So new, and not sure where to start.

[mng777777]

I'd read about that but people seem to discourage those. Why is that?

People discourage them because they add a large box to the back of your tank, they add another piece of equipment that you have to tinker with to keep it working, and they are expensive. You can buy a whole saw for around $10 and drill your tank, and the fittings you will need cost around $10 too. Some of the LFS will even let you borrow a whole saw so all you end up spending is $10. That barely covers the shipping on these overflow boxes. Going drilled is more simple and "professional". A drilled setup is less likely to fail over time. Realize that the overflow box works just fine, you are just spending more money to have an inferior solution... either way, don't let it become a major issue. Just do whatever you are comfortable with. We can help you get it going either way :)

 

[Bifferwine]

You don't NEED a sump to have a successful tank. You can have a beautiful reef tank with fish and corals without it being drilled or using an overflow box. Most of us start off that way, and when we upgrade to a new tank, almost every single one of us has upgraded to a drilled tank because YES, it is easier and it is nicer looking. But it's not by any means required!

If you want to set up your saltwater tank with what you've got and not drill and not use an overflow box, that's fine in my opinion!

 

[Rcpilot]

Pay no attention to the naysayer known as Bifferwine.

You NEED a sump. Can't be done without one. :mrgreen:

 

[sen5241b]

Here's a way to save money especially since you live in Florida: I've collected many, many pounds of dead coral skeletons (mostly white branch coral) off beaches and from coral quarries in Florida and then cured the rock myself. Live Rock Is very expensive! You can save a lot by curing much of your own free rock and then, after its cured, seed it with some live rock bought at a LFS or maybe at Tampa Bay saltwater. My 20G has 15-20 pounds of great Florida and Costa Rican LR and ALL of it was free.

 

[teqvet]

Here's a way to save money especially since you live in Florida: I've collected many, many pounds of dead coral skeletons (mostly white branch coral) off beaches and from coral quarries in Florida and then cured the rock myself. Live Rock Is very expensive! You can save a lot by curing much of your own free rock and then, after its cured, seed it with some live rock bought at a LFS or maybe at Tampa Bay saltwater. My 20G has 15-20 pounds of great Florida and Costa Rican LR and ALL of it was free.

We don't really get anything like that on our beaches. Few shells of course and sand dollars after hurricanes dredge them up but other than that and misc. seaweed.. not much else washes up on our area. Just sugar white beach sand miles and miles.

 

[meshman10]

welcome to the site, I think you are going to have a very very hard time finding a glass company that will drill a tank because of the tempered glass issue.let me tell ya a little story, so I'm going to build my first sump right, get on CL and find a 30 gal tank, go to his house drain it,load it, next day go to home depo by acrilic cut baffels and install. next day take it to my LFS to have the SIDE not bottom drilled and watched it explode the minute the bit touched the class.. so at the end of the day I was out $60 for tank $30 in acrilic $15 in gas $6 in silicone +time.. the side's are almost never tempered the bottom always is.. so for my 90 I just bought an 30 gal acrilic for $250 no more time waisted

 

[sen5241b]

We don't really get anything like that on our beaches. Few shells of course and sand dollars after hurricanes dredge them up but other than that and misc. seaweed.. not much else washes up on our area. Just sugar white beach sand miles and miles.

Maybe you need to look closer. I found over 10 pounds of white branch coral on the beach in Naples over 4 days, albeit smaller pieces. I found two really big pieces of white coral at a fisherman's shop in N Carolina both for $12. Just last weekend we found a few small pieces of coral washed up on the beach in Delaware. I will say I haven't found that many big pieces on the beach but still the small pieces are good and now covered with coralline. The small pieces can make a good "pod pile".

 

[mng777777]

welcome to the site, I think you are going to have a very very hard time finding a glass company that will drill a tank because of the tempered glass issue.let me tell ya a little story, so I'm going to build my first sump right, get on CL and find a 30 gal tank, go to his house drain it,load it, next day go to home depo by acrilic cut baffels and install. next day take it to my LFS to have the SIDE not bottom drilled and watched it explode the minute the bit touched the class.. so at the end of the day I was out $60 for tank $30 in acrilic $15 in gas $6 in silicone +time.. the side's are almost never tempered the bottom always is.. so for my 90 I just bought an 30 gal acrilic for $250 no more time waisted

You can tell if glass is tempered simply by looking at it with polarized sunglasses on. A glass shop will drill it for you as long as they can determine it not tempered. Though it's way easier to just drill it yourself.:)