Looking for advice on building a custom 38g shallow reef (external overflow + sump)

[xsnys]

Hello everyone. I'll try to keep this as short as possible. My apologies in advance if this is the wrong place to post this.

Essentially I plan on using this 47.3x13.8x13.8 rimless aquarium to build a custom reef tank with an external overflow and sump. I'm no stranger to reef tanks but I am brand new to sumps and plumbing so I need a little help and advice. I currently run a Red Sea Max E-170.

Equipment List:
Fiji Cube Fiji-30 Advanced Reef Sump 2nd Gen
Fiji Cube Low Profile External Overflow Box 800GPH
Jabao MDP-5000 (1453gph, Max head: 13ft)
Kessil AP9X (I currently own this light and will be helpful as it provides up to 48" of coverage. I may switch over to two ecotech radion xr15s in the future.)

I was planning on installing my overflow box peninsula style. I've done my own research but I'm unable to come to a conclusion on whether I'm making the right decision on the overflow box, sump and return pump. The plumbing and stand configuration I believe I can figure out fairly easily.

My questions are:

• Is installing the overflow box peninsula style a good idea?
• Is the size of the overflow box appropriate for this size tank and pump?
• What would you do differently on this setup and why?

Any help is appreciated! Thank you so much.

 

[bensoo00]

I think you’ll be fine with that dc pump so the overflow should be ok. Ideally you’d want to match the gph input and output of both overflow and sump return so you’ll probably have to tune it based on whatever gph the overflow box is. I think you’re supposed to have 10x turnover with the GPH but I’ve seen people run eShoppes eclipse L on their 40B or 40gal frag tanks, so I think it should be ok. Maybe a 600 gph overflow would be more optimal, but it’s nothing you can’t fix by adjusting the flow itself with a valve or something. Sump looks sick and in my eyes the build looks fine. I don’t know what you mean by peninsula style but if it’s what I googled, and you plan to put the overflow box on the smaller side of the tank, my build has that same setup as well. I DIY’d an overflow box and I had my return pump customizable so I could match the unknown flow of my overflow box lol. Anyway looks good and can’t wait to see the build

 

[xsnys]

I think you’ll be fine with that dc pump so the overflow should be ok. Ideally you’d want to match the gph input and output of both overflow and sump return so you’ll probably have to tune it based on whatever gph the overflow box is. I think you’re supposed to have 10x turnover with the GPH but I’ve seen people run eShoppes eclipse L on their 40B or 40gal frag tanks, so I think it should be ok. Maybe a 600 gph overflow would be more optimal, but it’s nothing you can’t fix by adjusting the flow itself with a valve or something. Sump looks sick and in my eyes the build looks fine. I don’t know what you mean by peninsula style but if it’s what I googled, and you plan to put the overflow box on the smaller side of the tank, my build has that same setup as well. I DIY’d an overflow box and I had my return pump customizable so I could match the unknown flow of my overflow box lol. Anyway looks good and can’t wait to see the build

Thank you for the response. It seems I'm on the right track then! I think it'll definitely make a move towards a smaller overflow since the one I mentioned is overkill haha. I'll definitely start a build thread here once I get going. Thank you!

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

Your list looks fine.

 

[wculver]

Hello everyone. I'll try to keep this as short as possible. My apologies in advance if this is the wrong place to post this.

Essentially I plan on using this 47.3x13.8x13.8 rimless aquarium to build a custom reef tank with an external overflow and sump. I'm no stranger to reef tanks but I am brand new to sumps and plumbing so I need a little help and advice. I currently run a Red Sea Max E-170.

Equipment List:
Fiji Cube Fiji-30 Advanced Reef Sump 2nd Gen
Fiji Cube Low Profile External Overflow Box 800GPH
Jabao MDP-5000 (1453gph, Max head: 13ft)
Kessil AP9X (I currently own this light and will be helpful as it provides up to 48" of coverage. I may switch over to two ecotech radion xr15s in the future.)

I was planning on installing my overflow box peninsula style. I've done my own research but I'm unable to come to a conclusion on whether I'm making the right decision on the overflow box, sump and return pump. The plumbing and stand configuration I believe I can figure out fairly easily.

My questions are:

• Is installing the overflow box peninsula style a good idea?
• Is the size of the overflow box appropriate for this size tank and pump?
• What would you do differently on this setup and why?

Any help is appreciated! Thank you so much.

The overflow will work well for that size with a peninsula. One consideration on peninsula tanks is flow in the tank itself not so much flow through thr sump. May also consider drilling the tank instead of the external overflow that way all the plumbing is directly through to the sump rather than outside the tank ane back through the stand.

I prefer to have a larger overflow and pump. Reason is I can scale up flow aggressively and run filter socks when I clean the tank. 20 minutes of high flow and all the particulate is gone. If you have 13 feet of head I would suggest the 10000 Jebao. It's actually what I run and will give you a great range from high to low.

 

[patdman]

do not buy FIJI Garbage overflow.

 

[TX_REEF]

I used eshopps overflow for my latest build, quite happy with it. I agree that your overflow and return pump seem overkill for the system size, but it sounds like you have a preferred method there so do your thing.