DIY Plumbing Guide/Help

[HIP-oboe-85]

Hello all,

So a few weeks before Christmas, Petsmart was having a big sale on tanks, and I treated myself to a 55 gallon "kit", so I could upgrade from my 29 gallon nano. I built a custom stand for it, bought a 20 long to build as a basement sump, and now I've reached a wall with plumbing.

I plan to drill the tank for drains and return, but I can't find any information about what size bulkheads, or type of pump (gph), etc., to use for a 55. I'd like to avoid a bulky overflow box or weirs in the tank if possible, and just have a main drain, emergency drain, and return drilled into the back panel.

I have a good understanding of where everything should go and how it should be assembled, with drain cocks and checks and all that -- it's the size of bulkheads and gph I really need help with figuring out.

(I have tested the glass to be sure it is NOT tempered. There were no stickers anywhere on the tank, and the polarized glasses trick shows it to be regular glass [and tested against known tempered glass to be sure!])

Thanks!

 

[GlassMunky]

I’d recommend just getting a full kit from somewhere like Modular Marine, that way you get the box, plumbing, bulkheads, everything you need, sized correctly and it saves a couple bucks.

 

[hogger555]

1" drains and 3/4" return

 

[Joe31415]

I have a 40 gallon breeder and used a 20L for the sump. I picked up an Eshopps Eclipse M overflow and plumbed everything with 1" PVC. It's still cycling but seems to be working just fine.
My original intent was to use 3/4" for the return, but IMO, it was easier to have all my PVC pipe and connectors be the same size and then just use reducers where I needed to. For example I had to reduce it (twice maybe) to connect it to the return (over the top) jet.
This also means all the spare pieces of PVC I now have laying around are all 1" with just a few exceptions. Also, any time I've made any modifications, I don't need to worry about the size. It's all 1". Any union will fit on any other union. The valve I have sitting in a bin next to the tank will fit any of the plumbing etc

 

[theMeat]

1” drain, 3/4” return. Herbie or bean animal style.
The problem or issue with having plumbing come straight out of display without an overflow box is that much more water will drain down to sump before siphon is broke when return pump goes off in power outage or whatever. Imo go with a ghost style overflow, or big/deep enough sump to allow more room for the extra water to drain down.

Stand looks great, nice work

 

[HIP-oboe-85]

I’d recommend just getting a full kit from somewhere like Modular Marine, that way you get the box, plumbing, bulkheads, everything you need, sized correctly and it saves a couple bucks.

I have been trying to find such a thing without luck, and kept wondering why no one seemed to have a basic starter kit. I'll look for your recommendation, thanks!

 

[HIP-oboe-85]

1” drain, 3/4” return. Herbie or bean animal style.
The problem or issue with having plumbing come straight out of display without an overflow box is that much more water will drain down to sump before siphon is broke when return pump goes off in power outage or whatever. Imo go with a ghost style overflow, or big/deep enough sump to allow more room for the extra water to drain down.

Stand looks great, nice work

Thanks for the info, and the compliment!

My biggest concern about a sump setup is backflow and flooding, and so I appreciate your point about "naked" drains, for lack of a better term. I'll have to give a bit more consideration to an overflow.