filtration I can find and I have decided it's time to get a sump. The canister filter hasn't been what I originally expected and I just want something reliable. I have a tempered glass display tank so I'll have to go with a HOB overflow, probably the Eshopps 800. This will lead to my sump which I have decided on a Fiji-20 Advanced Reef Sump - 2nd gen because it will fit under my tank. I will most likely run a skimmer and a refugium in the sump, both of with are upgrades from a canister filter.

Questions I still have
Do I connect my ATO to the DT or to the sump?
How do I go about starting the sump and getting water circulating?
Any tips of safe proofing a HOB overflow?
I am currently planning to buy a Sicce 4.0 return pump, but I am open to any other better alternatives

This process will also be happening with fish in the tank but I do not see that being a big issue since I will not be drilling the tank

MysticBlue · Sep 1, 2024

Fishn28 said:
I have battled with every form of filtration I can find and I have decided it's time to get a sump. The canister filter hasn't been what I originally expected and I just want something reliable. I have a tempered glass display tank so I'll have to go with a HOB overflow, probably the Eshopps 800. This will lead to my sump which I have decided on a Fiji-20 Advanced Reef Sump - 2nd gen because it will fit under my tank. I will most likely run a skimmer and a refugium in the sump, both of with are upgrades from a canister filter.

Questions I still have
Do I connect my ATO to the DT or to the sump?
How do I go about starting the sump and getting water circulating?
Any tips of safe proofing a HOB overflow?
I am currently planning to buy a Sicce 4.0 return pump, but I am open to any other better alternatives

This process will also be happening with fish in the tank but I do not see that being a big issue since I will not be drilling the tank

So I had the exact overflow and sump your getting and the only issue is when the power goes out the siphon will stop once the water runs out of the DT into to the sump so make sure that the guard is high enough so it doesn’t flood your sump and cause a bigger problem!!! (Ask me how I know lol) getting the siphon started is a pain in the butt but it’s doable. To safe proof the overflow I would use pvc pipe and glue everything so it doesn’t leak and I would also put a shut off going to the sump in case you need to work on the sump. Make sure you have enough room in the sump for that protein skimmer comfortably because they take up a lot of room!! Then on the the return pump you could use just a hose but make sure you put a check valve to stop the water from flowing back the other way in case of a power outage. To start a refugium make sure you have a good light and a good copopod colony in there as well as some sort of macro algae but other than that you should be all set!!

ajremington68 · Sep 1, 2024

Fishn28 said:
I have battled with every form of filtration I can find and I have decided it's time to get a sump. The canister filter hasn't been what I originally expected and I just want something reliable. I have a tempered glass display tank so I'll have to go with a HOB overflow, probably the Eshopps 800. This will lead to my sump which I have decided on a Fiji-20 Advanced Reef Sump - 2nd gen because it will fit under my tank. I will most likely run a skimmer and a refugium in the sump, both of with are upgrades from a canister filter.

Questions I still have
Do I connect my ATO to the DT or to the sump?
How do I go about starting the sump and getting water circulating?
Any tips of safe proofing a HOB overflow?
I am currently planning to buy a Sicce 4.0 return pump, but I am open to any other better alternatives

This process will also be happening with fish in the tank but I do not see that being a big issue since I will not be drilling the tank

Questions I still have:
Do I connect my ATO to the DT or to the sump?
Ato goes in the sump and in return chamber as the chamber will fluctuate with evaporation.

How do I go about starting the sump and getting water circulating?
once you have the HOB overflow on and piping into the sump. you filll up the sump on the side the overflow pours in until it goes into the return chamber. From there you can add saltwater to your tank to allow the overflow to "overflow" down the pipes in the sump, and once the return pump is covered in water you turn it on and it'll pump water an pull.

Now, with the overflow what needs to happen is there is a tube that essentially goes from your tank over the rim of your tank and down to your sump. Somewhere on the tip of the curve of the pipe going over the rim there should be a nipple to add a pump like this "OSC Clnr Aqua Lift Vacuum Pump" which will pull all the air out of the top of the pipe filling it with water causing a suction like a gravel vac and will keep pushing water to the sump as long as it doesn't go under the overflow.

This is my experience and I am terrible at explaining but lots of videos on it of how they work. Also buy a nice once because that is the last thing you don't want to work cuz it'll cause a flood... and can be noisy (the cheap ones)

Any tips of safe proofing a HOB overflow?

OSC Clnr Aqua Lift Vacuum Pump

I am currently planning to buy a Sicce 4.0 return pump, but I am open to any other better alternatives
These are solid pumps but I would recommend a DC pump that you can turn up and down the flow easy. this is what I have on my 180 and its a beast, just obviously get a smaller one