I may have a sump after all, but BIG
 

My earlier post about a small sump, may not be worth it. I was given a 55 gallon tank, very heavy, thick glass. BUT, some one had cleaned it with steel wool, or worse and it is scratched. Looks cloudy. Then it hit me tonight after a couple of beers. Why not turn it into a huge sump. Now , where to put it. I was thinking of finding a nice cabinet, or such, that the tank would fit into, So as to hide the sump. What is wrong with my idea? By the way, I am a bachelor. I can do lots of stuff my ex-wives wouldn't let me. Throw some ideas and suggestions my way. Good or bad. :-?

I think a huge sump would be a great idea. Of course you could always try to get the scratches out with a kit with some cerium oxide or something.

How big would your display tank be that the sump would be attached to?

It would be a 55 gallon. I didn't think you could polish glass?

It would be more of a buffing out then polishing.

A large sump would be a great idea, it would add more volume to the Display and help the water be more stable. Also, if you can alter it correctly it could house all your equipment such as a skimmer, refugium, calcium reactor/kalkwasser reactor, thermometer, and keeps the display looking nice and tidy. without all the wires and they make water changes a breeze!

Make sure, if you do use multiple chambers, you do research on where and how to put the baffles. If you don't you could ruin that tank. If you are going to just use it to increase the water volume then learning how to plumb is your first step to getting started.

Check out Understanding Sumps by SKAustin to get ideas on where to go!