Plumbing a 45 gallon

[MOsborne05]

I just ordered three 1" bulkheads and a holesaw bit to drill my tank, but I am so confused on how to plumb it. The tank is 45 gallons, and I have a 700gph internal overflow box from Glass-holes. The sump/fuge is 10 gallons with a Aqua C Urchin skimmer and a Quiet One 3000 return pump. How many holes would you recommend? Someone on another forum suggested 3, 2 for drains and 1 for return. I don't have any experience, so any help would be appreciated as I just want something functional.

Basically, this is what I have. So I would like some suggestions from experienced keepers as to what would work the best.

 

[TRe]

ok on a 45g tank u only need one drain, if u want a 1" bulkhead remeber the hole u drill must be larger more like 1 and 3/4", personally i dont mind the return line coming up and over the top of the tank rather than drilling an extra hole (drilling holes scares me ) so me i would just drill the one hole btw a 1" bulkhead will get u around 600gph which after about 3 feet of head is about what your return pump is guna push... as far as plumbing i always just used flex tubing because for some reason hard plumbing (pvc) intimidated me lol but after hard plumbing my latest skimmer i like it alot more and will never use flex tubing again! just simply run a line down to the skimmer section of the sump and than run another one from the return pump back to the tank... make sure u drill a small hole in the return line just above the water surface so when the pump powers off it doesnt back syphon and flood your livingroom

 

[TRe]

btw u have the baffles wrong in yur sump design... the middle one should be raised up higher then the other two so the water travels under this is how it getts the bubbles out, when the water goes under that baffle the bubbles dont and instead float back up and burst
oh and having the return section so small make sure u have an ATO setup! i got mine from ATO.com and it was super easy to setup and not too expensive either

 

[MOsborne05]

OK thanks. I don't mind the return coming up and over the tank either, so that will work. I bought the 1" bulkheads and the holesaw to go with them, which I think is 1 3/4".

I don't have a lot of room in a 10 gallon for both sump & fuge, but that is the biggest tank that will fit under my stand. I want the skimmer & return sections to be as small as possible that way I can use as much as I can for fuge. I will look into the ATO's as that would make me feel alot better about it.

Its a good thing I'm not making my sump then if I had the baffles wrong! I've got a guy that works for the university and isn't allowed to buy stuff for his tank, so in exchange for constructing my sump/fuge, I am going to donate a acro frag for his tank. Works out well for both of us!

 

[TRe]

just remember only place the water level will fluctuate from evaporation is in the return section so with it being that small youll be topping off daily otherwise your pump will suck in air which is very bad for the pump! i hear u on making the fuge section as big as possible and id do the same but an auto top off should be a priority right now... it also keeps the salinity stable and is a great way to dose kalk

 

[TRe]

btw yur only 2 weeks further along than my wife!

 

[MOsborne05]

So you probably understand why I want to get this project going while I still have the energy, and the money! And the ATO is definitely a priority I think, just in case I don't have the time to top off the return everyday.

 

[TRe]

i defintly understand! im scrambling trying to get my 300g setup before its too late!

 

[MOsborne05]

Changed my mind again. With a baby coming, and a new foster puppy, and working overtime to bank some extra hours, AND fixing up our house before the baby, saltwater is just not gonna work. I've been having a hard time finding the time to even top off my freshwater tanks, so this tank is going to be a low-light planted tank instead, that can go months without any maintenance. Maybe sometime in the future I will be able to set up my saltwater tank. Thanks for the help