Dual Tanks - Basement Refugium

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Been away from the hobby for three years! My previous 75 gallon tank was my very first saltwater system. It'd been up for about eight years. Maintaining it in my previous residence, a small condo, was quite challenging. I've since moved to a townhouse with a square footage that's almost three times (3x) that of the condo's. So of course, my new build should also be about 3x the size, right?

Below are pictures of my two tanks. One is a 75 gallon from my previous system. The second is a Red Sea Reefer 450 (about 90 gallons). The Reefer is on the main floor of the house and the 75 gallon is located in the basement. The refugium is in a utility room located just behind the 75 gallon tank.

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Here's a schematic of my system. I welcome your comments. Note that I'm using two return pumps in parallel. Two Mag 7 pumps should provide sufficient flow to two main tanks, refugium #2, and misc components such as a carbon/GFO reactor. I've had these two pumps for years and didn't want to spend more $ for one larger pump. Also, utilizing two return pumps provides redundancy. If one fails, the other should be able to provide at least some amount of flow to both tanks. Check valves are connected to the pumps so that if one pump fails, flow from the other pump cannot return to the refugium through the failed pump.

Schematic.001.jpeg
 
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The floors in our home isn't level. I measured a drop of approximately 1/2" across the width of the tank. I couldn't find suitable shims anywhere so I had to make my own from an ABS plastic rod. I also used round felt pads below each foot.

Leveling.001.jpeg

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This is what the inside of the left compartment looks like. I could have connected the drain directly to the white PVC piping, but didn't for two reasons. First, I couldn't find a metric to standard PVC adapter. Second, I didn't want a separate emergency drain line going all the way down to the basement.

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The reason why the emergency drain pipe is so short is because the below piece on the return adapter was broken and I needed a replacement. Instead of buying the entire adapter, I cannibalized from the emergency drain pipe. For now, the shorten emergency drain pipe in held in place by friction.

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I've use a mix of standard and flexible PVC pipes. 3/4" and 1" pipes pass through the back of the stand and wall then down through the floor to the basement.

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Piping continues through the floor/ceiling down to the basement. The drain line is 1" and return is 3/4".

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Cont.:

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As of 1 Jun '20:

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The outlets from the pumps are 1/2", but because the orifice/seat of a 1/2" check valve is rather small, I'm using 3/4" check valves.

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It helped that flexible PVCs have a "natural" bend.

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Drains from both tanks and refugium #2 flow down into this compartment:

P1010794.jpeg
 
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Basement tank stand. Refugium is just behind this wall. The two adapters are for LED lights that I plan to install later.

P1010816.jpeg
 
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Started leak checks a couple days ago and discovered that the design needed to be tweaked. In a previous version of my system schematic, I had included a valve in the return line connecting to the basement tank. This valve together with other (ball) valves would be needed for controlling the return header pressure and ensuring there's sufficient pressure for overcoming approximately 8 feet of head. I'd forgotten to include this valve during assembly of the manifold.

Schematic 2.001.jpeg


Here's my good-enough-for-now solution. I cut the hose connecting to the chiller and added a ball valve.

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Here's my RO/DI filter. I don't recommend this product. Poor design. Centering the filters inside two of the three compartments is a real pain. I actually had to add my own o-ring to ensure proper fit. ...But it gets the job done.

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AquaticLiferodeluxe_78980.jpg
 
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There's only one threaded joint without an elastomeric seal (other than the pump outlets which are submerged).

sealant.001.jpeg


As I'm not a fan of Teflon tape, I'm using PTFE paste sealant by Real-Tuff.

hercules-pipe-putty-sealants-156152-64_1000.jpg
 

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Oooh cool build!
 
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The dual Mag 7 return pump setup didn't work as I'd hoped. Using one pump, I could only get a trickle to the main floor tank. I was able to get a little more flow with both pumps, but just wasn't enough. After much research, I decided to give Jebaos a try. I picked the 95 watt version, DCP-13000, since the DCP-10000 was out of stock. It took some effort to get it connected to existing piping. The smallest pump fitting for connection to PVC piping was 1-1/4". As you can see in the photo, I've connected 1-1/4" PVC to a 1-1/4" Tee. There are a pair of 1-1/4" to 1" reducers connected to the Tee. From there, I've used 1" street elbows and 1" to 3/4" reducer. That enables me to connect to existing 3/4" unions.
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Before
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First time trying a DC return pump. These things are dead silent! The Jebaos are 1/3 of the cost of some of the better brands. And they're probably 1/3 as reliable. But it's been fine thus far
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Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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