Sump design help please

I know this is alot to ask but I have no clue how to go about building a sump for my 75 gallon. I have a 30 gallons I am gonna use for the sump. But I have no idea on where to start or how to even design it. But I seen they say something about it overflowing and all kind of stuff and baffles i dont even know what those are.

Like I said I know this is alot to ask but can somebody design one for me then i can go from there. Oh I won't be able to drill any holes in the 30 gallon glass tank i have.

 

Read this:

http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-aquarium-articles-how-tos/all-about-sumps-filters-fuges-79852.html

 

There are lots of different DIY sump designs out there, all depends on what you're trying to put in it...

Off the top of my head, here are a few things you may want to consider.

1) How much room you have under your display tank?
2) What equipment you plan to put in it?
Skimmer, heater, return pump, fuge/DSB (deep sand bed) ?
3) When the sump is in service, to avoid a flood you have to make sure you leave enough room for water that will overflow from your display tank when you shut-down the system or should the power go out.
4) Baffles are the vertical pieces of glass/acrylic that are glued in place to control flow, levels and trap bubbles that are introduced by our overflow and skimmer.

Here's one of the most common designs for a sump just to give you an idea....this is my 55g sump for my 75g display. Here's a good site to check out other designs Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums

good luck.

 

light for sump

Once you have checked the info from map95003 above I would consider putting a light over the sump, assuming it is under a cabinet, with a timer that is on at night so algae can carry on photosynthesis when the main tank is dark. This will use carbon dioxide produced in the main tank in the dark. This will help keep your pH more steady as well as use nitrogenous compounds (=waste) from livestock. The algae can then be harvested and removed once it grows enough to start interfering with the light.

 

In the fuge section of my sump (far right in pic above) I have a 7" DSB and I grow cheato and halimeda algae, I also run a 6500k 13w energy saver bulb in a cheap clip-on reflector from homedepot over the fuge 24x7. Along with the skimmer, this does a great job in keeping my nitrates in check.