Please help with filter install

[rollin75]

Hello

I bought a 72 gallon bow front saltwater fish tank about 5 months ago. It is reef ready, however the person I bought it from had a cascade canister filter hooked up to the bulkheads. It is also running a fluval fx5 filter. I would like to replace both of these filters with a sump. I bought a sump but I am wondering if I can hook this up with the water in the tank. Will the water spill out through the bulkheads when I attempt this? Please let me know. I am new to reef ready tanks and do not know much about how to change things. I have 6 african cichlid tanks but no sumpp filters. This will be my first attempt.

Please let me know...

 

[anarekist]

you can have water drain from your bulkheads into your sump. cant really picture what your setup is like, where are your bulkheads located? pics?

 

[BigJim]

Lower the water level below the overflow. Once you do that, you should be able to disconnect the filters without a massive flood. Throw a few towels down to catch the inevitable spills. After that, you can take out the canisters and put the sump in place. Pull the media from the canisters, clean it in old tank water, and put it in your sump to preserve the beneficial bacteria and prevent your tank from cycling.

Google "Melev's Reef" to learn more about sumps.