Advice on aquarium and sump on different floors

krsatlanta · Feb 8, 2023

I am looking at a build in the next year where all my sump/refugium, etc. all move to my basement. It will the floor right below my tank but not directly under. It will be about a 10-foot rise, and the run, although about 15 feet direct, will be more like 30 feet after working it across a number of rooms. I know I will need one of the more powerful pumps, but I can easily change pumps. (It is a 95-gal tank and I know the calculations are not difficult for head pressure, etc. I welcome any advice on that but what I really would like advice on is the plumbing. I am about to close off those rooms the plumbing has to run through and once they are dry walled, I will only have minimal access to them in spots where I put a panel.
Some questions I have are: What material pipe? I see some pluming (tubing) Vinyl, Silicone, Clear, or translucent that I can get that is flexible but then again so is PEX (although not clear) but I would be limited to 1". Not sure if 1" is enough. I also can run regular plumbing like PVC.
Does the opacity matter? If I go with non clear pvc or pex, etc. is that okay. The plumbing will be mostly behind walls/drywall and in dark areas.
Do I need to be concerned that I will not be able to see the pipes and can much be done about that as far as taking any precautions in case of something like clog.
If I use PVC, what is the best way to prevent restrictions on flow, 45-degree elbows? or something else.
Other advice? (Prefer not to have leaks

)

I would love to use 1" PEX as I find it easy to work with and reliable, but I am concerned that I need something like 1 1/2 " or 2".
Happy to provide more information if I left something out that would be useful to any advice you might have.

Thank you in advance for reading this and any responses!

Timfish · Feb 8, 2023

With in wall plumbing that won't be accessable I would use schedule 80 PVC 1" or maybe 1 1/4" diameter. If it helps you don't really need huge turnover rates through your sump/refugium, 2X or 3X would be fine. You can also get "sweeps" or about 4" to 6" radius curves instead of the typical elbows.

Stang67 · Feb 8, 2023

You can mix types as well. hard for behind the walls and for long runs. Soft for needed flex. They have a few different types of flex tubing. Check out pond grade.

krsatlanta · Feb 9, 2023

Thank you, those are great suggestions.
Is there a reason the semi-transparent tubing should or should not be used? I was thinking it only helps with seeing any buildup??? but downside is it lets light in? I want to try to get as few connections/unions as possible too just to cut down on risks of leaks.

mrbh22 · Feb 9, 2023

my advice i would be schdule 40 pvc. and make the drain side(s) hopefully 2 or even better 3 as large as possible and use a gate valve to control the flow from tank to sump. the returns most likely 3/4" or 1" pvc is sufficient. the clear piping serves no purpose other than to give you something to worry about when some form of algae starts to inevitably grow inside it. ive heard good things about using the flexible pvc to make longer turns in the piping, but remember that if its flexible it CAN move and PVC glue does not. so if you glue it up and it doesnt leak when leak testing just remember that the pumps running and movement in the house will make the flxible piple move ever so slightly and could eventually develop a leak. so if at all possible hard plumb as much as you can. and feel free to correct me but is pex measured Internal diameter? it sounds like 1" pex would be a sweet way to run returns (sump to tank) as long as you have a solid way to terminate the line into the return that enters the tank.

krsatlanta · Feb 9, 2023

Thank you. Very helpful info. PEX 1" is not really 1"ID. Do you think that small amount would be important? I need to double check but I think anything over 1" becomes cost prohibitive for me. I do PEX with either the crimper or Sharkbites and both max out of the reasonable range at the 1" mark but if my crimper will go that high, I might be safe. I know Sch80 is hardy but have only used either outdoors or for higher pressure which I don't know either will come in to play but I might be missing something else about using 80.
Thoughts on using PVC for drains since they will all be gravity and using PEX for the pump? For the short term I want to run the pipes and close up the rooms. I might run just water through them for a bit as well.
Hard to find builds that are on different floors but if anyone knows of any, I would love to check them out. Learning a few things even with the ones that have a dedicated fish room.
Thank you!

PEX Tubing Size	OD	Min. Wall Thickness	ID	Weight per 100ft	Volume per 100ft
1/4"	0.375"	0.062"	0.241"	3.21 lbs	0.24 gal
3/8"	0.500"	0.070"	0.350"	4.13 lbs	0.50 gal
1/2"	0.625"	0.070"	0.475"	5.35 lbs	0.92 gal
3/4"	0.875"	0.097"	0.671"	10.23 lbs	1.82 gal
1"	1.125"	0.125"	0.862"	16.89 lbs	3.04 gal
1-1/4"	1.375"	0.153"	1.054"	25.23 lbs	4.52 gal
1-1/2"	1.625"	0.181"	1.244"	35.36 lbs	6.30 gal
2"	2.125"	0.236"	1.629"	60.26 lbs	10.83 gal

mrbh22 · Feb 10, 2023

The pex sizing won’t difference won’t affect anything unless you are trying to run a massive return pump. For a 90 gallon the average return pump won’t be affected by that. I would use 3/4” or 1/2” from sump to tank for a tank that size.
There is no reason to use schedule 80 for our needs as Aquarists other than it looks nicer. Schedule 40 pvc is available at any home goods store and is pretty cheap.

I don’t know what shark bite fittings are made of but if there is any metal in them I would stay away. Saltwater corrodes almost all metals. And when they break down they leech metals into the tank.

Abilor · Apr 5, 2023

OP, did you make a decision? Thinking about going with 1" PEX myself from basement mixing station, up 14 feet, and 50 feet over to my tank area above basement drop ceiling. Would use a Pan world 150 PS to push it real good.