HighChief's 225 In wall basement build

[HighChiefKC]

Congrats on your new tank! It looks like you're making great progress.

Thanks! It’s going to be a slow process. Only buying equipment when I have the money to pay for it so I don’t go into debt. Lessons learned from past tanks! But my patience will be tested!

I was just looking at your build thread yesterday and many many others, trying to get ideas on best way to do plumbing. I’ve noticed now, a lot of people using 2 return pumps. I’ve already bought a Vectra L2 pump, least I think that’s the one I bought, it’s been a few months ago...anyway I had only thought of one pump and teeing the return. Now I’m questioning that because I’d like to have a UV and other items down the road.

Could I have the one return pump and just get a different pump and use it for UV and reactors? Does the UV have to go straight into the display or can it go back into the other end of the sump where the overflow drains go into?

 

[count krunk]

you can certainly have a return pump and a reactor pump.

the reactor pump can deposit into the sump, there is no need to run it to the display.

 

[Sticks And Stones]

Thanks! It’s going to be a slow process. Only buying equipment when I have the money to pay for it so I don’t go into debt. Lessons learned from past tanks! But my patience will be tested!

I was just looking at your build thread yesterday and many many others, trying to get ideas on best way to do plumbing. I’ve noticed now, a lot of people using 2 return pumps. I’ve already bought a Vectra L2 pump, least I think that’s the one I bought, it’s been a few months ago...anyway I had only thought of one pump and teeing the return. Now I’m questioning that because I’d like to have a UV and other items down the road.

Could I have the one return pump and just get a different pump and use it for UV and reactors? Does the UV have to go straight into the display or can it go back into the other end of the sump where the overflow drains go into?

Yes, you can certainly run a second pump for the UV and reactors. I went with two returns in the hopes they won't fail at the same time and I'd have at least half the flow returning from the sump to the display if one failed. For your UV and media reactor pump you might want to consider a pump that could serve as a temporary backup for your return if ever needed.

As count krunk said, your UV can feed into the sump - I've done that on my current tank and all my prior tanks.

 

[HighChiefKC]

If my one pump failed, it would stop overflowing soon after correct? It will be awhile before I have water, but I think my sump could hold the overflow till I got pump replaced. Would another Vectra L2 be a good pump for different equipment like uv and reactors? Then in emergency I could replace return pump with it?

 

[Sticks And Stones]

Yeah, the sump definitely has to hold the extra volume of water when your return pump stops in the event of a power loss or just maintenance. I've never owned a Vectra, so I can't speak to suitability for that purpose, but an identical pump would certainly be ideal.

 

[HighChiefKC]

Ok, so I’ve always done manual water changes with my old 180 and my current nano. My new system I want to do AWC and Auto top off. I think I have the auto top off figured out. But my very first question is, if I have a big barrel for RODI water, is there something that will automatically turn my RODI unit on and off, and have a float switch that tells it when the water barrel is full? I currently just use a trash can, and one night I fell asleep and it ran till the next morning. Luckily I have a floor drain close to it but it still got under the wall and to some carpet. I don’t want that to happen again!
So if that’s possible, then I’ve been researching various options to have another barrel that’s full saltwater and do auto water change. I think I mostly have that system figured out, just haven’t decided what the best and most cost efficient system is. My question is, I don’t have a drain beside the tank unfortunately. Is there a unit that could pump out dirty water that could go up a wall and along the floor above, then back down to the drain?
In this picture, I have my utility sink that my waste water drains into the plumbing. I have a floor drain by the sink. I’d rather my tank dirty water go into that sink drain. I have good RODI water going up and along floor, then back down to where I will place barrels. I was worried it wouldn’t pump it that far, but I tested it and it worked just fine. I don’t want any water tubing running across the floor. Any thoughts and ideas appreciated!
In the pic I pointed out the floor drain. But I should have pointed to sink plumbing drain instead.

 

[HighChiefKC]

Got my dedicated electric ran today. Had to move sump to the platform that will hold fresh and salt containers, temporarily.
So the lights and powerheads will run on one circuit, and everything by the sump will run on a separate one.

 

[HighChiefKC]

Minor update. I think I have the majority of my plumbing needed. Got a new 40w UV, and a Vectra M2 to go with it. Still waiting on my 2 105g water storage tanks. I think I have enough rock, they are cooking in trash cans. Just ordered a versa 4 pack with base for AWC and dosing.
Waiting for 3 bulkheads from BRS and when they get here I can start plumbing!
Here is a pic of where I’m at. I put a flat shelf across the bottom of the stand. I have all this room now there and don’t know what I could put there!

 

[HighChiefKC]

Bulkheads are here and ready to attempt plumbing this weekend. Water tanks are here, man they are big lol. Hopefully it’s warm enough here to clean them up outside this weekend. Versa doser has been delivered. Will use the for dosing and auto water change.
Next on purchase list Is an Apex with the ATO kit.

 

[HighChiefKC]

So I’ve been stockpiling equipment. Ordered 1 of 2 MP40s. Mostly been going to the hardware store to find random plumbing pieces. Just haven’t had time to do any plumbing till today.
Finally got this project done.

 

[HighChiefKC]

Leak test! Hopefully it goes better than my plumbing job on mixing station. I learned a lot from that project! Fingers crossed!

 

[HighChiefKC]

Lol I just noticed my 2 year olds baby shark in the floor

 

[HighChiefKC]

I did not realize how long this 40w UV was going to be. This thing is massive. That will be a plumbing project for another day

This build has been taking me so long, that when I get the money to order something, I order it, then stash it in the box in the basement. I have so many boxes that I haven’t opened, that I don’t even know what’s inside them!

 

[count krunk]

my build took a WHILE to get wet and it was a 40 breeder! Building out everything from 0 without tossing bands takes time haha

 

[HighChiefKC]

So I need a better idea on what to do for the return from the bulkhead inside the tank. I have 1” slip bulkheads. I bought the 1” random flow generator from BRS

My problem is, there’s currently no way to adjust the angle, and unless I don’t see one, I don’t see an option from BRS of a product that’s 1” slip that will allow me to adjust it. So now the water doesn’t cover the small pvc pipe that I have coming out of the return bulkhead and the flow generator is splashing water on top of water, and it’s Super Loud! With this attached, I feel like it already sets lower in tank than my teeth of the overflow. When filling tank for first time, water was going down the return plumbing before it was going over the overflow. So I don’t think I want to put a white pvc elbow into the nice black background of the tank. Plus I don’t want it to be that low and back drain into sump if something bad happened.
Is there any slip x slip 1” options available that I’m not seeing?

Here’s video of it

 

[count krunk]

my return is a bit lower than the weir of the overflow box. Just make sure your sump can handle the volume and no issues. I used loc line with a wider vent nozzle and i am really happy with it.

 

[DaddyFish]

I have a small 55-gal tank in my basement garage with a dehumidifier setup nearby. One thing that stands out to me regarding your setup is...

Where will the big exhaust fan be pulling its air supply from? And is it exhausting to the adjacent finished space or all the way outside?

If it's exhausting outside, then the negative pressure will pull air from the point(s) of least resistance, which could mean a drafty walk door, roll-up garage door, or from your living space above. Just suggesting you think about that and perhaps consider a passive vent panel somewhere (with maybe a length of flex duct leading to the equipment room) to encourage the kind of conditioned air you want filling the void.

 

[HighChiefKC]

I have a small 55-gal tank in my basement garage with a dehumidifier setup nearby. One thing that stands out to me regarding your setup is...

Where will the big exhaust fan be pulling its air supply from? And is it exhausting to the adjacent finished space or all the way outside?

If it's exhausting outside, then the negative pressure will pull air from the point(s) of least resistance, which could mean a drafty walk door, roll-up garage door, or from your living space above. Just suggesting you think about that and perhaps consider a passive vent panel somewhere (with maybe a length of flex duct leading to the equipment room) to encourage the kind of conditioned air you want filling the void.

My dad said basically the same thing to me when he visited a month ago. And I didn’t have an answer because I don’t know? It does go directly outside. I just copied the idea off of several builds I had seen on here, and no one mentioned “negative pressure” or any vent work besides this. So explain to me what a passive vent panel is? Where would this be installed at? Does it lead to outside meaning I drill another hole in the side of the house?
If I need to post more pictures of basement I can. It’s a full basement with a wall dividing it. One side is finished, the tank side is not.
And I also have a dehumidifier running.

Thanks for helping!

 

[HighChiefKC]

my return is a bit lower than the weir of the overflow box. Just make sure your sump can handle the volume and no issues. I used loc line with a wider vent nozzle and i am really happy with it.

I was originally going to use loc line with one of the thin return nozzles, it’s what’s on my nano cube, but they don’t make it in 1”, so I wasn’t sure how to connect it to a 1” bulkhead

 

[OceanDiver]

Do you have humidity issues or is the exhaust fan working