20 long sump/refuge diy on a fluval edge 12. Advice?

Lauren kelso · 05/31/2016, 03:32 PM

Hello and thanks in advance to anyone who reads and responds(please respond&#128540

. This is my first saltwater build.(I have 4 freshwater-soo different) I'm connecting a fluval edge 12 to an old 20Long as a sump/refuge. A sump larger than the DT is odd I know but it's what I have, the edge is pretty, and the 20 isn't. Plus, the size of the 12 will keep me within my budget on what beautiful things I put inside-while having the unseen 20 to keep the water quality in check. Reef beauties are $$$.

I've read a lot. This forum is awesome! I have planned how to plumb this but want to toss my ideas out with the hopes of advice and/ or confirmation..
The aquarium is glass but the entry hole where the filter attaches is clear acrylic. i plan to cut the clear acrylics back section off, replace the aquaclear 20 with a 50. It'll fit with a slight amount of dremeling. The 50 will also fit inside the black back cover if I cut the top inch off the cover where it narrows for the light attachment piece. With the back clear acrylic removed the filter will sit an inch below the waterline instead of above which will turn the return portion of the 50 into an overflow.
I'll make the drain inside this new overflow from 3/4 inch pvc- using a tee- the side of the tee will have a strainer and will be the water entry. The top of the tee will have a cap with an air hole drilled out to help with sound.. The bottom of the tee will be attached to the bottom of the aquaclear with a bulkhead. Basically i think this is considered a durso or maybe it's a herbie. I would like to do the double overflow drain I've read about I believe created by one of the reef central members.... but I can't fit two 3/4 inch drains in the bottom of the aquaclear if one has a tee attached. And if I attach the extra drain to the back of the aquaclear then it won't fit inside the sleek black edge housing....
Has anyone already used this type of plan? Is it quiet? I know there will be a greater chance of flood with a single drain but I'm going to use a check valve on the return, not fill the sump completely, have the pump sitting higher in the sump, and maybe add an additional 2 inches on the sides and front of the top acrylic entry piece of the fluval. There's a 2 inch gap between it and the hood.
For the return I plan to silicone some acrylic inside the aquaclear separating the new overflow from the little section where the motor would usually sit and use the motors hole for a 1/2 inch braided tubing attached to a return jet and run to a pump in the sump. I plan to use both a ball and a check valve on the return but which do I put closer to DT, how close together, and how close to sump or DT? Any suggestions for what gph and pump? I was thinking rio 1700.? Any suggestions for a better pump in that price-50$? The only fish will probably be two clowns(what the gf wants). I plan one minimaxi carpet anemone and a few rock flower anemones. They stay small and aren't likely to run around and block the overflow. Maybe a few discosoma mushrooms. I plan to only have one large rock piece where I hope the carpet nem will reside with the mushrooms and the rock nems on the substrate. I'd like a few sexy shrimp and one anemone porcelain crab too. I'm keeping it simple since I know how much fun that tiny opening makes maintenance on an edge-I had it set up w freshwater before.
And this brings me to my final question- lighting- I plan to screw the original led bar to the inside of the hood since I have to remove the bar to fit the larger aquaclear. im not putting any corals that need high light but I would like to add an additional bar inside the hood. The original led bar seems to be only sold as the whole arm piece and 50$. Anyone know of a good 6-7 inch led strip for less or that price but better quality? Im struggling in my search. I'm really trying to keep it looking like the original sleek edge so I'd like to keep the light inside the hood. I will be running a fuge light on reverse timing but that'll all be hidden.

Btw, Im using the original 20 but with the 50 motor on another tank-it really bumped up the power-reuse,recycle- Amother brilliant idea from here but don't know which of the hundred threads I stole the idea from. Thank you to whoever posted it.
Any and all responses will be greatly appreciated. I'm very nervous to set this up as I've never plumbed before and it's my first reef tank. And yes I realize I will probably wanna go bigger. The 20 I'm using as a refuge was my first freshwater and now I have 200 gallons. But I have a very limited budget so this is what I can afford... I'd rather have a small nice reef tank than a large empty one.
I tried to be clear and concise writing but if anything is unclear please ask... Thanks again for reading.... Responding....
Also, I have sump/fuge/media plans but this is already a lot so I'll save that for another post. Thanks, Lauren.

05/31/2016, 03:32 PM	#1
Lauren kelso Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 3	20 long sump/refuge diy on a fluval edge 12. Advice? Hello and thanks in advance to anyone who reads and responds(please respond&#128540. This is my first saltwater build.(I have 4 freshwater-soo different) I'm connecting a fluval edge 12 to an old 20Long as a sump/refuge. A sump larger than the DT is odd I know but it's what I have, the edge is pretty, and the 20 isn't. Plus, the size of the 12 will keep me within my budget on what beautiful things I put inside-while having the unseen 20 to keep the water quality in check. Reef beauties are $$$. I've read a lot. This forum is awesome! I have planned how to plumb this but want to toss my ideas out with the hopes of advice and/ or confirmation.. The aquarium is glass but the entry hole where the filter attaches is clear acrylic. i plan to cut the clear acrylics back section off, replace the aquaclear 20 with a 50. It'll fit with a slight amount of dremeling. The 50 will also fit inside the black back cover if I cut the top inch off the cover where it narrows for the light attachment piece. With the back clear acrylic removed the filter will sit an inch below the waterline instead of above which will turn the return portion of the 50 into an overflow. I'll make the drain inside this new overflow from 3/4 inch pvc- using a tee- the side of the tee will have a strainer and will be the water entry. The top of the tee will have a cap with an air hole drilled out to help with sound.. The bottom of the tee will be attached to the bottom of the aquaclear with a bulkhead. Basically i think this is considered a durso or maybe it's a herbie. I would like to do the double overflow drain I've read about I believe created by one of the reef central members.... but I can't fit two 3/4 inch drains in the bottom of the aquaclear if one has a tee attached. And if I attach the extra drain to the back of the aquaclear then it won't fit inside the sleek black edge housing.... Has anyone already used this type of plan? Is it quiet? I know there will be a greater chance of flood with a single drain but I'm going to use a check valve on the return, not fill the sump completely, have the pump sitting higher in the sump, and maybe add an additional 2 inches on the sides and front of the top acrylic entry piece of the fluval. There's a 2 inch gap between it and the hood. For the return I plan to silicone some acrylic inside the aquaclear separating the new overflow from the little section where the motor would usually sit and use the motors hole for a 1/2 inch braided tubing attached to a return jet and run to a pump in the sump. I plan to use both a ball and a check valve on the return but which do I put closer to DT, how close together, and how close to sump or DT? Any suggestions for what gph and pump? I was thinking rio 1700.? Any suggestions for a better pump in that price-50$? The only fish will probably be two clowns(what the gf wants). I plan one minimaxi carpet anemone and a few rock flower anemones. They stay small and aren't likely to run around and block the overflow. Maybe a few discosoma mushrooms. I plan to only have one large rock piece where I hope the carpet nem will reside with the mushrooms and the rock nems on the substrate. I'd like a few sexy shrimp and one anemone porcelain crab too. I'm keeping it simple since I know how much fun that tiny opening makes maintenance on an edge-I had it set up w freshwater before. And this brings me to my final question- lighting- I plan to screw the original led bar to the inside of the hood since I have to remove the bar to fit the larger aquaclear. im not putting any corals that need high light but I would like to add an additional bar inside the hood. The original led bar seems to be only sold as the whole arm piece and 50$. Anyone know of a good 6-7 inch led strip for less or that price but better quality? Im struggling in my search. I'm really trying to keep it looking like the original sleek edge so I'd like to keep the light inside the hood. I will be running a fuge light on reverse timing but that'll all be hidden. Btw, Im using the original 20 but with the 50 motor on another tank-it really bumped up the power-reuse,recycle- Amother brilliant idea from here but don't know which of the hundred threads I stole the idea from. Thank you to whoever posted it. Any and all responses will be greatly appreciated. I'm very nervous to set this up as I've never plumbed before and it's my first reef tank. And yes I realize I will probably wanna go bigger. The 20 I'm using as a refuge was my first freshwater and now I have 200 gallons. But I have a very limited budget so this is what I can afford... I'd rather have a small nice reef tank than a large empty one. I tried to be clear and concise writing but if anything is unclear please ask... Thanks again for reading.... Responding.... Also, I have sump/fuge/media plans but this is already a lot so I'll save that for another post. Thanks, Lauren.