Possible to keep a 100+ gallon tank w/o a sump?

[mapleredta]

I bought a used 125 last night but its an older tank so its not RR i dont know if its all tempered glass(does anybody know how to tell the difference?) or not. I was thinking about putting 2 HOB aqua C remora on it, with a ton of live rock. Post pictures if you have any.

[brians4671]

well i went down this road and you will find alot have. you may find yourself wanting a better quality system in the near future. by that i mean something with a fuge. and the money you are going to spend on those filters could get your tank drilled. here is a great thread do some research. http://www.glass-holes.com/main.sc. good luck

[RumLad]

It might depend on just what you want to keep in the tank. If it is for fish only (a nice aggressive tank?) you can get by with a decent canister, a hang on or in-tank skimmer (think Tunze) and some powerheads. For that matter, that set-up would handle most softies as well. How much 'stuff" are you willing to have in or on the main display? If the answer is less, then drill it for a sump / fuge set-up.

[Logzor]

I imagine that only the bottom is tempered, there is no reason for the sides to be (at least this is the case for my 55 gallon).

If you have not put water in I recommend drilling the side and doing some kind of custom overflow. Take the time and set up a sump if you can, it will save you a ton of stress and keep clutter out of your tank. Not to mention if gives you many options as far as adding reactors and such.

A tank that size without a sump sounds light a nightmare. HOB skimmers are not fun, in my opinion.

[mapleredta]

SWEET i found a local place that can drill it for me. NOW, can one of you pros recommend me what size i need the holes to be cut. Im going to do a reef tank. (if that makes any difference.)

[greenmonkey51]

You can always get HOB overflows. My 125g is setup that way. Since I don't trust anyone to drill my tank. Make sure they can guarantee the work. Its tough to drill a tank put together, especially if you don't do it a lot.

[Twz]

If it is a AGA
Then the bottem is tempered =S
But i would say if your running FOWLR
then you should be fine with a canister as RumLad had said

[mapleredta]

greenmonkey can i see some pictures of your set up? i tried pm but its giving me a error.

[Crusty Old Shellback]

I ran a 45G hex for years with no sump. Everything worke djust fine. had to hide the circulation pumps and heaters behind the rocks but that's all. Pic's of the tank are in my gallery.

[greenmonkey51]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y6/greenmonkey51/IMG_0219.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y6/greenmonkey51/IMG_0218.jpg

Theres the overflow. I need to get another one, but I've been upgrading other things so far. Its a standard lifereef overflow. I will probably get another lifereef.