Aquarium plumbing help

[EvoReef]

Ok. It's time to get this all setup. I need help with the plumbing. I have never done it before and everyone that I try and get to help me is always procrastinating so I'm going to do it myself. I spent allot of money for it and don't want it to go to waste. I have never dealt with PVC before and don't know anything at all about it really. All suggestions are welcome.

 

[NanaReefer]

Are you planing on drilling the bottom of your tank? Or is it already done? Kind a hard to tell :)

 

[EvoReef]

It's already drilled. There are t 11/2 inch drain holed already drilled.

 

[Reefing Madness]

How does a sump work? | Melev's Reef
How to glue PVC pipe & fittings - YouTube

 

[AZDesertRat]

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/eq...iltration/34973-installing-bulkhead-tips.html

 

[EvoReef]

Thanks for the links guys. I will be watching soon as I'm of work.

 

[HiddenUser]

Draw out your plumbing in advance, use a bunch of unions, gate valve on the return, and dry fit everything first before you glue it!

Also might be worth taking a look at info on a Herbie overflow, based on your setup.

 

[EvoReef]

Draw out your plumbing in advance, use a bunch of unions, gate valve on the return, and dry fit everything first before you glue it!

Also might be worth taking a look at info on a Herbie overflow, based on your setup.

Thanks will do.

 

[SloppyJ]

With two holes in the overflow I'd go with a herbie drain and then either drill it for returns or run it over the back.

 

[EvoReef]

I'm trying to avoid any drilling. Couldn't I just use whats there?

 

[SloppyJ]

Like I said, you could run a herbie and then run the returns over the back. It doesn't look as good but it will work. Don't be scared of drilling. It's not as bad as it sounds.

 

[AZDesertRat]

There is no reason why you can't use what is there. I have used a single overflow in my present system for almost 11 years now without a single incident. The key is a good standpipe design such as the modified Stockman so you reduce any chances or snails or debris entering the standpipe and plumbing causing a restriction and potential flood. My overflow is drilled same as yours and the return came out of the second hole then into a LocLine wye and two fan nozzles that can be aimed where I wanted them. Ran it that way for 9 years before abandoning my closed loop and using the two drilled holes it had for my returns but I still have a single Stockman standpipe and never any issues. A ready made version of the Stockman is available and called the Maggie Muffler.

 

[EvoReef]

O yea. I did plan on running 2 returns over the back. Booth of the drilled holes in the bottom of the overflow I planned on using both for drains. So I wouldn't need to drill anything. My plans are to run one return on the left and one on the right sides of the tank.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Make sure to keep the returns close to the surface so only a limited amount of water backsiphons to the sump before they are exposed to atmosphere and the siphon breaks. Too low and you have a potential flood. Don't depend on drilled siphon break holes or check valves, both arte a false sense of security, require maintenance and still fail. An air gap cannot be defeated and is the simplest form of backflow prevention known to man.

 

[EvoReef]

Couldn't I just put a check valve mid way on the returns to prevent back siphon?

 

[SloppyJ]

Best idea not to run any check valves. Design the system to take the volume.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Check valves are not designed for reef use. They can and will fail almost guaranteed. Remember it does not have to be a catastrophic failure, even something as simple as a grain of sand or a tiny snail can defeat it and that rickle will flood given time, usually when you are not at home. A piece of algae, an anemone, a snail, some foozen food, a small fish, anything can get in there.

On the simple side, an air gap cannot flood since we all know water cannot jump up hill. Leave the returns say 1" below the surface of the display and you can sleep soundly at night knowing only a couple gallons, very easily calculated, can possibly return to the sump in a power outage before the returns are exposed to air and the siphon quits. To calculate its simple L x H X W /231. If I had to guess I would say your tank is 72" long and 18" front to back so 72x18x1" if you lower the returns 1" below the surface / 231 = 5.6 gallons. So a maximum of 5.6 gallons could possibly backflow is all and your sump should have more than that for spare room when in operation since the protein skimmer will only be submerged 8 or 9 inches. With my 100G tank it is 60" x 18" x 3/4" which is where my drilled returns and Loc Line are placed below the surface so 3.5 gallons maximum in a 30G sump is easy to contain. No drilled holes in the returns to clean or listen to and no check valves to add to headloss, require cleaning and fail and I have no problems sleeping peacefully at night knowing there is no possibility of a flood.

 

[EvoReef]

Ok. Noted.

 

[SloppyJ]

AZ hit it dead on. It is nice knowing that no matter what, there won't be a flood. I have my setup configured so that if the return kicks off, my tank won't flood. I have a 5g bucket for top off. I set it up where if my display drains to my sump and all 5g of topoff get dumped in the sump, it still won't flood.

 

[cope413]

Personally, I'm a huge fan of braided vinyl tubing. Much easier to get everything lined up right, you can see through it in the event of a clog, and it's much quieter than rigid PVC.

Plus, hose barbs and hose clamps are super easy to take apart for maintenance or fixes.