Overflow Box size?

[patrick]

I'm going to build a 10g refugium under my 30g reef tank. I'm very confused on what size of overflow and pump to use. I won't use cpr and was thinking of the Lifereef slim line with the mag-5 or 7 pump or even the Tidepool s.o.s. with the same pump. Can someone please help. I thought the point was to keep the flow low through the refugium. But everything looks like 600 gph and higher. That seems like a lot of water moving through the tank as well as the refugium. If someone could advise I would sure appreciate it. I'm also concerned with a lot of noise from the overflow and flooding my office. Thanks!

 

[jonathon0883]

I am in the same boat as you, i just bought a lifereef slime line overflow and from what i have been told in the past was to just pump with a powerhead from fuge back into the tank...but hten you have problems if the powerhead quits and you will probably have water everywhere....or so i think...anybody else got any better ideas?

 

[krunk]

Amiracle makes a 300 gph overflow. Im not sure if they sell it seperate, i think they just come with the amiracles wet/dry set up, which comes with the wet/dry filter, and also a sump area. Around 150$ online

 

[hondo]

A life reef overflow will only deliver the same amount of water to the sump as the sump is putting back into the tank. so if your sump return pump quits the life reef stops delivering water until the pump starts back up. Of course in the event your pump stops working, the overflow stops, there will still be some back syphoning from your return line back into the sump so you need a syphone break (small hole in the sump return just under the tank waterline) so when the tank water drops slightly the syphone breaks and the water in the sump stops rising.
while I curently use a Life Reef overflow I will say on a 30g tank they are pretty big and the large overflow box sitting in such a small tank will really be intrusive. there are several life reef knock offs on the market that are built smaller which would fit a 30g tank. I bought one at a local LFS for my 37g, no brand name on it I think they make them themselves.