Sump question

[edinphilly]

I have successfully kept a 29 reef for a little over a year. It doesn't have a sump nor do I have space for one with the current setup. I would however like to learn how to set one up.

I have a 5.5g (fluval chi) and a 2.5g (fluval spec) sitting around. I'd like to hook them together for practice but the sump how to info I've read doesn't seem practical for such pico sized tanks. Any suggestions? How could I set the 2.5 up to be a sump fuge to the 5.5?

[cloak]

That sounds like more trouble than it's worth IMO. Just try & recreate whatever your doing right in your 29 gallon tank, in the smaller 5.5 gallon tank.

Here's a couple links regarding sumps though.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-01/newbie/index.php

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/gt/index.php

HTH.

[ichthyogeek]

There are two main ways: the first is to buy a premade overflow, and hook that up to the sump, and the second is to DIY. I've tried buying my own, but I much prefer the one I made :). I made mine with PVC pipe, this video shows pretty much how I made mine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DFk4bnIxEg
Use a lot of PVC cement and cleaner, and make sure that everything's flat. I hooked the one I made up to an Eshopps sump, but you can make it so that the drainage line flows directly into the tank. Make a baffle using acrylic and live rock to minimize bubbles in the fuge. Add an appropriately sized return pump to the fuge, and either connect the pump using flexible or rigid PVC.

[reepher315]

make sure you can fit all the equipment your looking for in that 5g tank. I struggled for room in my 55g.

[edinphilly]

Thanks. More looking as a learning project than as needed for the tank. Probably making it harder on myself to learn on such a small scale though. Oh well.