40 Breeder Build

[dtbayles]

Hi,
I'm in the process of putting together two 40 breeder tanks one as a frag tank and one as a display and i have a few questions.

1. If I plumb them both into one sump is a 20g long big enough of a sump? Or should I do two individual systems? Or just one bigger sump?
2. Is two AI primes per tank enough light for a mixed reef?
3. What overflow should i use? Im thinking the Fiji cube LoPro but I'm hearing mixed things.

Also any plumbing tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[TX_REEF]

Hello!

1. If you plumb 2 40s into a single 20g sump, I think you’ll wish you went bigger for equipment space and water volume. I’d do 1 20 on each separately, or you could do another 40 as a combined sump for both and save money on equipment (I.e one larger protein skimmer is usually cheaper than 2 smaller ones, etc.) I’m speaking from some experience because I currently have a 72 display with a ~20 gallon sump and really wish I had more space down there, footprint wise especially.

2. It should be as long as you aren’t planning to go heavy on SPS, great vid from BRS here on spread, par and spectrum:

3. I can’t really speak to this, I honestly think prefab overflows are super overpriced. I’m planning a frag tank now and will be bottom drilling with vertical PVC overflows. Depends on your intention I guess, if you are planning a super clean display then the up front cost of the fancy overflow may be worth it for you! I will say from my current system that a center rear overflow with dual returns either on the back corners facing in or center facing out gives me the most peace of mind as far as even flow and filtered water distribution, as opposed to overflow on one side and return on the other, which kind of makes me feel that filtered water will only flow in one direction, potentially disadvantaging sessile invertebrates closer to the return since water will tend to flow toward the overflow. But, this is more bro-science analysis than actual science so take it with a grain of salt…