Starting over with my tank!

Looks good Hat, I would maybe stick the skimmer on a acrylic stand to allow for more water volume in that section. And of course the refugium section will be full height. You have a 75 right? how much room do you have under the stand? Any change you can fit a 55g under it? that would give you more options and space? As close as you are to Marc you could have a custom acrylic sump built and not have to worry about shipping.

Hey MidNight, thanks for ya help! The sump I have now is the same size as a 20 high which was perfect. (sump now won't fit anything hardly because it use to be a trickle filter and the baffle won't allow it) Yes I have a 75g. To be honest space is cramped already with this size sump. I have all my electrical with a UPS on the bottom right of my sump. I thought about Marc building one for me but considered where I could save money on this upgrade. Since it was a big ticket item and I had a few with this upgrade I went with making one from a 20g.

looks great hat can't wait to see how it turns out!

Thanks! I looked at what you did on yours. Lol, still looking. Gotta get it right the first time.

Well, tell me what your plan is for construction? Glass panels? Be sure to use 1/4" glass, not window pane. Silicone them in.

I don't like the sock holder as it eats up too much space, but.... put it in the left upper corner, and turn the skimmer 180 degrees to point to the left.

I would glue the refugium walls together. The center long piece should be 10" tall. The right end should be 9" tall.
Then I would glue three baffles to the cured and finished refugium right after the skimmer. If you don't have room for three, can you do two? Space them 1" apart (a real 1" gap) They should be 5.5" tall.

Let the whole project cure for 24 hours before adding water.

Thank ya Marc for the info, I was hoping for ya help! I will move thing around like you said and re-take a picture so you can see. Yeah I'm really not in no hurry, I want it right.

Oh yeah I'm going to have a glass company cut the glass. 1/4" and polished ends. I've read a lot on Melev's Reef. Especially the 20 gallon tank buid. Will post new picture tomorrow.

Marc, in the section on the right I believe 2 pumps need to go in their. On for return and one for the NextReef reactor. I know my quietone pump can be wet or dry. Can the mag5 go wet or dry? With the two pumPs in the return area I know my 300 watt heater won't fit. Maybe I can get two 150'watt heater which or smaller and I can put them on the side walls. What you think about everything so far? I do think I will go with 2 baffle.

Going to post more pics tomorrow.

Yes, two 150w heaters is better. 300w heaters are usually quite long, which in the past I used when mixing up saltwater for my tank.

Mag pumps work better submerged; I know people have used them externally but they can leak. You could use one pump that runs the return and the SMR with ball valves to control the flow rates to the respective areas if you prefer.

Do you think the mag 5 could run my return and the NextReef reactor?

Marc, if I can use the mag5 to run both I could actual bring the fuge all the way across. Like your sump design "M". Right?

I don't think both could be a return and a fluidized reactor. And FYI, two Mag pumps add heat to the water where only one might be less heat. I'm thinking a Mag 7 or possibly a 9.5. Alternately, an Eheim pump or a Maxijet Utility pump are nice alternatives.

What about my return I have now? I use a quiet one 3000 that has 819gph? That could be enough, to run both? What ya think?

I don't know enough about that pump to answer you. How many GPH do you need for your NextReef reactor?

Haha.. I fell asleep! I believe it's 450, but I will check today and let ya know. I will change some things and make walls and baffle out of cardboard and post some pics today.

Marc, you said make baffles 51/2"? That means return section will only be 51/2" deep, right? Want to know before I cut-out cardboard baffles.

The first baffle should be the water height you need for your skimmer. The other two need to be sized for functionality.

Ok MidNight thanks! will cut the baffle (cardboard) right I believe and post pic.

The reason I said 5.5" deep is because that will put the water level around 6" in the skimmer section, and leave adequate space to hold excess water during a power outage. Most skimmers run well in 6-8" of water. This is a small sump under a 75g and you don't want it to overflow.

Update with pics above!