Adding sump to AIO 25g

[Andrew561]

Hi everyone,

 

I am planning to convert my AOI to a sump. Currently I have a lifegard aquatics 24.9 gallon tank. My goal is to drill a hole, add an over flow box, and put a sump in my cabinet. the reason is to add volume mostly. I like the idea of having a sump. Also, I am toying around with the idea of removing the AOI panel in the back in order to increase display space. 

 

My questions are: what kind of piping/tubing will I need to get to connect the sump to the tank and what diameter? where would you guys get a sump if you are on a budget? What kind of pumps do I need and how many? Should I actually remove the back panel in my AIO tank?

 

also, I was told that maybe I don’t even need an overflow box because the AOI section in my tank can act as the overflow. I would just need to drill two holes in it. Thoughts?

 

You may ask why don't i just buy another tank with a sump. really that answer comes down to money. I am not afraid to put alittle bit of work into this, and to buy something new would be pricey. 

 

Thanks! Andrew

[malady]

Theres alot of ways you can do this

 

most run 3/4 inch for return and 1inch for drain

 

or you can just buy a kit such as: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/inout-overflow-and-pulsing-return-system-xaqua.html

 

I would just research and pick what suits you.

[mitten_reef]

Some questions you should be asking yourself - is all the effort worth 10-20 gallon more in volume?  I went from AIO to a sump tank, now i'm scratching my head why I even bothered (other than getting more display footprint, really).  what do you plan to do with added space/volume in the sump? some ppl like to stash their filtration equipment there, but i see you have a hang-on skimmer which may not work in the sump anyhow.  

 

the biggest one would be is your tank drillable?  diff manufacturers use diff glass types, specifically a tempered glass (I hope i get this correct, please research) is NOT drillable.  Something you should verify personally with manufacturer's rep, I won't trust others' words on this one.  if they're wrong about being drillable, your tank is toast.

[Andrew561]

9 hours ago, malady said:

Theres alot of ways you can do this

 

most run 3/4 inch for return and 1inch for drain

 

or you can just buy a kit such as: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/inout-overflow-and-pulsing-return-system-xaqua.html

 

I would just research and pick what suits you.

So how is this different than a overflow box?

[Andrew561]

1 minute ago, mitten_reef said:

Some questions you should be asking yourself - is all the effort worth 10-20 gallon more in volume?  I went from AIO to a sump tank, now i'm scratching my head why I even bothered (other than getting more display footprint, really).  what do you plan to do with added space/volume in the sump? some ppl like to stash their filtration equipment there, but i see you have a hang-on skimmer which may not work in the sump anyhow.  

 

the biggest one would be is your tank drillable?  diff manufacturers use diff glass types, specifically a tempered glass (I hope i get this correct, please research) is NOT drillable.  Something you should verify personally with manufacturer's rep, I won't trust others' words on this one.  if they're wrong about being drillable, your tank is toast.

A manufacture rep told me it is not tempered. 

The main purpose would be to add volume for stability. Also, If I remove the back panel that would add some display space which would be nice. I also believe it would make water changes easier. 

[DevilDuck]

I think once you start adding up the time, costs, and risks of everything you're probably better off selling your current tank and upgrading to a larger used one. 

Also, sumps add a bit more complexity and maintenance.

 

[mitten_reef]

2 minutes ago, Andrew561 said:

A manufacture rep told me it is not tempered. 

The main purpose would be to add volume for stability. Also, If I remove the back panel that would add some display space which would be nice. I also believe it would make water changes easier. 

if you're really gonna remove the false wall for more footprint, then that sounds like it'd be worthwhile provided you have a vision/plan on how to tackle the process. 

 

look into Eshopp Eclipse overflow if you decide to drill it looks really nice - a slightly less cost alternate might be an overflow kit from fijicube.  plumb according to the overflow's recommendation on pipe sizes, size your return pump according to their flow rates as well.  get a controllable speed pump if you can, so you can fine tune to flow to reduce gurgling and micro bubbles.  you can get as complicated or as simple in the piping; ppl added backflow preventer, gate valve, all sorts of bells and whistles just to help with the sump noise and other things.  

 

sump - you can get a basic 10, 20, 20L and add in eBay baffle kit.   

 

i'm not super expert re: plumbing, but that should give you the basics.

 

good luck, keep us posted

 

[SillyReef]

AIO are the best. I think the add volume wont do much for you. I've had massive systems and run two 20 AIO like a dream. So simple and easy. What issues do you have now that would make you think a few gallons would fix it? I swear everyone says bigger tanks are more stable not sure why, but I've learned everything the hard way and never listen so good luck. Most of the times people are just repeating things so they sound smart.

19 minutes ago, Andrew561 said:

A manufacture rep told me it is not tempered. 

The main purpose would be to add volume for stability. Also, If I remove the back panel that would add some display space which would be nice. I also believe it would make water changes easier. 

 

[Andrew561]

9 minutes ago, SillyReef said:

AIO are the best. I think the add volume wont do much for you. I've had massive systems and run two 20 AIO like a dream. So simple and easy. What issues do you have now that would make you think a few gallons would fix it? I swear everyone says bigger tanks are more stable not sure why, but I've learned everything the hard way and never listen so good luck. Most of the times people are just repeating things so they sound smart.

 

Thank you for this wisdom. Very interesting. I dont really have any problems with my tank. its running great. although my hammer corals are bleaching but I think its cause they were getting too much light. 

[Tamberav]

17 hours ago, Andrew561 said:

A manufacture rep told me it is not tempered. 

The main purpose would be to add volume for stability. Also, If I remove the back panel that would add some display space which would be nice. I also believe it would make water changes easier. 

I find water changes more work with a sump. Have to use a pump since no gravity and sumps love to collect debris. It’s the one thing I hate about sumps. I prefer my smaller tanks to not have sumps.

[Andrew561]

7 hours ago, Tamberav said:

I find water changes more work with a sump. Have to use a pump since no gravity and sumps love to collect debris. It’s the one thing I hate about sumps. I prefer my smaller tanks to not have sumps.

I’m beginning to think I should just keep it going as is. The tank really is doing great at the moment. Just added a second HD prime.

[jservedio]

If you change your mind, instead of drilling and hacking apart the tank why not just buy a tank with an overflow and sell your old one? By the time you do everything, you'll probably end up spending just as much money doing it yourself with a real risk of cracking the tank. Really nice tanks are crazy cheap these days.

 

An extra 4 or 5 gallons of water isn't going to do much in terms of stability.