Considering doing a 40g breeder with diy sump

[Jburak]

Hey all,

I'm sorta new to the site and it been around 25+ years since I had a saltwater/reef aquarium. Due to little space that I have I am considering starting up a 40g breeder with a sump. As of right now I will not include corals for maybe 6 months or more. Well, maybe add a couple Zoas to start out with.

I'm looking for some suggestions to help me get off on the right foot.

- I'm planning on using about 25 pounds of dry reef rock that I actually kept 25 years ago.
- Looking at using 40 pounds of CaribSea or Natures Ocean sand.
- RODI unit (model to be determined)
- Reef Crystals Salt or Dr's Foster and Smith reef salt.
- Lighting (Considering something like Mars Aqua)
- Stock I'm considering are clowns, firefish, blennies, gobies, CUC.

The main thing is I would like the tank to be quite as possible. Here are some questions I have.

- Would it be better to drill the tank or use an overflow box when thinking about noise. If drilling the tank, what size bulkheads to use?

- What size return pump for the sump?

- What is the smallest size sump I can go with?

- Water circulation. How many wave makers and how much gph?

I'm probably forgetting some things so any web links you can provide and recommendation is appreciated.

Thanks.
Jim

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R Jim and thanks for saying hello! I may be of some help here as I have a 40 breeder and shes dead silent. I have an aqueon 40 breeder with an eshopps eclipse s overflow. It's a drilled overflow kit that goes down into a trigger crystal 30 sump. For a return pump ( I like really high turnover rate) I use a sicce syncra silent 3.0 return pump rated for 715 gph but with my bends and headloss it's likely more around 500 to 600. Wave makers are going to depend on what coral you're keeping. Fish only you'll want 15 to 20 times tank volume, lps and softies 20 to 40 tank volume, and spa corals 50 times tank volume. I hope this helps and if theres anything else you need help with, we have thousands of users at your fingertips to help

#WelcometoR2R

 

[PDR]

Welcome to R2R! I recently switched from instant ocean salt to the live aquaria salt and really like it. I definitely recommend it!

Edit: I no longer can recommend this salt. I have had some issues with this salt, but my main complaint has been the LA "customer service" I have received when dealing with these issues.

 

[Jburak]

Thanks for recommendations folks!