Return to the Hobby and Sump question

[thedandandandy]

I'm new to the hobby and started a tank a couple of years ago. I bought some purified natural sea water tested it and never had any issues during water changes. This worked perfectly for over a year.

During a standard water change, I tested the saltwater after stirring it, perfect. Got it into the tank and within the hour noticed my fish struggling. Tested the water, the salinity was waaaaaaay too high. I did the best I could to save my little guys, but nothing worked and my tank crashed the next night or so.

I then took a break from the hobby.

For a year

I'm now ready to start again, but start off with a better system from the get to to have an easier go of keeping things in check, so I have a few questions:

(Be forewarned, the reason I'm posting this instead of reading is I am not mechanically inclined. I NEED [as in require] the answers to be broken down into the easiest to understand simple layman's terms. I get very overwhelmed when my dyslexia kicks in reading massive paragraphs of terminology explained in ways I can't understand. Please. I beg of you. Be gentle with me )

-I'm getting a 75g rimless glass aquarium and they have an option for an overflow built inside the aquarium. I'm willing to pay the extra to have it installed, but what is it? What does it do? How does it help my tank?

-I'm buying a sump/ refugium this time around and the reason I didn't before was I had absolutely no idea how these are installed. I can google instructions, but because of my dyslexia, I need corresponding pictures. The pictures I can find show the pieces laid out on the floor, them assembled, then a bunch of words and voila it's magically up and running in the next picture with no images of the actual installation process. It's great people want to show magic pictures of a beautiful set up and a job well done, but as a visual learner I need to see it hooked up and installed because again, word mountains just make me dizzy. Can anyone be kind enough to show me how to set the sump up, or explain to me or direct me to a site that they used with pictures that helped them?

-the site in getting my glass aquarium from also offers to drill holes in the glass for set ups. Since I'm using a sump, do I need this?

Thank you so much for reading and listening to my confusion. And thank you to those that are willing to answer me. Once these questions are answered and I have a better understanding of what to do, I want to start a thread journaling my set up experience. So lots more questions will be asked. I just need a push in the right direction)

Thanks
Daniel

 

[Reefing Madness]

Easy enough to answer. A drilled tank is for the overflows to the sump. If you have those holes and no sump, then its just space taken up. They can however be used for whats called a closed loop, but thats another subject.
If you plan on a sump, then get a tank that is REEF READY. And all is good.
Here is an excellent read and easy to understand.
http://www.aquacorals.com/ShopAquariumsPredrilled2.htm
Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums

 

[thedandandandy]

Awesome thank you for the fast response! So, since I'm planning on the sump, does that mean I need to get the holes drilled in? Is that what "reef ready" means?

 

[Reefing Madness]

Reef Ready tanks already have the holes in the tank, no need to drill for those. They already have whats needed.

 

[thedandandandy]

Gotcha. Why can't people just say that?!? Hah. So I will order it to come with holes for the sump hook up and since I'm doing that, might as well get the overflow box in there as well. Thanks again!

 

[Reefing Madness]

No, no. If your getting a Reef Ready tank, the overflow box is already there also, its in a different form, and behind a black retaining wall.
Oceanic Systems | Products | Ultimate Reef Ready