Fuge plans?

[Mr. Slippery]

I've been toying with the idea of adding a fuge on my 55 because I can't stand the little spots of hair algae on the back glass anymore and I'd also like to get my NO3 reading to be undetectable. I was going to add a phosban reactor to try to combat the algae but I think I want to try a more natural approach.

Here's the catch....My stand sucks, as you can imagine, because it's made for a 55g tank. It has 2 sections inside, separated by a 3/4" partition. My sump, which I built myself, is on the right side. I'd like to do the same for a fuge on the left side. My first queston is if I drill 2 bulkhead holes through the partition for the plumbing to the sump, how will this affect the structural integrity of the stand?(it's only laminated particle board)

Second question: The water level in the return section of my sump is just over half of the height of the inside of the stand. How can I plumb the fuge to the sump if the water level for the fuge is either level with or lower than the sump level? I can't make it higher for a gravity fed drain b/c I won't be able to fit a light in there. The inside stand height is only like 17 or 18 inches. Lastly, my sump sticks out the back of the stand to accomadate my skimmer. I do not want this done with the fuge, I wan't to be able to cover the opening with cloth or something to block the light from escaping, so whatever i build or buy will have to be less than a foot deep.

Anybody have any other suggestions or even understand what i just typed I'm just throwing ideas around so feel free to send some more my way, I need them.

 

[NateHanson]

Your fuge level can be the same as your sump, but no lower. A standard 10g glass tank is 10" wide. Should be perfect for your fuge. (in fact, I have one that's already drilled, that I won't be using in about 2 weeks). $20.

Drilling holes in the partition will not affect the tensile strength of the particleboard at all, assuming you don't make 10 of them in a row, 1/8" apart.

 

[Mr. Slippery]

Your fuge level can be the same as your sump, but no lower.

OK great. So how should i have the bulkheads? Should I have them above the sump water level pouring in, or should I have them submerged? I'm having a hard time understanding how the water won't just build up and overflow the fuge if it's not pouring into an area lower than itself.....

 

[NateHanson]

The water level in the fuge won't get any higher than the water level in the sump, because they're connected by a bulkhead, so they have to stay at the same level.

The fuge can't fill up as long as the amount of water flowing into it from the tank drain doesn't exceed the capacity of the bulkhead connecting the fuge to the sump (that'd have to be a pretty small bulkhead). The more relevant concern is that the fuge drain could get clogged with algae, so make sure you design things to prevent that.

Nate