I did the same thing for my 200g salt water tank. It has the overflow going to a 25g refugium (with macroalgae) which has a side overflow that empties into a 25g sump that has the protein skimmer, heaters, carbon and phosban reactors. A small mag return pump closes the loop.
To drill the hole in my refugium, I used plasticine to make a ring around the hole I wanted to drill and put water inside. This was to cool the glass and hole bit(?) so that the glass wouldn't crack. I kept adding water as needed and used a really light touch. I also put a towel inside the tank to catch the glass disk when it fell through so that I wouldn't break the tank.
i got some time today to get everything rearranged and plumbed together.
here are some shots of the final setup.
all i need now are some plants and this baby will be up and running.
heres a shot of the overflow tube from the main tank dropping into the filter sock in the fuge.
and heres a shot of the overflow from the fuge dropping down into the wetsump. (i put a media bag on the end of the pvc overflow to catch any large plant debris that might die off and possibly get into my sump)
and heres a shot of the fuge all done and ready for plants.
for light in the fuge i chose a low profile double T5 fixture as i did not think i was going to have much room to work with above the fuge.
the bulbs are a plantgrow bulb and a full spectrum bulb.
nope, seems to be working great.
i did have a bit of gargleing noise from the outlet of the fuge i fixed this by drilling a small hole in the end of the bulkhead strainer and putting in a small bit of airline tube. i'll post a pic in a bit to show what i mean.
i think i might try and get out to get some plants tomorrow and get this finished
Nice job drilling the hole, scratches are a whole lot better than a busted tank! I have yet try that. Is the planted fuge for nitrate consumption or for additional bio?