hey i'm starting a 55g acrylic soon and i'm just reasearching and planning before hand

for my sump i thought this mite work
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/warr40/55g/55sumpsetup.jpg

-both sumps are 20 gallon longs

-this set-up will be in the next room behind the tank and will be plumbed accordingly

-the drain is going to be 1 inch with an external durso and a elbow facing up on the tank side of the bulkhead

-the return pump is a mag 7

-skimmer is a CSS 65 for now

-any suggestions or problems that can be noticed so far.

remove the baffle closest to the return otherwise if your water level gets too low you'll throw microbubbles into your tank. if you have problems with bubbles use a sponge between the remaining baffles. also i would put the skimmer directly next to the return from the tank before the fuge. this will also give you more room in your frag tank. the biggest problem is that you'll have to keep the waterline very low in the bottom 20 because if you loose power you will have to take up the overflow from not 1 but 2 tanks.

ok so put the skimmer first in line and remove the return baffle gotcha....do u think i the overall set-up will work as of gph wise and flodding

well you will have 90 gal system when the power goes out all the uptake will flow int to the bottom 20. i have a similar setup the only thing is you have to find you MAX water level. fill your system so there is water circulating. then kill the power. when everything settles down fill the bottom 20 till it's about 1 inch from the top. then start the system up again and mark where the water level settles out at. so i think it should work just remember test it out with fresh water outside before you set it up inside.

I like having a small pump bay made by baffles. I don't let the water get that low to risk bubbles because I use a cheap auto top-off to keep the water level..... ummmm... level. And the smaller area means I have to loose only a little water before the top off detects it unlike if you are waiting for the level to drop 1" in a larger area.