550G Display + Fish Room Frag Tanks = 900G of Fun

[Blue Tang Clan]

Pics attached here. One 10 foot channel drain will go in front of the fish tank, and then there is a 6 foot drain that is further back in the fish room. The back one will have concrete sloping around it to direct the OH DARN spills that might occur.

 

[atomic081]

gotta love the OHH DARN drains!! Where do you have them draining to? Hopefully a gravity flow out of the house and not a sump pump. Salt and sump pumps dont mix very well. I have mine out the back of the house. Deer love it when i do water changes, basically a salt party for them in my backyard.

looking forward to seeing the process. love that you mocked it out so well in your garage!!

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

Funny you should ask that. Originally it was supposed to travel downstairs to my basement and join the sewer line out. As the plumbers were setting the drain pipes in place, one of them mentioned it going to the sump pump. I asked, "where does that go, and can it handle 100G of saltwater each month?" The look on their faces was priceless. "Heck no man, the sump drains onto your front lawn. Saltwater would kill all your plants. Why would you ever put saltwater down a drain?"

Clearly there wasn't enough of a handoff between the planning guys (who knew the master plan) and the separate group that was executing. It was even drawn onto the plans as going to the sump, but there were a few things wrong on that, like the location of the front drain, so who knows what was happening. We got it switched back to the sewer line so all is well.

My builder is awesome, but the lesson learned is that everyone involved has to understand the long-term goal, or construction logic will override aquarium logic.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

This is going to be great!

 

[User]

gotta love the OHH DARN drains!! Where do you have them draining to? Hopefully a gravity flow out of the house and not a sump pump. Salt and sump pumps dont mix very well. I have mine out the back of the house. Deer love it when i do water changes, basically a salt party for them in my backyard.

looking forward to seeing the process. love that you mocked it out so well in your garage!!

If you follow your saltwater with a 3-5 gallon flush of tap water, it’ll be fine. I’ve got a cast iron sump pump in an ejector bucket under my utility sink that I drain into for WC, for the past year, and it only has a little surface rust on it.

I normally 1/4 fill the 20 gallon sink with tapwater, do the WC, pull the plug and forget about it.

Still might have to replace it sooner than if it were straight tap water, but it is very doable.

Of course, doesnt work if your sump dumps into your lawn- I shoot mine up 10feet into my waste stack so it goes to sewer

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

^

Fortunately the sewer out pipe is right next to the sump pump, so it was just a matter of educating the plumbers as to the intended use. Gravity will take care of everything and no need to replace anything mechanical!

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

Has anyone [likely with a large tank] ever installed a water sub meter? In most parts of the US, you can install a sub-meter for irrigation/spigots outside, which saves money because the sewer fee is removed. On most water bills, the sewer portion is 50-60% of the cost. The county will allow it because the water is going into the ground from sprinklers etc. -- not into the sewer.

My thought was to do the same thing for a tank. Sprinklers alone wouldn't be worthwhile to install a $1700 sub meter, but between saltwater changes and RODI water, it could be useful to not have a significant discount on that usage.

 

[atomic081]

Has anyone [likely with a large tank] ever installed a water sub meter? In most parts of the US, you can install a sub-meter for irrigation/spigots outside, which saves money because the sewer fee is removed. On most water bills, the sewer portion is 50-60% of the cost. The county will allow it because the water is going into the ground from sprinklers etc. -- not into the sewer.

My thought was to do the same thing for a tank. Sprinklers alone wouldn't be worthwhile to install a $1700 sub meter, but between saltwater changes and RODI water, it could be useful to not have a significant discount on that usage.

Tell them it's for irrigation if your gonna do it. Most city's don't allow sump pumps to run into city sewers and while this is not a sump, they might consider it close enough to that and start a headache.

I'm a general contractor for custom homes. It takes alot of people who know the overall goal for a custom home and not just plumbers and electricians doing "the normal" seems like you have a good one!

 

[rushbattle]

Has anyone [likely with a large tank] ever installed a water sub meter? In most parts of the US, you can install a sub-meter for irrigation/spigots outside, which saves money because the sewer fee is removed. On most water bills, the sewer portion is 50-60% of the cost. The county will allow it because the water is going into the ground from sprinklers etc. -- not into the sewer.

My thought was to do the same thing for a tank. Sprinklers alone wouldn't be worthwhile to install a $1700 sub meter, but between saltwater changes and RODI water, it could be useful to not have a significant discount on that usage.

Would the waste saltwater not go into the sewer? If so, you are using sewer for your RODI at least part of the time. Just something to think about if they come snooping around.

 

[atomic081]

They cant stop you from putting saltwater down the drain. I just know floor drains and sump pumps are not supposed to go into the sewer as its rated to hold the same amount they give you. Obviously it's a generalization, but I would rather avoid a headache.

Technically they only monitor the you use and assume it's all being disposed of to the sewer. Thus they charge you to dispose of it. This is why you can put in the sub meter for irrigation. You really are still disposing of it down the sewer drain, it may take a few months but it's still going down the drain.

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

Good points -- the water changes would definitely go down the drain to the sewer. The RODI essentially goes to evaporation. Of course, that will be teed off of my slop sink in the fish room, so the water inspector might have an issue with exempting a water supply line that has a drain right next to it

I guess I could always do just the exterior hose bibs on a sub meter and then somehow connect that hose to my RODI filter. 100 gallons of RODI water needs 200 gallons of source water, so it might be worth it in the long run!

 

[rushbattle]

If RODI waste is not going to sewer then you are most of the way there, but they would still figure out the saltwater waste issue. I would do only exterior spigots if you think they might ever inspect the system. Would not be fun to pay for the sub meter install and then have them bill you sewer on that too!

It requires about 300 gallons of source for 100 gallons product (2 waste to 1 product ratio), unless you run higher pressure than a standard RO like hobbyists use.

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

Rebar is in place, and concrete gets poured on Monday. I'm more nervous about this than the pouring of the house foundation! ;Nailbiting

 

[K.miller]

This build is going to be great! Im in MD also. What part are you in?

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

Montgomery County -- just outside the beltway. You? I'm definitely going to need a few local recruits for the tank lift & shuffle in 3 months!

 

[K.miller]

Im up north in Harford County. Im always happy to help out local reefers just let me know when you are moving this beast and if im free id be happy to help. Are you a member of CMAS or WAMAS?

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

Concrete is poured, outlets are wired, and we have a stand! I was over the moon once we got this moved from my [old] garage and into place. Now they just need to frame in front of the stand, then frame down from the ceiling to the stand.

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

Im up north in Harford County. Im always happy to help out local reefers just let me know when you are moving this beast and if im free id be happy to help. Are you a member of CMAS or WAMAS?

Sorry for the delay -- I'm a member of WAMAS -- I put it off for years thinking it wouldn't be worthwhile. Boy oh boy was I wrong. Great reefers in this area and a lot of great buy/sell opportunities!

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

I am thrilled to now be working with Advanced Acrylics to build my 70"x24"x20" sump!! I was working with a local builder in the DC/MD/VA area who ended up being a disaster. The local reefing club management actually had to get involved

But onto better things -- Advanced Acrylics makes some BEAUTIFUL equipment, and I was drawn to their use of PVC (with some acrylic) instead of a standard acrylic-only sump.

This is my mockup -- any thoughts or comments are welcome!!

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

Thoughts and opinions needed! I was planning on having a 1" or 3/4" bulkhead on the side, and toward the top of the return section (placement doesn't really matter) -- for overflow protection, in case my display back-siphons a few extra gallons. I would plumb this directly into a floor drain, with a flow sensor that would send an alert if water ever started going through that pipe.

In terms of sizing -- what is the smallest bulkhead size I could get away with? We aren't talking about pressurized backflow, just a slow steady rise, spread across the entire sump area (not just the return). If the water level rose too high, would a 1/2" bulkhead cut it? 3/4"? 1"?

By my calculations, a 1/2" or 3/4" bulkhead would actually do it, but I wanted to ask the brain trust here. Thanks!