125g sump setup help

[Aparker2005]

Hey guys. I've been doing a lot of research and have learned a lot about sumps, but I'm still somewhat overwhelmed. This will be a freshwater discus tank.

With petco having their $ per gallon sale, I figured I may as well go ahead and get my 20 or 29g while they're on sale. Which size would be better? 29 I'm sure?

The tank I'm getting comes with a dual overflow, one in each corner. Is one a drain and one a return probably? It's a Marineland corner flo 125 if it helps. They come with the "plumbing kit". With a dual overflow do I only need 1 tank for the sump?

So if I'm right, I'd only need media, pump, and dividers right? What size/brand pump for a 125g?

How do you set your dividers up? Measure glass and aquarium silicone them in? I have somewhere to get free cut glass.

If I have some spare hood lights that use compact fluorescent bulbs, can I set up a plant section in the 29 and just put the lights above the plants? Thinking water sprite and wisteria.

For media I planned to use filter floss from my hobs, then a layer of scrub pads, then bio balls or ceramic rings.

Sorry for the drawn out questions but I like to have the details lol

 

[shookONES]

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/newbs-stop-overthinking-sumps.652589/

This is a good primer for bare bones sump setups. There really isn't an exact science or formula in design and conception though.

My advice: go bigger. You want your sump to handle whatever water that will trickle down in the event of a power outage or the like. As far as pumps go, something in the 1-2000gph range will suffice. Tough to beat Supreme Mag Drives for the price. The German and Japanese pumps are exponentially more efficient, but come with a substantial increase in price.

 

[Aparker2005]

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately a 29 is about as big as I can do

 

[shookONES]

As far as plants go, go with pothos. Plants grown underwater are limited in growth and nutrient export, drawing co2 from the water column. Pothos, or any air plant, has the luxury of unlimited co2 present in the air.

 

[Aparker2005]

What about setting it up in a 29g with bigger trays like this? Could it work? This seems super easy and works awesome: