how to setup an easy simple sump for 40 gallon??

i have a 40 gallon tank new setup.down the line i would like to make a simple easy sump for it if possible.

atm i have 20kgs live rock 40lbs live sand.im using a canister filter atm.
i will be keeping fish,inverts,some easy corals in the future like mushrooms and zoanthids stuff like that.

can you please help me out on these queations.

does anyone have a simple sump diagram ?
and a pic on where everything goes? skimmer hoses etc??

what size tank would i need for the sump?

so theres 2 hoses 1 inlet (overflow) 1 outlet
what do i use on the bottom of the powerheads?

i dont know alot about them
so trying to get enough info before i decide to add one.

plus why are they better than a canister filter?

 

ive just found a simple design does this look ok??
anything else i could add??

 

It's hard to read the text on the diagram.
IMO the bigger the sump the better. Especially if it's going to serve as a fuge as well. I would try to fit a 20L at least. Depends on what you can fit in the stand.
I prefer to have the skimmer section on one side and the fuge on the other. The return pump section in the middle.

 

ive made it a bit bigger

 

do i need the micro algae and cheto?

can i have bio balls and something else??

 

You can put in whatever you want. I have cheato, mangroves, 3" sandbed, and about 15lbs liverock in my fuge. I'm not a fan of bioballs myself. If they are maintained properly thay can be useful I guess, but why have the extras maintenance? I do litterally nothing to my fuge as far as maintenence goes.

 

do the cheato sand etc need light if so what type?

and how is the algae good for filtration?

 

Yea you will need a light. I use a cheap clamp on light with an energy efficient bulb. $10 total and my mangroves and cheato grow like crazy.

Algea soaks up unwanted nutrients in the water. Starves out nuisance algea, too. I like cheato because as it grows you can trim it back, physically removing the nutrients from your system.

 

I've got a 30gallon tank recently set up. All I got was a 300mm square bio cube, put my overflow pipe in
heater goes in, skimmer in... 1-2 kg lr and a return
pump, was gonna use tank deviders but I don't have the space

 

This is simple and would work as a biofilter but having a seperate compartment with cheato or other macro algae would be more beneficial,removing unwanted nitrates and phosphates.The cheato and other macro algae feed on them and the seperate compartment would keep them from clogging the return pump.You also need to plum it correctly to avoid a flood should you lose power or the return pump stops working for any reason.