75 Gallon Setup with Basement Sump

[ZJGMoparman]

I just purchased a 75 gallon tank last week from Petco during their dollar-per-gallon sale. I also grabbed a 40g breeder to use as a sump. I originally planned to put the sump under the stand. After much research and thinking about different possibilities, I think it makes more sense to put the sump in the basement directly below the 75 gallon. This is where I have my RODI machine and storage container, which will make water changes much simpler and hopefully remove the possibility of spills on our hardwood floor upstairs. With that being said, I will obviously need a stronger return pump in the sump. I want to make sure I'm going to get enough flow through the sump. My goal is 300-350 gph. I've had very good luck in the past with the Mag-drive return pumps so I've been leaning that direction for this build. I'm looking at the Mag-Drive will have about 8-10 feet of vertical plumbing, plus 2 90s, a T, and possibly 6-8 feet of horizontal plumping. It looks like this pump is rated for 570 gph at 10' of head. Am I looking at this correct? According to everything I am reading, this pump should have plenty of flow for my setup.

Also, the pump has 3/4" fittings, so does it make sense to use 3/4" PVC for my entire return line?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Hi @ZJGMoparman

Not sure if you solved this yet. Had a few questions to see if I could help if not solved. I am not sure, are you talking about the danner mag-drives? Those are great pumps, but there are several other pumps I would recommend in its place. The mags have power but they also draw power and they throw a lot of heat. Have you looked into a DC pump yet? Varios are nice, and I am becoming a fan of the Maxspect jump I just installed.

Are you planning on drilling the 75 or doing and overflow? If Drilling I would do a 1 inch just because you can get more flow. A 3/4 inch will be fine though for the flow you will need.

Let us know if you are doing a build. Nothing like someone drilling thru their nice wood floors

 

[ZJGMoparman]

Hi @ZJGMoparman

Not sure if you solved this yet. Had a few questions to see if I could help if not solved. I am not sure, are you talking about the danner mag-drives? Those are great pumps, but there are several other pumps I would recommend in its place. The mags have power but they also draw power and they throw a lot of heat. Have you looked into a DC pump yet? Varios are nice, and I am becoming a fan of the Maxspect jump I just installed.

Are you planning on drilling the 75 or doing and overflow? If Drilling I would do a 1 inch just because you can get more flow. A 3/4 inch will be fine though for the flow you will need.

Let us know if you are doing a build. Nothing like someone drilling thru their nice wood floors

Hey, I have halfway solved this. I did go ahead and purchase the Danner Mag-Drive 12. Since the sump will be in my basement, I'm not as worried about heat being put into the system. My basement stays about 65 degrees year round.

I will be drilling the tank. I'm looking at purchasing the overflow box in the link below. I will be using a bean animal overflow.

1200 gph LOW PROFILE Overflow Box with REMOVABLE WEIR

BRAND NEW SUPERIOR DESIGN! MODULAR MARINE'S 1200 gph LOW PROFILE OVERFLOW BOX Features:- 1200+ GPH capability - Entire skimmer box pulls off for easy cleaning! - Slimmest and shortest skimmer box on the market! - This design keeps water line hidden behind trim - Works with rimless, eurobrace...

modularmarine.com

I won't be drilling through my hardwood floors. I have access to framing for the wall from below. I will be drilling through the bottom plate on the wall and run my plumbing up through the wall.

 

[Maxx]

I would not suggest using a mag drive pump. IME, they generate alot of heat, are not reliable long term, and dont handle head pressure very well. I would use a Pan World pump if you're wanting to stick with AC pumps, good bang for the buck, very reliable, and no heat issues like the Mag Drive's.
If you choose to go with a DC pump like the Various, you'll spend a little more upfront than the Mag Drive, but have better reliability, use less energy, and be able to control the speed with the push of a button. However, DC pumps dont generally handle head pressure very well, so you're going to have to do some research.

ETA - You've already bought the pump. No worries, but I would suggest buying a second one as a spare. Additionally, there's some recent threads where it was discussed and explained (here on R2R) why vinegar was bad for cleaning pumps and that Citric acid is a better choice. Vinegar actually penetrates the plastic and corrodes the magnets inside whereas Citric acid does not.

And the Modular Marine overflow is a great piece of gear. You wont regret that purchase.

 

[ZJGMoparman]

From what it looks like, the modular marine overflow comes with 3, 3/4" bulkheads. I feel like I need at least 1" drain lines for a 75 gallon. However, it really defeats the purpose to go from a 3/4" bulkhead to a 1" drain. Will 3/4" drains be large enough for a 75 gallon with a bean animal overflow?

 

[NickC]

Be very careful drilling that petco tank. I checked a half dozen or so when I set up my 75g system and they were all tempered glass; I ended up with a marine land 75g for this reason.

I have a very similar system to what you are trying to build, 75g with a 40 breeder sump plumbed through the wall into my workshop. Mod marine over flow and a mag return pump. I don’t have the head pressure as my sump isn’t in the basement, but you can check out my build thread if you want to see how I did it.

 

[ZJGMoparman]

Be very careful drilling that petco tank. I checked a half dozen or so when I set up my 75g system and they were all tempered glass; I ended up with a marine land 75g for this reason.

I have a very similar system to what you are trying to build, 75g with a 40 breeder sump plumbed through the wall into my workshop. Mod marine over flow and a mag return pump. I don’t have the head pressure as my sump isn’t in the basement, but you can check out my build thread if you want to see how I did it.

Hey Nick. I will definitely check out your build thread. Do you have a link to it?

After I purchased the tank, I read many article about these sometimes having tempered glass. I sat my laptop in the tank and used a pair of polarized sunglasses. To me, it looks like only the bottom is tempered. Before I drill, I will double and triple check.

 

[RyansReef]

Nice looking overflow. I checked the link and it seems to say you can customize size and number of bulkheads. Have you looked into having it made with 1” bulkheads?

 

[NickC]

Hey Nick. I will definitely check out your build thread. Do you have a link to it?

After I purchased the tank, I read many article about these sometimes having tempered glass. I sat my laptop in the tank and used a pair of polarized sunglasses. To me, it looks like only the bottom is tempered. Before I drill, I will double and triple check.

Ok good, looks like you checked the glass out correctly. I read that Aqueon just uses whatever glass they have on hand to build the petco tanks, which means they are hit or miss whether or not they are tempered.

I'll try and link my build thread, not sure how though. I'm sure you could click on my avatar and get to it that way.

 

[count krunk]

The Fiji cube 3 drain overflow I have works great and came with 1" bulkheads. I did have to use 3/4" for the elbows to get them to fit. I have the main drain probably closed around 45% so it can handle a ton of water.

 

[NickC]

Build Thread - 75g SPS build on the cheap

Hi Guys! I’m new to the forum, but not necessarily new to reefing. That being said, it has been a very long time (6 or 8yrs?!) since I broke my last tank down. My last tank was a 40 breeder display with the same size sump and was filled with mostly SPS and a couple of fish. I’ll try and post a...

www.reef2reef.com

There ya go, hopefully that works.

 

[Maxx]

From what it looks like, the modular marine overflow comes with 3, 3/4" bulkheads. I feel like I need at least 1" drain lines for a 75 gallon. However, it really defeats the purpose to go from a 3/4" bulkhead to a 1" drain. Will 3/4" drains be large enough for a 75 gallon with a bean animal overflow?

The big issue is going to be your return pump.

I chose my return pump based on the size of my overflow. My overflow (Fiji Cube) will handle up to 600 gph. I went with a DC return pump that can only push out 538 gph max. So my pump should not be able to outrun my overflow. But I dont have the head pressure requirements you do either.

You should be fine with the 1200 gph Mod Marine box. Calculate your head pressure, and choose your pump based on that. Keep the pump choice under 1200 gph, (shouldnt be too hard) and you'll be good to go.

 

[ZJGMoparman]

I guess I can turn this into a build thread. I'm in the process of building my stand. The structural part is finished. I will paint the structural part with Sher-wood Kemaqua Primer/Surfacer. This will protect the wood from any moisture. I finished up the faceframe last night and have already cut the side panels. Since my sump will be in the basement, I plan to have 2 drawers in the top section of the stand and a large open area in the bottom section of the stand. I'll probably put a shelf in here to give more storage space.

Everything in our house has a farmhouse theme, so I will be making the stand to match the other furniture in our house. It will be painted white. I'm heading to the lumber store tomorrow to pick up the crown moulding for the trim at the top.

This morning, I went ahead and filled the tank up with tap water. I will let it leak test for a few days.

 

[JoshH]

Hi @ZJGMoparman

Not sure if you solved this yet. Had a few questions to see if I could help if not solved. I am not sure, are you talking about the danner mag-drives? Those are great pumps, but there are several other pumps I would recommend in its place. The mags have power but they also draw power and they throw a lot of heat. Have you looked into a DC pump yet? Varios are nice, and I am becoming a fan of the Maxspect jump I just installed.

Are you planning on drilling the 75 or doing and overflow? If Drilling I would do a 1 inch just because you can get more flow. A 3/4 inch will be fine though for the flow you will need.

Let us know if you are doing a build. Nothing like someone drilling thru their nice wood floors

Just going to shed some insight on Varios pumps, I have spoken to Coralvue in great length about this but as of right now, using the Varios pump in a basement sump application will immediately void the warranty. Even though there head height chart says they can pump a max head height well beyond what you would see in most basement setups. There flow charts are meaningless when it comes to sumps that aren't on the same floor as the display itself.

To the OP I'm sure the mag drive will work for what you need it to do, I have 3 mad drives and they are bulletproof. Mind you not on a basement setup but they have a proven track record of being durable long lasting pumps, aside from the larger energy consumption (which in all honesty is an irrelevant argument when your pumping water up to another level as even the DC pumps needed for this are up there in wattage).

Really liking the stand so far, nice and clean look!

 

[ZJGMoparman]

I contacted modular marine about upsizing the bulkheads in the overflow. They state that 3/4" lines are more than enough for the flow rate I'm planning for. I went ahead and ordered their 1200 GPH overflow.

I'll plumb 3, 3/4" drains down to the sump for a bean animal overflow system. I'll also plumb a 3/4" return line up to the tank. I'll probably T off of this down to 2, 1/2" lines to have a return on each side of the tank.

 

[ZJGMoparman]

Today I was able to get the structural part of the stand primed/sealed. Next I will make the doors and drawer fronts.

 

[ZJGMoparman]

Well it's been a while since my last update. I been busy so I haven't made a whole lot of progress. My modular marine overflow did come today. After double and triple checking using the laptop and polarized glasses, I concluded my glass was not tempered. Trust me, I was still sweating bullets while drilling the first hole. Everything went great. Both holes are now drilled and the overflow box has been mounted.

I have my bulkheads for the return, but am still waiting on the hole saw to get here. I've attached some pictures of the holes and overflow box.

 

[Maxx]

Silly question,
Why are you drilling the back of the tank for the return?
Why not go over the top for the return?

 

[ZJGMoparman]

Silly question,
Why are you drilling the back of the tank for the return?
Why not go over the top for the return?

I could go over the top with my returns, but I think drilling gives a much cleaner look.

 

[ZJGMoparman]

Today I was able to attach the face frame, side panels and rim around the top. Things are finally starting to shape up. The doors are assembled, but they need to be sanded. This week my goal is to sand the doors and install baseboard and crown molding around the stand.

My hole saw for the returns should be here Wednesday. If I can get the return lines drilled, I will put water in the tank and do a 2nd leak test after drilling.