Plumbing Advice Needed!

[AquaDan]

text me dan ill help you setit up it took me like 5 hours with no help but together we will get it done quick 6462450408 and ur pvc work is good you jus have to make sure everything is nice and sealed when you finally set it up

Wins, thanks a lot bro. I'll be texting you shortly! I'm actually heading to lowes and home depot to try and find some pvc cement that i can use for flex and rigid. seems to be a PIA to find in stores.

 

[winsbxnyc]

ok text me ill come help im off today

 

[Imbarrie]

That looks great. Heads up thinking with the WYE. Sucks you cannot find them locally.

Can you center the return line before you split it. That would equalize the returns.

I agree with one check valve over two. But I also prefer no check valves. The reserve in the sump needs to handle the tank overflow in a power failure. You also need to test that frequently by shutting off the return pump. I do for feelings daily.
If you depend on a ball valve to prevent a flood, your tank will flood when the ball valve fails due to scaling. Which I have heard they do.

 

[AquaDan]

That looks great. Heads up thinking with the WYE. Sucks you cannot find them locally.

Can you center the return line before you split it. That would equalize the returns.

I agree with one check valve over two. But I also prefer no check valves. The reserve in the sump needs to handle the tank overflow in a power failure. You also need to test that frequently by shutting off the return pump. I do for feelings daily.
If you depend on a ball valve to prevent a flood, your tank will flood when the ball valve fails due to scaling. Which I have heard they do.

Thanks Imbarrie.

I guess My thinking on the check valves was to add an extra redundancy. I'm confident that my sump will handle the overflow but I wanted some extra piece of mind especially since i'm building this tank in my GF's house.

Does my thought process make sense? or would the check valve hinder the functionality of the sump?

 

[Ftroop711]

If you put a 1/2" rubber pad under your return pump it will reduce vibration noise ..

 

[Imbarrie]

Mouse pads are great for this.
Not a fan of check valves so I don't subscribe to that.
I was a hydraulic mechanic on aircraft and I see the benefit of check valves in fluid systems. But not when you have the presence of scaling.

 

[JimmyR1rider]

I've never used a check valve in my systems. The plumbing kits on most tanks come with siphon breaks drilled on the return in the 90 degree elbow the locline is screwed into. Once you get the system up and going and you get the waterlevel of the sump correct that when its shut down-either by unplugging or power failure and it drains back from the tank but stops when the water is 2 inches or more-depends on your liking- below the top of the sump you're good to go. Just mark the sump with tape or sharpie(I prefer tape or a sticker of some sort) and you'll k ow at a glance if it needs to be topped off and where to stop adding, then when you get an ATO where to set your floats so you don't have to worry of it ever overflowing on you.

If your plumbing doesn't have a siphon break in it you can drill one yourself that will always be a little bit below the water level while the tank is running but will break the siphon once the water drains to where the hole is and then will suck air in and no more water.

Good luck with the setup and don't worry yourself to death just make sure to take your time, do it right and you'll be good to go.

 

[AquaDan]

If you put a 1/2" rubber pad under your return pump it will reduce vibration noise ..

Thanks for the tip troop.

 

[AquaDan]

Mouse pads are great for this.
Not a fan of check valves so I don't subscribe to that.
I was a hydraulic mechanic on aircraft and I see the benefit of check valves in fluid systems. But not when you have the presence of scaling.

I just removed the check valves. Used the sump equation in Reef Aquarium Vol 3(page 50) to determine that my sump is more than enough (50 gallons) to handle the overflow. The book also warns against using check valves.

Thanks Imbarrie.

 

[AquaDan]

I've never used a check valve in my systems. The plumbing kits on most tanks come with siphon breaks drilled on the return in the 90 degree elbow the locline is screwed into. Once you get the system up and going and you get the waterlevel of the sump correct that when its shut down-either by unplugging or power failure and it drains back from the tank but stops when the water is 2 inches or more-depends on your liking- below the top of the sump you're good to go. Just mark the sump with tape or sharpie(I prefer tape or a sticker of some sort) and you'll k ow at a glance if it needs to be topped off and where to stop adding, then when you get an ATO where to set your floats so you don't have to worry of it ever overflowing on you.

If your plumbing doesn't have a siphon break in it you can drill one yourself that will always be a little bit below the water level while the tank is running but will break the siphon once the water drains to where the hole is and then will suck air in and no more water.

Good luck with the setup and don't worry yourself to death just make sure to take your time, do it right and you'll be good to go.

Thanks Jimmy. I got the Tunze Osmolator for Xmas. By the way, how much water are you supposed to have in the sump? I'm using an ASM G3 skimmer, if that matters any.

 

[Imbarrie]

Sure,

I have an ATO so my sump levels and, more important, salinity are constant.
The design of my sump involves water flowing through a prefilter before the return pump. I run mine low to get a good flow through that section.
The sump level is unique to the sump design and personal preference.

There is a range between the lowest level when your pump is creating bubbles and too high that you will flood the sump with backflow during a shutdown.
Somewhere in the middle is good.

Jimmy mentioned putting a mark on the high point, I would put a mark on the low point also. This way you know at what point you will create bubbles. Use some masking tape so you dont mark your sump.

 

[hclaveria]

If your plumbing doesn't have a siphon break in it you can drill one yourself that will always be a little bit below the water level while the tank is running but will break the siphon once the water drains to where the hole is and then will suck air in and no more water.

I did this and it works flawlessly, especially through multiple power outages in the past 2 months.

 

[Jzhou]

Nice clean set up.

Personally, I would add additional valves on both returns and intakes. Being able to completely shut off the flow of an overflow makes it a lot easier to clean. I would also add a manifolds before the split so that you will be able to run reactors, a chiller, uv, and etc from the main pump.

 

[Weicowireman]

I would install unions for each tank bulkhead so you can remove anything if necessary. I would also run your return to the center and split off to your right and left side return so it is equal as imBarrie said. Check your skimmer cup as it looks a little tight with ur PVC running overhead. You should check your filter sock and make sure you have enough room to remove it with your drains running so low into it. Try to use less 90's as they can reduce flow as well. Keep up the good work and let's see more pics.

 

[AquaDan]

I would install unions for each tank bulkhead so you can remove anything if necessary. I would also run your return to the center and split off to your right and left side return so it is equal as imBarrie said. Check your skimmer cup as it looks a little tight with ur PVC running overhead. You should check your filter sock and make sure you have enough room to remove it with your drains running so low into it. Try to use less 90's as they can reduce flow as well. Keep up the good work and let's see more pics.

Thanks Weico,

I would love to center the returns but I'm not sure how i could pull that off with the space i have to work with. Bend the pipe over the sump and then split? Wouldn't I be adding to my head pressure?

 

[AquaDan]

I did this and it works flawlessly, especially through multiple power outages in the past 2 months.

Thanks hclaveria. Do you have a pic you can send me so I can see where exactly I have to drill? Thanks a lot.

 

[House of Laughter]

AD,

If you didn't already glue this and it's not already running. I'd make the following modifications:

from the Bulkhead
90 Sweep (up)
TUBV
90 Sweep (down)
Wye Tee (available at HD)
TUBV
Length of PVC
Slip/Thread Bushing
Pump

Rough Pic attached.

House

 

[AquaDan]

AD,

If you didn't already glue this and it's not already running. I'd make the following modifications:

from the Bulkhead
90 Sweep (up)
TUBV
90 Sweep (down)
Wye Tee (available at HD)
TUBV
Length of PVC
Slip/Thread Bushing
Pump

Rough Pic attached.

House

Thank you very much, House! Really appreciate your effort. Have not glued anything yet. Decided to wait a few days to see what other suggestions the MR community had to offer.

Thanks again!