Plumbing a separate refugium without drilling

[cd77]

Is this possible? I have a 70G tank with a ~15G sump sitting below it. I'd like to plumb in a 20L along side the sump, and was wondering if this is possible to do without drilling holes in either the sump or the 20L?

The DT itself is reef-ready, and I was thinking about T-ing off of the drain into the sump, but the only diagrams I've seen so far require drilling and installing bulkheads in both my sump and my fuge to make this work.

Any ideas welcome

[Red Firefish]

Honestly, not really. The refugium can be fed by a pump going up over the side, but has to drain by gravity. That requires either a hole or a siphon overflow, and a siphon overflow is not foolproof. The consequences of an overflow failure would be catastophic in that scenario; you'd risk possibly draining your sump, overflowing your refugium, burning up your return pump, depleting your display of oxygen, and essentially a big big mess.

Plus, considering the cost of the overflow device and the associated plumbing, you could buy a new 20 gallon tank with a drain hole drilled in it, which is probably your best option if you can spend the money on it. Your LFS should be able to order a custom tank to your specifications rather painlessly. Good luck.

[cd77]

Thank you, that is kind of what I figured.

I'm considering ditching the sump I bought in place of the 20L -- though not sure if it will squeeze in the stand without cutting the side open. The sumps that are so popular are made by one particular company, and I just think the design is kind of silly (filter sock -> fuge -> sponge baffle -> skimmer/return)

If I can manage replacing that, I may just give the drilling a try myself -- I've seen it done, just never had the guts to try it myself.

Are there any online companies that build sumps to spec? Does Melev still do this?

[waldomas]

just raise your fuge above your sump and feed it with a Tee off yoyur return.

[waldomas]

And gravity return back to the sump.

[James77]

The drilling is very easy- I used a dremel with 2 diamond bits and it took about 5 minutes. You can also buy diamond hole saws.

http://www.twopartsolution.com/index...79e19b573da528

[cd77]

How would you do that without drilling? Just drop PVC into the tank and attach it somehow -- would the sump return pump start the siphon all on it's own or something? Sorry if I seem inept...

[cd77]

Originally posted by James77
The drilling is very easy- I used a dremel with 2 diamond bits and it took about 5 minutes. You can also buy diamond hole saws.

http://www.twopartsolution.com/index...79e19b573da528

Thank you I actually just picked up some diamond drill bits off of eBay. I think I may give it a try