ok... you have the boxes.... so the rest is pretty easy. Just make sure you have a large enough sump and you should have no issues if the power cuts off. As long as you leave your in lines pretty high up on the tank.
They really are the best kind of filtration with the least maintenance.
just do some research... not sure on the exact size of sump you would need... 50+ gallon maybe? Like the myth that a fish will only grow to the size of it's tank, there is a myth that sumps need to be 1/3 the size of the tank. I've found 15% is enough in most cases, the only benefit of a larger sump is more water volume, but that costs in space, price of the larger sump and electricty to heat the extra water. You only need a sump large enough to hold your media and tank overflow during a power outage. The amount of media required is another one of those runaway fish myths. My 220 has a 27g sump with room to spare. you can DIY much cheaper compared to buying new, yes; compared to buying a used w/d, it could go either way;again that comes down to already having some parts to DIY or be willing to spend the time and effort to find what you need cheaper.... probably run you about 125 bucks including the pump unless you have some parts already, I can't see it for a tank this size. But again a lot of variables. Use filter pads instead of bio balls under the drip tray.... much better in the long run here's my strong obection and I may not have all the facts here. I don't like bioballs either, however stacking filter pads has the potential of being a chemistry nightmare. The mech filtration will be good but unless you are cleaning/replacing them regularly they are grabbing dirt and more dirt and more dirt and it sits there and decays, dissolves, niritifies, oxidize and polutes. Unless there is more to this story I don't see how it will be better in the long run. Someone has a mag drive pump for 85 bucks in the forsale section... a steal IMO if the pump is NIB yes, used ehh, it could be a good deal or a bad one (the one from Dave is probably in prefect shape and a good deal). At the ACLC meeting in Jan (or Feb) this year Cartel purchased a used mag 5, he never used it and a month later gave it to me, it sat in my basement for 6 months, when I went to use it it didn't work, I noticed the front was discolored and slightly melted, someone auctioned a known bad pump and would be great for your size of tank that depends on the plumbing invloved, the overflows and return pump need to be sized together factoring in the plumbing that connects them, you can make any pump work that's strong enough to lift the water from the sump to the tank, but it becomes a question of efficienty in both filtration and electricty. With sumps you do not need nearly the turn over rate as other filters... shoot for 4-5 times turn over and up an hour.
