Ok, I'm new here so please be gentle with my (probably) stupid questions I just acquired a 110 gallon tank that came with a wet dry filter set up (free I might add)
So here is my issue... with my other tank I use hang on filters and a protein skimmer, but I've never dealt with the whole sump deal. I have a bunch of parts that I have no clue how to connect together to make it work, and at least 1 I can't even identify. I'm not sure of the placement of these things either (in the tank, under?) I figured which piece hangs on the tank for the overflow, but not how it works, and I know the big "box" goes under the cabinet. Oh, and there are 2 pumps. Other than that I've been scratching my head for the past hour and trying to stare it into working lol. Any help would be much appreciated, and the sooner the better because I really want to get it up and running I'm not sure how to add a pic here, so I'll try to add it to my gallery since I think I saw an option for that.

http://s158.photobucket.com/albums/t89/ldaniels683/fish tank equipment

This is a good website that should answer most if not all of your questions and has a working model too so you can see it in action.
Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums

Thanks, that did clear up a few things for me! I think I've almost got it all figured out..... 1st water goes into the overflow inside the tank, and is gravity fed into the part of it that hangs on the back. 2. The part that hangs on the back has a sponge as a pre filter, can other filter media be added? 3. It drains down to the wet dry filter trickling through to the bottom, then mine looks like it has another sponge there. 4. Then it flows through that sponge and over the lip (it had 3 sheets that slide in, 2 with holes, 1 without, only room for 2) Now here I'm a little perplexed. It looks like a protein skimmer, but I'm not sure where to put it, and then there's a pump that has a filter under it too. These parts aren't attached to the the main body in any way, so I don't really understand what to do with them. Both will fit side by side in the body, but not sure if that's how it should go. Then I understand the pump pushed the water back up into the tank.

We really need pics of the protein skimmer and pumps.

Sounds like something I would do

Try posting some pictures somewhere like Photobucket then linking to them.
Does the skimmer and/or pumps have any brand names or model numbers on them?

No brand names or model numbers unfortunately. I looked for that 1st hoping I could just Google the parts to get a description and instructions. I got the feed and return lines figured out, as well as the trickle filter. I think the sponge goes right after the trickle filter, there is slots to put the plexiglass sheets in and it makes a space that seems perfect for the sponge. The return pump is a little confusing, I'm not sure how much water it needs to sit in, and the protein skimmer (I'm almost positive that's what it is) is still a mystery to me. Does it need an air tank hooked to it? Seems the water just flows out from a spot in the side when its running and I don't understand how it would skim. I'm going to put Photobucket pics up in a minute.

The depth of the water in your return pump section will vary, that is the place where evaporation loss will show up so constant topping off will be required. I usually suggest when you first start a system you fill the display until the overflow box teeth are just submerged and fill the sump or wet/dry about 1/2 way. If its a hang on back overflow box you need to remove the air from the tubes or channel using a short piece of airline tubing to suck or siphon it out and then start the return pump. The return section level will probably drop a little so you need to add a little so the pump is completely submerged then take a Sharpie or piece of tape and mark that water level on the side of the sump to signify your minimum water level. Next, shut the power off and let the water in the lines siphon back and the returns break suction so no more water could possibly go back to the sump or wet/dry. You should not gain more than a couple gallons and flooding should not be an issue if returns are properly placed and the overflow box is adjusted to the correct height.
If you are good then mark that level on the sump and call it "power off minimum" or something similar. You should now have several inches of freeboard or extra capacity in the sump or wet/dry to play with and that will be the amount of water you could possibly add without danger of overflowing in a power outage. I would keep 2-3" freeboard at all times even after topping off so you have a safety factor but yet not have to add water to the sump more often than say every other day.

There are different types of protein skimmers but many in sump style skimmers require two pumps, one to recirculate the wate rand create the bubbles or foam and a second smaller pump to feed it. Sometimes a skimmer can be fed by branching or teeing off the overflow line down to the sump so youy split the flow between the sump and skimmer.
Other skimmers are a single pump design, it all depends on what the photos show us.

Awesome, thanks! That answered quite a few things for me, including ones I would've been asking once I got it running lol. I posted the pics, its in my original post.

I tried getting to the pics but it says "page not found".
When you open up the page to post a response, there is a toolbar on the top of the message box. Click on the icon that looks like a post card and then link to a pic on Photobucket. Not sure if this forum has directions on how to link but many of the reef forums do have directions to walk you through it the first time.

Ok, hope this works this time lol, I don't know why this was so difficult for me to figure out.

fishtankequipment pictures by ldaniels683 - Photobucket