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[TanksNStuff]

Tell ya what James... I'll look through my box this weekend and see what I can come up with for you.

For reference, the tank in that pic was a 135G AGA.  It's 6' long.  The previous owner (my bro-in-law) used that HOB for that tank, but he said it probably needed another.  I think it would be more than adequate for your 55 though.

Keep in mind, if you use this HOB, and use the sump, you will need to get a return pump.  You will need one that is as strong or stronger than the flow rate of the HOB.  Stronger is ok since you can put a valve in the return line and restrict it as necessary.  I'm not sure of the flow rating on that thing, but I'll measure and find out similar sizes on the internet to get an idea for you.

Anyway, check back here over the weekend and see what else I might have for you.  Should be posted by sunday night.

[SirFragalot]

Thanks again George.  Good to know that I will finally be using a sump and skimmer.  I'm sure that I will have a lot of questions when setting this up.

[reeferwanabe]

Just thought I'd let you know my experience with this sump.
Don't like it. skimmer never really works properly.
Hard to eliminate bubbles going to display tank.
Noisy.
Still running it but looking to build my own soon.
Also not a lot of room for water when the power goes off.
sorry for my bad news. I'm sure there are ways to fix these problems with it but not worth the effort for me. I've tried.

[mikem]

The fitting on top of the overflow box is to hook up an aqua-lifter pump ($10). The pump will allow the U tube to prime itself, even after a power outage.

[TanksNStuff]

Yes Mikem, some people use an aqua lifter or similar pump to prime the HOB overflow... and we could probably do that with this box too.  My bro-in-law had a tube with a valve on it though, dunno why.

James, I took some measurements on mine and couldn't find anything similar on the web as far as size.  Most of them I found were wider than this one (looking at it top down) but mine was wider than most the other way (from the tank wall it hangs on out).  So I got a rough square inches of 15.75 and tried to match that against others.  The popular CPR models have a CPR90 which is around 12 square inches (box inside the tank) and that one is rated for 600 gph.  I think the one I have will be pretty similar.

So, for a return pump, you would want something like a mag 7.

I looked through my box of stuff, and I found a small valve that you can use... but the tubing I have is too big to fit into the hole on the HOB.  You will either need to buy some tubing (or the aqualifter pump as Mike suggested) or you can drill the hole bigger to fit the tubing I have.

Anyway, if you are still interested in any of this stuff, reply back here and I'll check it before I leave for work on Monday.

[SirFragalot]

George,

Hold off on that stuff for a few days.  I might not need it.  I was informed over the weekend that someone might be willing to trade thier RR 75 for my 55 since they are not going to use it.  I will know more by mid to end of the week.  Thanks

[TanksNStuff]

Well that sounds like the best option yet James!  Let me know if Sitting doesn't work out.