starting a new tank questions

i can get a used undrilled 55 for 50$. never owned not-drilled, i have no ideas/understanding on hob skimmers, which is the choice for me because i need to go cheap, now.
plan is 2-3 bought fish, and taking from my 65 gal dt acans duncans clams, inverts. also want room for frags egg crates.
the question is can a sump be added later to an undrilled tank, or do i have to get rr to have a sump?
2nd question: are there any excellent hob skimmers? i would like to get one used for about as little as possible ($150 used)

i dont know much about the HOB skimmers...

yeah you can easily add a sump to an undrilled tank, just use something like this

http://www.aquacave.com/detail.aspx?ID=75

Paul, watch out cause I think most 55s are tempered glass and can't be drilled.

And +1 to what Keith said, just use an overflow box/siphon setup down to the sump, that is what I currently have on my 55. Remember you want to get a return pump that pumps less than your overflow box is rated for.

I've never used a HOB skimmer, so I can't help you there, but for $150 if you go the sump route, you could get a pretty decent (used) skimmer for that price.

thanks, ian. so that means i have to get a sump also. any thoughts on avoiding a sump for now at least?

If your only putting in what you listed up there, you should be ok w/o a sump for a while, how much LR are you putting in? I guess you could get a HOB skimmer, but I'm no help there, sorry. You could always just bump up the waterchanges.

Depending on your space a simple tub from walmart can work fine as a sump.

lotsa space. it's going in the basement. don't even have to worry about looks of equipment.
you write:
Depending on your space a simple tub from walmart can work fine as a sump.

great idea. how do i get a plan of sompin like that?

oh as for lr, i'd like to put in close to 100 lbs, if i get a 55.

My Reef Octopus HOB skimmer works well. It's got some flaws, but it does consistently pull brown skimmate out.

I'll see if I can get some pics for you of my ugly sump setup

thnx ian, that'd help

one thing i would be cautious of if using a tub as a sump is to make sure to find one that is really strong if you plan on having a sump any larger than ten gallons. the stress of the water pressure over time can cause the plastic to stretch leading to catastrophic failure at seams and corners resulting in a floooooood..

we hates flooooooods.

The best HOB skimmer atm,

http://www.shop.reeffiltration.com/p...7&categoryId=2

I'm thinking of getting one myself

As for your list of goodies, you can go skimmerless with the livestock you have outlined. Weekly water changes of around 15% once the tank is cycled and matured abit, and you'll be right. I don't recommend this long term, but untill you can afford a skimmer etc, it'll get you started.

Originally Posted by blacjack

The best HOB skimmer atm,

http://www.shop.reeffiltration.com/p...7&categoryId=2

I'm thinking of getting one myself

As for your list of goodies, you can go skimmerless with the livestock you have outlined. Weekly water changes of around 15% once the tank is cycled and matured abit, and you'll be right. I don't recommend this long term, but untill you can afford a skimmer etc, it'll get you started.

tnx for the sugestion/info. i'd rather go minus the sump than minus the skimmer. for $150 i should be able to get a hob sk used.
i HOPE!

For $100 you can get this Paul http://www.nuocean.com/skimmers/bmqqexternal.html

How many gallons is that good for?

I think a max of about 40 to 60 gal

Paul here are the pics of my walmart sump. You can obviously do much better with a glass tank and some baffles, but it works for a quicky...or in my case several months.







Hope those pictures help

ian, thanks. but i got rich's 35 gal sump /asm g3 skimmer/blue tooth ext return pump. no tank yet or lights. i keep trying to go used. also thinking of LED.

Originally Posted by shmoliken

ian, thanks. but i got rich's 35 gal sump /asm g3 skimmer/blue tooth ext return pump. no tank yet or lights. i keep trying to go used. also thinking of LED.

Oh yea... I knew that lol