Attempting first saltwater tank, could use some advice

[farsight32]

Good call on the HOB overflow. I drilled my own stuff, and even though I am 4 out of five, it still sucks when you shatter a tank.
I know snake mentioned some of the powerhead options, and I really like my Korilla 420. My brother and I both run one and it is a good little pump. Its not to expensive, and I like that it is not very big. I found it pretty easy to hide it away where it is not an obtrusive eyesore.
Just my .02

 

[redone]

A friend interested in going a 5 gallon tank after seeing my 20 long pointed something out to me... But for some reason I can't put the link on this site... (Sorry, I was messing it up, the link is at the bottom)
I'll try to just explain it then. Basically, he took a 5.5 gallon and used a couple pieces of plexiglass to create a chamber inside the tank, then he split that chamber in half and effectively turned maybe 1.5 gallons worth of space in the tank into a sump/refugium. He cut some lines into the top of the glass on one side to let water into the sump/fuge, and uses a pump to send the water back into display portion of the tank.
I was wondering if this was a reasonable alternative to having a second tank for a sump, I would much rather prefer to do it this way, I don't trust myself with all the plumbing work, and I'm faced with the question of where to put the display tank that would allow for a sump nearby, which isn't many places here. But if there is some major drawback I'd like to know of it before I get too involved.
EDIT! Here's the link to what I'm talking about.
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=132714

 

[snakeblitz33]

If that is what you want to do - go for it! We can't stop you!
I would caution to get a thicker plastic then what he is using.