55 setup ?

[Al Kurtys]

I am currently on a mission to upgrade from a 37 gallon to a 55 and have question should my overflow drain be the same size as my return line? I have a 300 gallon an hour overflow I believe and also have a sump that should hold around 12 gallons of water I think. I will be using a Rio 2100 for the return and also one to run my skimmer which is a Aqua c 120. Should I hard plumb both lines and put ball valves in them or could I use flexible hose? And how about unions and stuff? I really want to set this up right from start to finish! If anyone can help me out I would appreciate it.

[RocketSurgeon]

I would think you would want your drain line to be larger than your return. If you do not want to create a siphon on your return, then a valve may not be necessary. I would put a valve on your return line in case you need to reduce flow back a bit.

[bigreentractor]

+1 on the return valve. I never thought I would need it but it helps to cut back the flow to keep the sump level stable.