Old 3ft tank to convert to sump filter

So I have this old 3ft tank which is empty or should I say that I've outgrown it in terms of size and limits of fish so I want to convert it to a sump filter for my 260lt 4ft because I've never had one before, I know its overkill for that size tank but as soon as I am ready to upgrade to my six foot with cabinet, I'm sure it will be very useful. At present it will just be on the floor and in plain sight so I can easily monitor and learn to maintain as necessary. This wont be a problem cos its not on my main display tank.

Ok so the advice I have so far is to buy an overflow box, I was quoted R800 on a reef octopus brand, the conversion for the glass divisions with some going over and some under will cost me around R200 and powerhead to throw the water back into the tank will be around R200-R400. So Basically I am looking at around R1400-R1200 to turn this sucker into a sump. Also I wont be buying any media for the sump because I will be using my Via Aqua 902 internal filter, Jebo 260fc, 2 x 300w heaters and about 2 or 3 other mechanical internal filters that I have extra in the sump so water flow in the sump is going to be relatively high. I will add the bigger and better medias at a later stage though.

Is there any advice that anybody else can give me in regards to this? I am not very techy, DIY or hands on so I doubt I will be able to do much myself hence I've left most of that to my LFS but any suggestions here would be appreciated. This project will start in the next two weeks.

 

I built a DIy overflow .. working well, total cost R100 for Pipes and silicone (builders) .. Powerhead R149 (builders),, glass i had some lying around free .. Filter media = R200 worth of seacheam matrix so far

 

I also want to convert my 3ft into a sump for my 4ft. I dont think its overkill. A sump should be at least 50% of your main tanks volume so a 3ft will work great. I am going to build a internal overflow it is much easier to
controll than a HOB overflow box. The only issue i have is drilling my tank i dont know if it is tempered glass or not.

 

Juddy, could you perhaps enlighten me on how you did your overflow?

 

Bandit my tank is definitely not tempered glass(Its those Daro std 4fts) so I think drilling would be an option to look at here because I can always put the fish in the sump tank while the other tank is being drilled but now I need to know where and how to drill the holes and will I have to do it on both tanks or just let the piping run directly from the main tank into the sump because the 3ft has no glass sliders and just a canopy so I figure just modify the canopy to accommodate the piping. I do have a normal electric drill and will most probably need a special bit to drill holes in the glass,
am I right so far ? Oh and the sump tank will be directly beneath the main tank just for informative purposes.

Also please advise what size piping you used and I am going to need a few elbows as well.

 

All I can say on this one is ... do it yourself you will learn far more , check out Prof and Juddy s thread s
and use the Profs Sump design , I am and it is briliant I will never go back to an old school multi compartment sump.
Tank above sump .only the tank is drilled ,you have a few options here ,go onto to masa and check out diy overflows and you will see the one that suits you the best in terms of space . research, research

 

Thats what I am doing right now but thanks for the heads up. Will definitley have a look there and see what I come up with.

 

heres the link to overflows design on masa http://www.marineaquariumsa.com/showthread.php?t=19407
will add the others when i find the bookmark my bookmark bar is like a hundred masa and tasa pages to be many to be usefull for quick finding.

 

Thanks stormbringer, this is really going to help me out, like I said I am in no rush to do this so will definitely take my time and do my homework.