Sorry I can't make heads or tails of the pics other then where the overflow is going , but where is the return line? How's the sump/ chiller getting tied in? I'd like to DIY a algae scrubber to my tank while keeping my chiller and my stock skimmer . I have to have my chiller because I've lost a tank in the past to over heating due to my homes dual A/C's not working at one time! The power went off so the window ac didn't power back on and the main unit had a part crap out after the outage so my tank fried!! Oh and the tanks only pump didn't prime back up neither so Much for theses all in one deals, pump/ filter/Surface skimmer in protein skimmer! Work well other then u having to prim it every time the power went of or it lost Its Suction not risking anything on this 4$ tank setup. I would like to do the LED lighting to cut down on the heat but I wanna make sure the LEDs I put in there gets light coverage to the whole tank and looks nice while cutting power cost and cutting down on the heat maybe the AI LEDs ? I'd like to control from my iPhone and be able to do the whole lighting storm effect lol if I'm going to upgrade I want it all its not like it's going to be cheap . But for now algae scrubber. Need some help hooking everything up thanks
You have different goals in mind but I did run an external sump and chiller on my 130D before taking it down. Here's my build thread showing the sump area:
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/red-sea-max-owners-club/70605-seans-rsm-130d-3.html
Two of the reasons I tried an external sump is that I wanted a better skimmer than the stock one, and I also couldn't fit a large enough return pump to match the recommended flow for my chiller inside the back sump area of the 130D.
That said, the return question is pretty easy. There's an accessory kit that should have come with your tank that goes right next to the cooling fan on the left side. My return came up to the accessory kit and a short lenth of tube puts the return water in the heater area. You want a 'siphon break' on the tube that goes into the back sump area which is nothing more than a 1/4" hole drilled in the tube about an inch below the normal water line.
Not sure where your return pump is located but it needs to be below the water level to prime itself and restart. Can't speak to what happens if you have a return pump up in the 130D sump area but I never had a problem with the return pump restarting in the sump.
So the basic flow is an overflow on the back of the 130D down to the sump, the return pump located in the sump area goes out to the chiller and from the chiller up to the accessory kit I mentioned earlier.
Algae scrubbers just look like more messy work to me but I don't see any reason you couldn't put your return pump down in that tank provided you have some mechanical filtration to keep algae and detritus from going through your pump and chiller. I used an Eheim Compact+ for the return pump because it has adjustable flow but you can just as easily put a ball or gate valve to restrict the flow if needed.
Honestly, dealing with two sump areas was a lot more pain than it was worth to me. My 130D is a nice acclimation tank now but I've gone to drilled tanks and never looking back.
