32g Help

Seabass1960 · 2026-10-19T13:44:34-0400

Got or getting back into the deep on my way to pulling out my 120g Berlin rimmed out of storage. Ultimately, it'll serve as a centerpiece in my home-home brewery. Meantime, I decided to get a head start & buy a 32g Coralife all-in-one BioCube. It's a nice little tank, but I guess it's gonna be a lot of work w/o being able to install a sump & "re-adjusting" some filtration & plumbing. I have a Tunze micro skimmer, pumps, heaters, etc., but this 3 or 4 stage filtration is gonna take time to figure out. I reviewed a good 4 min. vid on a 29g build, but I guess my question is, does anyone or has anyone set up a sump system on one of these smaller bio-cubes???

Baldyreef · 2026-10-19T13:46:46-0400

Seabass1960 said:
Got or getting back into the deep on my way to pulling out my 120g Berlin rimmed out of storage. Ultimately, it'll serve as a centerpiece in my home-home brewery. Meantime, I decided to get a head start & buy a 32g Coralife all-in-one BioCube. It's a nice little tank, but I guess it's gonna be a lot of work w/o being able to install a sump & "re-adjusting" some filtration & plumbing. I have a Tunze micro skimmer, pumps, heaters, etc., but this 3 or 4 stage filtration is gonna take time to figure out. I reviewed a good 4 min. vid on a 29g build, but I guess my question is, does anyone or has anyone set up a sump system on one of these smaller bio-cubes???

best of luck with the build, definitely make sure to post a build thread I would love to follow along!

tbrown · 2026-10-19T13:48:01-0400

#WelcometoR2R

You can DIY an overflow tube that'll be an easy retrofit. No drilling required, works well in smaller tanks.

Seabass1960 · 2026-10-19T13:51:48-0400

Baldyreef said:
best of luck with the build, definitely make sure to post a build thread I would love to follow along!

Hey, thx for the quick response. Yes, you're correct. I'll take pics, document & post. If you do hear anything or see anything about these bio-cubes adapted with a sump, please let me know. I guess I though I could drill away, but that would probably be a HUGE mistake!

Seabass1960 · 2026-10-19T13:52:38-0400

tbrown said:
#WelcometoR2R

You can DIY an overflow tube that'll be an easy retrofit. No drilling required, works well in smaller tanks.

Really, can you explain tbrown or give me a link? Thx!

Baldyreef · 2026-10-19T14:00:13-0400

Seabass1960 said:
Baldyreef said:

best of luck with the build, definitely make sure to post a build thread I would love to follow along!

Click to expand...

Hey, thx for the quick response. Yes, you're correct. I'll take pics, document & post. If you do hear anything or see anything about these bio-cubes adapted with a sump, please let me know. I guess I though I could drill away, but that would probably be a HUGE mistake!

Definitely will make sure to let you know if I hear anything about it, I’ll ask around for you too

kevgib67 · 2026-10-19T14:06:09-0400

I ran mine sumpless for over 4 years, great little tank! Here’s a link to my build thread if you want to take a look.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/biocube-32g-build.906813/

tbrown · 2026-10-19T14:09:03-0400

Here's a fairly basic design:

For your purposes, a 3/4" pipe would be sufficient - no need for 2" in the tank.

Where the 3*2 coupling is shown, I took that white craft mesh and rolled it for an easy weir.

The idea is, water gets pulled into the weir in the tank once siphon is started and overflows into the pipe behind the tank. The "cap" isn't a cap at all, it's a siphon break and needs to be higher than the water level in the tank. When the power goes out, the water level inside the pipe in the tank will drop to the level of the Tee outside which maintains siphon once the power is restored and water starts flowing again.

Basically, replacing an overflow weir box with a single PVC pipe since space is fairly limited in your tank.

tbrown · 2026-10-19T14:12:23-0400

Here's another similar design using a second outer tube instead of 2 90s in the tank.

Fish Fan · 2026-10-19T14:24:33-0400

Welcome to Reef2Reef! Good luck with your projects!

Seabass1960 · 2026-10-19T15:05:58-0400

Baldyreef said:
Definitely will make sure to let you know if I hear anything about it, I’ll ask around for you too

Thx

tbrown said:
Here's a fairly basic design:

For your purposes, a 3/4" pipe would be sufficient - no need for 2" in the tank.

Where the 3*2 coupling is shown, I took that white craft mesh and rolled it for an easy weir.

The idea is, water gets pulled into the weir in the tank once siphon is started and overflows into the pipe behind the tank. The "cap" isn't a cap at all, it's a siphon break and needs to be higher than the water level in the tank. When the power goes out, the water level inside the pipe in the tank will drop to the level of the Tee outside which maintains siphon once the power is restored and water starts flowing again.

Basically, replacing an overflow weir box with a single PVC pipe since space is fairly limited in your tank.

Hey thx tbrown,,,,I really miss R2R! 3 questions, how do I get past the Coralife hinged cover? Also in your diagram: the 3x2 coupling at water level empties past 2,3,4,5 through the 1" pipe down through 6&7 elbow & out down through the tee to the 1 elbow to blue exit.....into sump? If I'm getting it, return pump in sump back around up to top (how to get past Coralife cover w/o drilling)?

tbrown · 2026-10-19T15:12:08-0400

Seabass1960 said:
Hey thx tbrown,,,,I really miss R2R! 3 questions, how do I get past the Coralife hinged cover? Also in your diagram: the 3x2 coupling at water level empties past 2,3,4,5 through the 1" pipe down through 6&7 elbow & out down through the tee to the 1 elbow to blue exit.....into sump? If I'm getting it, return pump in sump back around up to top (how to get past Coralife cover w/o drilling)?

Yes for most of it.

Getting past the hinged tank lid is one I don't have a solution for. Drilling or notching is possibly going to be the only way. I had a Biocube several years ago but I don't remember enough about the tank.

Rocks reef · 2026-10-19T15:29:46-0400

Honestly, I'd just rock the biocube as is until you get the 120 back on line.
@kevgib67 had a very nice tank running without adding a sump before he upgraded.

Seabass1960 · 2026-10-19T17:36:18-0400

tbrown said:
Yes for most of it.

Getting past the hinged tank lid is one I don't have a solution for. Drilling or notching is possibly going to be the only way. I had a Biocube several years ago but I don't remember enough about the tank.

tbrown....thx a bunch.......just scared ****less to crack that plastic. Rocks (above) says kevgib67 had 32 w/o a sump. Of course, I had my 120g setup all tricked out but that was almost 12 yrs ago! Maybe media/additives/fuges have changed for the best. I'm gonna pick kevgib67 before deciding on ANY drilling. I may consider tbrowns 'drilless' siphon for a sump. Regardless, unless I remove the lid, there's gotta be access through that plastic top. Thx again.