Gravity Fed Water from 2nd floor?

Michael_NL · May 23, 2019

Hi everyone!

I'm planning on buying a Reefer 425XL, but already thinking on how to plan all the plumbing etc for the ATO & WC. (See attached image)

Since i don't have enough space for 2 containers in the pantry on the ground floor, i will only place my RO-DI container there (which will be controlled by my Apex) and the SW container (Brute) on the second floor. Would it be possibile to let gravity do his work when i will do a water change? (Green line on the image (hose) ) It's a height difference of about ~ 20 feet but then ~5 feet up into to the display tank.

Thanks!
Michael

JChrystie · May 23, 2019

It should work, but it will be much slower than if you T'd into the pump that you're using to mix the saltwater.

Kyuss414 · May 23, 2019

I dump my freshwater into my saltwater mixing bin via gravity and 30 gallons takes maybe 2 minutes tops, and that's a few inches of head height sitting on a stand next to it with a 1/2" pipe between the two. 15 feet of head pressure is more than a lot return pumps provide, which will be compounded by the fact that there's a tank at the top with more surface area providing more pressure. It's also going to be easier to add a ball valve to the feed line at the display tank to monitor it and shut it off if or regulate the flow from blowing substrate around. You won't have any problem with flow OP. Only thing I'd change (going on your pic) is maybe put the connection on the mixing tank on the bottom so you can drain it all, and make sure it's vented for when you dump it into the display.

What size hose are you planning on running?

Michael_NL · May 24, 2019

Kyuss414 said:
I dump my freshwater into my saltwater mixing bin via gravity and 30 gallons takes maybe 2 minutes tops, and that's a few inches of head height sitting on a stand next to it with a 1/2" pipe between the two. 15 feet of head pressure is more than a lot return pumps provide, which will be compounded by the fact that there's a tank at the top with more surface area providing more pressure. It's also going to be easier to add a ball valve to the feed line at the display tank to monitor it and shut it off if or regulate the flow from blowing substrate around. You won't have any problem with flow OP. Only thing I'd change (going on your pic) is maybe put the connection on the mixing tank on the bottom so you can drain it all, and make sure it's vented for when you dump it into the display.

What size hose are you planning on running?

Great! Thanks for the confirmation and the ideas! The ball valve at the end is a good idea to regulate the flow, i thought it would be running very slow.
I haven't thought about the size of the hose yet.. but i think 5/8" would be a good size?

Tastee · May 24, 2019

With that much head height you could probably run 1/4” RO line and still have it pump out pretty quick. 5/8” should be more than enough and you can use the ball valve to moderate the flow to what you want.