Basement return pump help

[motoking_1990]

I know others have put their sump in a basement with the DT on the first floor. What pump is everyone using to go up a floor? I used a calculator and it said the pump would need to be 84.92 total pump head required. That included the 5 90s and single T. I had planned on using 1” since thats what my overflow pipes are. They will be gated so I could bring the return diameter down to 3/4”. Thoughts?

 

[Kodski]

I used a Sicce SDC 9.0 pump and it did a great job. Its a bit on the loud side, but with a basement sump, that's not an issue. Specs show it's only rated for 23ft of head pressure, but I definitely had more than that and I was only running it on 48% to get enough flow for my 80 gallon aquarium.

Your calculations seem weird though. I get roughly 50ft of head from the 90's but how are you going up 34 feet in your house? That would literally be the equivalent of pumping water to your 3rd story.

As far as the 90's are concerned. Use sweeper 90's and that will reduce the head pressure by ALOT. Even better if you can find and use sweeper 45's.

If your head pressure really is 80 something feet and you can't find a way to reduce it, you may be stuck using a Baldor pump like a Reeflo, or even more expensive an Abbyz.

 

[motoking_1990]

I used a Sicce SDC 9.0 pump and it did a great job. Its a bit on the loud side, but with a basement sump, that's not an issue. Specs show it's only rated for 23ft of head pressure, but I definitely had more than that and I was only running it on 48% to get enough flow for my 80 gallon aquarium.

Your calculations seem weird though. I get roughly 50ft of head from the 90's but how are you going up 34 feet in your house? That would literally be the equivalent of pumping water to your 3rd story.

As far as the 90's are concerned. Use sweeper 90's and that will reduce the head pressure by ALOT. Even better if you can find and use sweeper 45's.

If your head pressure really is 80 something feet and you can't find a way to reduce it, you may be stuck using a Baldor pump like a Reeflo, or even more expensive an Abbyz.

That pump is exactly what I had planned in my build. 23’ was plenty. But after looking at that calculator it had me worried. I have my old pump from my previous tank it was the SDC 6.0. It is extremely quiet but it was just under the tank. I guessed on the numbers. Had 12’ from basement floor to the joists, 10 foot over probably closer to 5’, then up again 8’ into the DT. I can post the calculator maybe I messed something up.

 

[me & my baby]

I agree with the previous post your numbers don’t sound right . You want to run your pump plumbing the max size you can till you have to reduce it . That way you get the most flow through it as possible. Right now I have a jebao dcp 20000 running from under my house I was using a (reeflohammer head )threw 4 45s then right before I get under my tank I reduce from 1 1/2 to 1 inch . The controller is set to 54% and I get plenty of flow to turn my 150 over 5 times an hour and it’s pretty much dead silent . . What size tank do you have what are you wanting your turn over to be .

 

[motoking_1990]

I used a Sicce SDC 9.0 pump and it did a great job. Its a bit on the loud side, but with a basement sump, that's not an issue. Specs show it's only rated for 23ft of head pressure, but I definitely had more than that and I was only running it on 48% to get enough flow for my 80 gallon aquarium.

Your calculations seem weird though. I get roughly 50ft of head from the 90's but how are you going up 34 feet in your house? That would literally be the equivalent of pumping water to your 3rd story.

As far as the 90's are concerned. Use sweeper 90's and that will reduce the head pressure by ALOT. Even better if you can find and use sweeper 45's.

If your head pressure really is 80 something feet and you can't find a way to reduce it, you may be stuck using a Baldor pump like a Reeflo, or even more expensive an Abbyz.

Actually I did enter the numbers wrong the first time. But I am still at 44’ head pressure. If you had no issues I will go for it. What size line did you run? I could use hose from pump to tank then pvc into the tank.

 

[twentyleagues]

I used a Reeflo Hammer head to feed a 125 and a 120 years ago from my basement. I still had to have it "t'd" off to return some of the flow to the sump as it would overpower my overflows if I didnt. I dont remember how much head I had total. The pump was around 15' from the tops of the tanks I used 1 1/4" pipe up to the tees that were at the top of the tanks into 2 1" returns at each of the tanks. I can remember there was a tee at the ceiling of the basement to split the return between the 2 tanks a gate valve at the tee to one tank to help tune it multiple 90s and 45s to get them to the tanks and the main tee and gate valve at the sump. The tanks were around 20' from each other. I used 1 1/4" pipe after talking extensively with a tech from Reeflo.

 

[Kodski]

That pump is exactly what I had planned in my build. 23’ was plenty. But after looking at that calculator it had me worried. I have my old pump from my previous tank it was the SDC 6.0. It is extremely quiet but it was just under the tank. I guessed on the numbers. Had 12’ from basement floor to the joists, 10 foot over probably closer to 5’, then up again 8’ into the DT. I can post the calculator maybe I messed something up.

Horizontal runs do not need to be calculated into head pressure, it adds so little head pressure even over 20ft that it's nominal.

Using my experience from being a home builder, lets take a look at your numbers for a sec.

12ft up from the basement would mean you have 12ft basement walls, while it is possible to have 12ft basement walls I find it unlikely unless you have a custom build home in which case you'd for sure know. Depending on the age of your house, you'll likely have a 8 or 9ft basement wall. Add 1ft for the floor joists and floor. If your tank is on the first floor, which is what I'm gathering, your return into your tank wont be more than 4ft off the floor. Id be willing to bet the most you actually have from head pressure is 15ft plus all of your fittings. IF your basement truly is an extra height basement, then you're still only talking 17ft plus all of your fittings. I usually figure 10ft of head for each 90* street elbow and 5ft for each 90* sweeper. So at most I'd say you're looking at 67ft of head pressure. The Sicce SDC 9.0 through a 1" pipe will be able to handle that, the only question is how much flow out of the outlet are you looking for?

 

[motoking_1990]

I agree with the previous post your numbers don’t sound right . You want to run your pump plumbing the max size you can till you have to reduce it . That way you get the most flow through it as possible. Right now I have a jebao dcp 20000 running from under my house I was using a (reeflohammer head )threw 4 45s then right before I get under my tank I reduce from 1 1/2 to 1 inch . The controller is set to 54% and I get plenty of flow to turn my 150 over 5 times an hour and it’s pretty much dead silent . . What size tank do you have what are you wanting your turn over to be .

The tank is a 220g I got used but that might change to a new 150 SC aquarium tank. I found damaged sealant on the 220g. May reseal and put it in the basement.

 

[Kodski]

Actually I did enter the numbers wrong the first time. But I am still at 44’ head pressure. If you had no issues I will go for it. What size line did you run? I could use hose from pump to tank then pvc into the tank.

I believe I used 1" lines and had plenty of head room to bump the pump up. I had 14ft of vertical head pressure, a 20 ft horizontal run, 4 90* elbows, and 4 45* elbows if I remember correctly.

Edit: I forgot that I reduced it to 3/4" lines at the via a T for the dual returns.

 

[twentyleagues]

Actually I did enter the numbers wrong the first time. But I am still at 44’ head pressure. If you had no issues I will go for it. What size line did you run? I could use hose from pump to tank then pvc into the tank.

1" is too restrictive go with 1.25" (I learned a better way to represent 1 1/4....lol). After a couple of hours going over it with Reeflo that was a sweet spot we found. 1.5" was also a good bet but after thoughts from Reeflo they said most pressure rated pump actually perform better with a little back pressure.

 

[Kodski]

1" is too restrictive go with 1.25" (I learned a better way to represent 1 1/4....lol). After a couple of hours going over it with Reeflo that was a sweet spot we found. 1.5" was also a good bet but after thoughts from Reeflo they said most pressure rated pump actually perform better with a little back pressure.

What size Reeflo were you talking about though? The SDC 9.0 has a max flow rate of 2500 GPH while the Reeflo's can have double that.

 

[motoking_1990]

That pump is exactly what I had planned in my build. 23’ was plenty. But after looking at that calculator it had me worried. I have my old pump from my previous tank it was the SDC 6.0. It is extremely quiet but it was just under the tank. I guessed on the numbers. Had 12’ from basement floor to the joists, 10 foot over probably closer to 5’, then up again 8’ into the DT. I can post the calculator maybe I messed something up.

Horizontal runs do not need to be calculated into head pressure, it adds so little head pressure even over 20ft that it's nominal.

Using my experience from being a home builder, lets take a look at your numbers for a sec.

12ft up from the basement would mean you have 12ft basement walls, while it is possible to have 12ft basement walls I find it unlikely unless you have a custom build home in which case you'd for sure know. Depending on the age of your house, you'll likely have a 8 or 9ft basement wall. Add 1ft for the floor joists and floor. If your tank is on the first floor, which is what I'm gathering, your return into your tank wont be more than 4ft off the floor. Id be willing to bet the most you actually have from head pressure is 15ft plus all of your fittings. IF your basement truly is an extra height basement, then you're still only talking 17ft plus all of your fittings. I usually figure 10ft of head for each 90* street elbow and 5ft for each 90* sweeper. So at most I'd say you're looking at 67ft of head pressure. The Sicce SDC 9.0 through a 1" pipe will be able to hand that, the only question is how much flow out of the outlet are you looking for?

I went down and measured the deck. Its 8’8 floor to bottom of joist. 2x10 joist so 9&1/2”. Lets just call that a foot. 5’6 to top of display. I think it will be fine now that I have went and figured everything. I will still be using the sdc 9.

 

[motoking_1990]

Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[Kodski]

I went down and measured the deck. Its 8’8 floor to bottom of joist. 2x10 joist so 9&1/2”. Lets just call that a foot. 5’6 to top of display. I think it will be fine now that I have went and figured everything. I will still be using the sdc 9.

I think you'll be very happy with that pump in your setup. One thing I can say, if your basement gets a little colder than you keep your house, pick up some pipe insulation and insulate all the pipes. I can't believe how much of a difference that made with my setup. My basement is old and gets quite cold, with as much PVC pipe as what I had, it acted like a giant cooling loop. Even during the summer my heaters were constantly on. Once I added the insulation, they would run much less.

 

[twentyleagues]

What size Reeflo were you talking about though? The SDC 9.0 has a max flow rate of 2500 GPH while the Reeflo's can have double that.

It was a hammerhead and you are correct I think it had 3600 or 4200gph. I was just giving you what I did that pertained to your original post. I think the 9.0 will probably be good for what you want no need to go crazy like I did lol. When I was moving the sump to the basement I was really worried and spent hours trying to figure it out. While there was internet back then the resources were only so so. Being able to talk to a tech at Reeflo was very helpful. But even after all the research and tech help it was still overkill, I had to go back and add that tee off back to the sump. I did not have flow meters but I would guess at each tank I had around 1500gph when we were thinking based off of everything I would have barely 400gph.

 

[Kodski]

It was a hammerhead and you are correct I think it had 3600 or 4200gph. I was just giving you what I did that pertained to your original post. I think the 9.0 will probably be good for what you want no need to go crazy like I did lol. When I was moving the sump to the basement I was really worried and spent hours trying to figure it out. While there was internet back then the resources were only so so. Being able to talk to a tech at Reeflo was very helpful. But even after all the research and tech help it was still overkill, I had to go back and add that tee off back to the sump. I did not have flow meters but I would guess at each tank I had around 1500gph when we were thinking based off of everything I would have barely 400gph.

I was just trying to make the distinction of flowrate because pipe diameter and flowrate go hand in hand.

 

[Reef Jedi]

in my last house I had the sump in the basement. There was some benefit to it however in this new house I have sump under tank and instead run dos units up from the basement. Both awc system and for regular dosing.

I’m oldschool and I don’t even know if they sell them anymore but the Coralife Turbo-sea inline pumps did the job just fine for me. They had good head height and never an issue.

Tip from a friend, use lots of unions just in case. You never know what’ll happen.

 

[me & my baby]

With my jebao DCP20000 @14ft I can fill @ 5 gallons took 17 seconds to fill the bucket so at 52 percent and 62 watts I am getting 1059 GPH and I still have a lot more I could turn it up . I am happy with that . The noise from the pump in my fish room is a lot quieter then my hammer head and upstairs at the stand I hear nothing where before I could hear the humming of the hammer head . I am happy .

 

[theMeat]

In my experience a dc pump, even when well within its head height specs, will loose its head height ability in short order. At first it works great. Withis a few months it will fall off, way off in time. Tried a few different brands, on a number of installs.
Go with an ac high head pump, like the reeflo, panworld, etc. A Danner mag pump if you want in sump pump. Yea it’s a heat maker but bulletproof
My .02

 

[KStatefan]

Actually I did enter the numbers wrong the first time. But I am still at 44’ head pressure. If you had no issues I will go for it. What size line did you run? I could use hose from pump to tank then pvc into the tank.

How are you pumping up 20 feet but only using 10 foot of pipe?