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[Brandon1023]

Ok, well this weekend I got a 20g tank for FREE! WahHOO! So to get myself ready for the 125 this summer, I plan on making it into a sump for my 46, so I can get some experience with that. Now I have a good idea on how sumps work, and I need an overflow box. ...But whats the deal with bio-balls? Should I use rubble instead, since my tank is a reef? Also, currently I have a penguin 330 with bio-wheels. I thought biowheels, or bio-balls in the case of a sump, were totally imperative to good biological filtration. It seems as I was misled, and that bio-wheels/balls can in fact raise your nitrates?? I am not having a problem with nitrates, but is this so? I am hearing more and more about people using skimmers as pretty much it, and that the LR does the rest? My sand bed isn't very deep, an inch maybe. I was thinking that maybe a sump would improve the overall clarity of my water, and help with my algae woes (cyano, anyone? ...still waiting on the UltraLife to get here) since I plan to include a small refugium. My water is pretty crystal clear, I guess. But there seems to be some particles always floating around. Not a lot, but enough to notice. Do overflows help with this, since they skim the surface? Should I take off my biowheels? Or the entire penguin filter, for that matter? Or should I leave the penguin going until the sump has had a chance to catch up with the biological filtration? Also, can anyone show me a sketch or a detailed pic of a sump they built, so I can see a little better? Does anyone have an overflow box sitting around that they might sell to me? I'm looking for one on the net and stuff, why they heck do they seem to cost kind of high? Seems silly, but I also don't have the tools necessary to make one on my own. I guess that's it for now! Thanks!