Modifying RFS39 Sump for Reefmat 500

Syoung

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 15, 2017
Messages
114
Reaction score
48
Location
California
What state or country do you live in
California
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
I'm starting to setup an IM100 EXT with the stock RFS39 sump, however I'm wanting to run the Reefmat 500 rather than filter socks. Would rather not have to change socks every few days!

Wanted to document my attempt since I wasn't able to find great previous examples online. Let me know what you guys think. It hasn't hit water yet, and I'll report back if it's successful.

1) Setting up the cut
Started by marking out the area of the sump to remove. Had to remove a good portion of the divider between the filter sock, heater area, and intake from the primary and secondary drains.
20260913_163448.jpg


I ended up taking out several areas to have direct access to the primary drain. I'm leaving the secondary drain unconnected.
Removed areas (shaded)
Removed areas (Unshaded)


I also notched out the baffle for the closed port of the Reefmat to give another 1/4" of room.
Notch.PNG


I sanded all edges and did a light flame polish with a lighter.

2) Prep the Primary Drain
I cut a new 1" drain that was a little shorter for the primary drain. You can see the white 1" pipe on the left stopping about halfway down the hole I cut out.

20260913_174925.jpg
20260913_174946.jpg


Then I attached a length of the Reefmat flexible hose to a short pipe and a 90deg fitting. This gets installed onto the primary drain. All of these connections are just press fit, not glued so that I can pull them apart for maintenance.

20260913_175103.jpg
20260913_175241.jpg


3) Install the Reefmat
Once that's all ready, I hang the reefmat on the lefthand side of the sump and connect the inlet tube. It needs to do a corkscrew to be able to connect, hoping that works out fine.

20260913_175325.jpg
20260913_175443.jpg



And here it is fully installed in the APS stand, with an Akula skimmer.
20260913_180607.jpg
20260913_180618.jpg


Hoping it works well! Like I mentioned, I haven't run this setup yet, so I'll report back when I do.
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

WHICH TYPE OF MISTAKE TAUGHT YOU YOUR MOST EXPENSIVE REEFKEEPING LESSON?

  • Moving too quickly or adding too much at once

    Votes: 7 35.0%
  • Skipping—or shortening—quarantine or dipping

    Votes: 5 25.0%
  • Buying the wrong equipment the first time

    Votes: 4 20.0%
  • Ignoring maintenance, warning signs, or redundancy

    Votes: 6 30.0%
  • Chasing numbers or making too many changes

    Votes: 3 15.0%
  • Choosing incompatible fish, corals, or invertebrates

    Votes: 3 15.0%
  • Poor aquascaping or tank-design decisions

    Votes: 1 5.0%
  • Failing to research an animal’s needs

    Votes: 1 5.0%
  • Trusting bad advice

    Votes: 3 15.0%
  • Doing something on the tank when you should've gone to bed

    Votes: 4 20.0%
  • Something else—tell us below

    Votes: 4 20.0%
  • I’m still waiting for my first expensive lesson!

    Votes: 2 10.0%
Back
Top
Home
Post thread…
Market
What's new