Advice for a newbie

[iechy]

Wondering if any of you more expert reefkeepers out there have any advice for me. I have 55 with live sand and 30 lbs live rock up for about a month now. What I want to know is this - I have bak pak skimmer and am wondering if I could put another tank or some other container in my stand and put the skimmer on it ratyher than on the main tank. I am going to put in some new lights and I don't have room for both. What I want to do is just have an outlet tube which I assume would just work ny gravity to the tank in the stand and then a powerhead or other small pump to return the water back to the main tank. I was thinking I could also try using this extra tank as a refugium too since it would basically just be sitting there for the skimmer. If anyone else has done anything like this or has any advice I would really appreciate it. I'm so glad I found this site as you guys are really a wealth of information. I've learned a bunch from you already and I really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Rich

 

[steamboat1569]

Yes, you can do this with the proper plumbing. What you described is pretty much a sump system. Many people use a sump below their tank for more water volume, and as a place to put added filtration and skimmers, etc.

 

[new]

that is a sump system, and i use 1. go to the equipment & diy section and do a search on sumps, then on the questions this brings up and then start asking the questions. i am new as well and these people are a great bunch and always helpful.

 

[me-n-my-fish]

Here is an old pic of the one that I built. It now is full of carlupa!! and works great!!

 

[david s]

that would be a definate inprovement but you would need a overflow box to do it right trying to govern water any onther way may be tricky the way they work is water from the bottom tank (sump) is pumped up to your main tank then the overflow box sits inside tank and gravity of water seeking its own level overflows threw a tube or tubes and returns to the bottom

 

[broomer5]

Yes you can mount a CPR BakPakII on the side of a sump.
As David S. stated - you will need to set up some type of sump and will need an overflow.
I ran a BakPak couple years ago on my 55, and moved it down to the sump. At the time I bought the BakPak - I had no sump.
You'll need to extend the pipe that the Rio600 attaches to the skimmer. I used a piece of tubing.
The Rio must sit down near the bottom of the sump, or at least down to a point where it's always fully underwater.
Here's an old pic

 

[njdiver]

As the others have said don't try it without an overflow box. About.com also has some links to DIY boxes, which are not that complex if you want to make one, or you can buy one comercially for around $85-$100.
If you don't run an overflow box and go just with a siphon tube and the power goes out you may end up with an overflow in the sump tank. If the siphon tube is short then it will break the siphon before over-flowing into the sump, but if the power comes back on before you get home then you will be pumping that sump water back to the main tank without the return flowing and overflow the main tank. (both situations are bad!!)
Anyhow, good luck with it, I just set one up on my 29 about a week ago, and so far so good.
-Scott

 

[iechy]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I think I have a handle on what to do now. I am going to run to the store this weekend and start building. Has anyone tried using a float switch to shut off the flow in the case of a power outage? I definitely need to make some provisions for outages as my power is always going out with the thunderstorms we frequently have and I'd rather not come home to wet carpets.
One more question, would my bio-load increase as I assume it would with the additional water volume? I know I still need to consider space questions but as far as bio-load this should increase my capacity correct?
Thanks again,
Rich