Jason's Reefer 250: Fish added! Sump Mod, Clarisea, custom plumbing, aquascape w/E-Marco, IKEA cabinet mod. (Pic heavy!)

[Eight]

nope, no issues with reactor flow. The main drain flow is solid. The only issue I had is with pump noise from Varios. I have two reactors on the “dead end” side of the manifold. After I went through 2 pump replacements, they told me its probably due to back pressure building up from those two reactors. eventually, after a few months, the pump humming noise miraculously disappeared. In your case, you only have 1 reactor on the dead end side and two downstream, so shouldnt be a problem at all.

Super helpful thank you! I'm also using 1" plumbing (I think you went with 3/4" for space?) so hopefully that keeps the flow up. I really appreciate your insight.

Side rant: I had shared a photo of my sump in progress with the Facebook Redsea group and basically got criticized (with minimal constructive feedback) for all the plumbing elbows. It's not like any of us redoing the plumbing enjoy having to use a ton of 90 degree elbows but the metric conversion and small sump don't really leave much choice. It's poor interactions like that on FB that make me appreciate the community here on R2R even more.

 

[Ross Petersen]

Super helpful thank you! I'm also using 1" plumbing (I think you went with 3/4" for space?) so hopefully that keeps the flow up. I really appreciate your insight.

Side rant: I had shared a photo of my sump in progress with the Facebook Redsea group and basically got criticized (with minimal constructive feedback) for all the plumbing elbows. It's not like any of us redoing the plumbing enjoy having to use a ton of 90 degree elbows but the metric conversion and small sump don't really leave much choice. It's poor interactions like that on FB that make me appreciate the community here on R2R even more.

That Red Sea group is bitter-sweet for me. So many amazing tanks and visuals, and lots of great group members... but subjectivity is high and freedom of speech is questionable. Agree, reef2reef is fantastic.

 

[Eight]

That Red Sea group is bitter-sweet for me. So many amazing tanks and visuals, and lots of great group members... but subjectivity is high and freedom of speech is questionable. Agree, reef2reef is fantastic.

Thanks for chiming in. I've hopefully just ended my thread there after realizing it's caused me way more angst than it deserves. I've also enjoyed the visuals and we all share common problems and challenges, but I was just really discouraged by the criticality of certain group members. And the fact that we can't link to our build threads is just silly.

I like that Reef2Reef really emphasizes community and the build up of trust over time. It really drives positive behavior and helping one another.

 

[Ross Petersen]

This thread is great, for whatever that’s worth. Much appreciate you taking the time.

 

[Butuz]

Super helpful thank you! I'm also using 1" plumbing (I think you went with 3/4" for space?) so hopefully that keeps the flow up. I really appreciate your insight.

Side rant: I had shared a photo of my sump in progress with the Facebook Redsea group and basically got criticized (with minimal constructive feedback) for all the plumbing elbows. It's not like any of us redoing the plumbing enjoy having to use a ton of 90 degree elbows but the metric conversion and small sump don't really leave much choice. It's poor interactions like that on FB that make me appreciate the community here on R2R even more.

yep, 1” will definitely help avoid back pressure on the pump. I think you will be fine.

dont sweat the FB group feedback. I did research on 90 degree elbows, for what we need in a tank, the pressure loss cannot even be registered. Technically, yes, 90” turns will impact the flow, in practice, negligible. I think BRS even did a video on this years ago.

 

[canadianeh]

Nice Jason! Hey take a look at @MuffinMonster build https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/m...mp-mod-brs-wwc-sps-bare-bottom-method.663752/

It looks like he also has v3 sump but for some reason his emergency drain is on the far right? But yours is in the middle and your main drain is in the far right. Who is doing it incorrectly?

 

[Eight]

Nice Jason! Hey take a look at @MuffinMonster build https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/m...mp-mod-brs-wwc-sps-bare-bottom-method.663752/

It looks like he also has v3 sump but for some reason his emergency drain is on the far right? But yours is in the middle and your main drain is in the far right. Who is doing it incorrectly?

I've chatted with him separately on FB. I think he might have taken a slightly different route with the conversion from metric to standard and also swapped the drain lines. The instructions my tank came with definitely shows emergency drain in the middle and main drain on the right.

 

[Eight]

After several hours, I am 90% complete with my plumbing! I am really happy with it so far, although we'll see how it is when filled. I've been at this for hours so a full write up will come tomorrow. I will break down exactly how I did it in detail with a full parts list.

A few notable things about my plumbing design:

1. 1" PVC throughout except for for the manifold outlets which are 1/2". I went with big pipe to ensure I don't have too much flow drag despite all the 90 degree corners.
2. I fit two reactors in there and have an extra gate valve on the far left for some future purpose. (I can just close the gate until I decide I want to use it.)
3. Main drain is similar layout to the stock main drain but with a proper gate valve. It has good clearance for the Clarisea 3000.
4. Clarisea 3000 is dry fit to the main drain.
5. Plenty of space for the skimmer and plenty of space to remove the cup.
6. I managed to save enough space for the stock refugium which was one of my goals.

 

[canadianeh]

After several hours, I am 90% complete with my plumbing! I am really happy with it so far, although we'll see how it is when filled. I've been at this for hours so a full write up will come tomorrow. I will break down exactly how I did it in detail with a full parts list.

A few notable things about my plumbing design:

1. 1" PVC throughout except for for the manifold outlets which are 1/2". I went with big pipe to ensure I don't have too much flow drag despite all the 90 degree corners.
2. I fit two reactors in there and have an extra gate valve on the far left for some future purpose. (I can just close the gate until I decide I want to use it.)
3. Main drain is similar layout to the stock main drain but with a proper gate valve. It has good clearance for the Clarisea 3000.
4. Clarisea 3000 is dry fit to the main drain.
5. Plenty of space for the skimmer and plenty of space to remove the cup.
6. I managed to save enough space for the stock refugium which was one of my goals.

Loving it! Are you able to do a video or more pictures? I would like to see the behind the main drain pipe

I might be copying your design. What connection you use to connect the red sea bulkhead to red PVC?

you are going to use refugium in that area? Where do you think is the best place to put in heaters? Eheim 200w heaters are like 15” long. Are you going to use marine pure block?

 

[Eight]

Ok, I will attempt to do as complete a writeup of my plumbing as possible. As I had mentioned before, much of this is built on @Broadfield and @Butuz 's excellent tank build threads. I will start by outlining my goals and constraints as these will clarify why I made some of the choices that I did.

Part 1: Getting ready!

Design Principles:

• Everything fits in the stand!
  My goal is to have the whole tank, including the ATO and all electronics contained within the stand. Not beside the stand or hanging off the back of the rear of the stand, all inside the stand. I like the idea of the unit being completely contained, freestanding and clean.
• Convert from metric to standard and size up the plumbing
  I went with all 1" main lines (return line, E-drain and main drain), except for 1/2" for the reactors and the spare gate valve. I did NOT want to mess with the stock bulkheads.
• All plumbing over the sump
  In the event of any sort of leak from the PVC, I wanted everything if possible to be over the sump. So this means all the PVC on the left side and then future ATO and electronics on the right. Two clean halves.
• "Oh crap option"
  In case I royally messed everything up, I wanted to ensure I could rollback to complete stock plumbing. I've saved all of my unmodified stock pipe, so if all hell breaks lose, I just revert to that.
• Easy to maintain
  To be honest, this remains to be seen since the tank isn't even running yet, but I wanted to make sure that things weren't over crowded. Reasonably sized skimmer, small reactors, etc.
• Keep the stock refugium (and give up on using the stock ATO)
  I really wanted to keep the stock refugium. I toyed with ideas on how to keep the ATO and turn it into another fuge or ATS or something... in the end, I could actually move the right reactor to the far left and maybe squeeze the ATO in, but it is just so crowded and difficult I know it would interfere with my regular maintenance. Maybe I revisit this, but I think I will prioritize working space and ease of maintenance over more 'stuff'.

Equipment Choices:

• Vario S4 return pump
• 2 x Aquamaxx XS Media Reactors for carbon and GFO
• Nyos Quantum 120 Skimmer
• Clarisea SK-3000 filter roller
• High quality gate valves on the main drain and all three 1/2" manifold outlet

I completed this project over the course of two or three days, probably totaling 8 hours. This include design, measure and dry fit and final fit, cement and install. I'm experienced with aquarium plumbing, having done a large in wall tank in the past, but it's been a decade since I've messed with PVC in this much detail.

Tools I used:

• The red and blue boxes are O-ring assortment kits. You don't really need them if you just get the specific sizes you need, but they weren't too expensive on Amazon so I just got the whole set.
• Oatey Clear PVC Primer and Oatey Clear PVC Cement (I could not find the Clear Primer for the life of me locally, so I had to buy the primer on Amazon. The cement was easy to find at Home Depot.)
• Bag of 1" conduit clamps.
• Teflon tape, toilet tank washers and shims (for leveling the tank and stand)
• Small tube of silicone grease (Super helpful for lubricating the O-rings)
• Sharpie for marking the PVC when you need to align a particular angle
• Two sets of wrenches (and a towel) to remove stubborn dry fit PVC.
• A nice PVC cutter <--- This makes such a huge difference! You can get a cheap one from Home Depot. Save yourself a huge mess of plastic shavings, ragged cuts and time and just get one of these.
• Measuring tape and ruler

 

[Eight]

Part 2: Design and Build for the Reactors and Manifold

I had to make some design decisions up front:

1. Needed to get 3 x Redsea Part 4221 to convert from the stock metric bulkheads to 1" PVC. Going this route also enabled me to revert back to stock, unlike if I messed with the bulkheads themselves.
2. Because I was using Redsea Part 4221 unions and a 3/4" threaded to 1" slip fit converter and a 1" 90 degree elbow, you are forced to have a large vertical drop from the top of the stand. This drop is too much if you want to hang your reactors off the manifold. Thus, you need to employ a series of 90 degree elbows to raise the main manifold line flush with the top of the stand. Yes, this introduces pipe friction, but I don't believe (and others who have done this have not indicated) that this has been a problem.
3. Ideally I wanted both reactors between the pump and the tank return. The alternative would have been to put one reactor inline and one to the left of the return. While this would make it possible to use the ATO, as I mentioned above, I think it's just too crowded.
4. Emergency drain would just go straight down into the skimmer chamber of the sump. I considered doing something fancy like routing it parallel to the main drain, but it turned out to be such a pain for minimal benefit. If it's just being used for light draining/emergencies, it's not going to matter where it outputs, imho.
5. I had originally run the main drain similarly to the return line, with 90 degree elbows to lift the main drain to the ceiling. The rationale for this was to keep the front of the sump as clear and free as possible, but in the end I decided the main drain horizontal run was fine where it was and this allowed me to eliminate 90s on the main drain line.

I started by converting the Aquamaxx Media Reactors from barb fittings to slip. This is easily done by just un-screwing the locking nut and the white cylinder at the bottom of the reactor cap. You then just double up the O-rings on top and use 1/2" threaded to 1/2" slip fittings in place of the barbs.

Remove locking nut and white threaded cylinder under reactor lid:

Double up on O-Ring R-13 (You can see the measurements on the lid cover) on the 1/2" threaded fitting, apply some silicone grease to the O-rings and then tighten from the bottom with the old locking nut and white threaded cylinder.

Screw in the 1/2" PVC fittings finger right. There's not much space between the two fittings, so I had to make sure the hexes on the fittings were flush to each other. If you do that though, they line up perfectly.

Next, plumb two 1/2" 90 degree elbows for the outlet and a 1/2" gate valve for the inlet. Note that because the gate valve bulges a little, you need to make sure you have a little bit of space to raise the gate valve bulge above the 90 degree turns of the outlet. This photo should make it clear:

I found it extremely useful to dry fit everything using standard cheap 1" PVC. This enabled me to play with layouts without making cuts to the red stuff which I would have to order again online. Here's an example of me laying things out to get a feel for how it would work. You can see I made changes since this original design, most notably, changes to the main drain horizontal run height, and the placement of the gate valve and union on the right of the horizontal run.

I created the top run of the manifold anchored by a 3 way 1" right corner tee in the back left, then going towards the return, 2 standard tees for the reactors and then a series of right angles to circle back to the Redsea bulkhead. Note that I went past the bulkhead and then circled back to give myself some extra space for the reactors. The angles and PVC lengths in this section are probably the hardest and most critical in the build. You need to make sure you don't hit your main drain line which will be coming straight out from the back to the front and leave enough space for the E-drain which will be going straight down. Use a sharpie to mark where your angles and cuts need to be. You can see that I did this on the far right to ensure that the angle lined up properly.

Here's the back of the return manifold:

I used 1" to 1/2" slip/slip reducer bushings to go from the bottom of the 1" tees to the tops of the 1/2" gate valves for the reactors.

 

[Eight]

Part 3: Build sequence and getting the main pieces in place

After completing the manifold and the reactors, I secured it to the top of the stand with a 1" plastic pipe clamp and some toilet washers to make up for the extra gap. The whole manifold is held up by the Redsea return bulkhead and the PVC clamp. I will add a second PVC clamp when I am confident there will be no more changes.

Here are the 1" PVC return, the 1" emergency drain line and the 2 x 1/2" reactor outputs dry fit in place. I will likely convert at least half of the 1" PVC return line to flexible tubing to dampen pump noise.

Here is the main drain attached. You can see the Clarisea in the foreground, ready to be attached with the union. As you may have seen in older photos, I had the union and gate on the far left originally. After thinking this through, however, I think the gate valve and union are better on the horizontal run, this way you can pull the whole Clarisea and majority of the drain line out for easy access to the rear of the tank stand.

... and here is everything attached.

Here's a video, so you can get a better feel for the layout:

 

[Eight]

Ok, here is the complete parts list for what is built above. I have not listed the few parts you'll need to connect your return pump since that will depend on your pump and whether you hard or soft plumb it. I think it's easiest to categorize the parts by each main assembly.

For the manifold including the gate valves:
1 x Redsea Part 4221
1 x 3/4 thread to 1" slip adapter (Wrap this with tape and it attaches to the above)
4 x 1 inch 90 degree elbows
1 x 1 inch corner tee (This is the angled tee in the back left corner)
2 x 1 inch tees (These point down to feed your reactors)
3 x 1 inch to 1/2 inch reducer bushings (These reduce two of your 1 inch tees and one of the down pointing 90s to 1/2")
3 x 1/2" gate valves (slip/slip)
1 x 1 inch slip by slip union (This will lead to your return pump)

For each reactor... so double this if you are doing two of them:
2 x 1/2" thread by 1/2" slip adapter
2 x 1/2" 90 degree elbows
2 x O rings (3/4" ID x 15/16 OD x 3/32 Section)

For the emergency drain:
1 x Redsea Part 4221
1 x 3/4 thread to 1" inch slip adapter

For the main drain:
1 x Redsea Part 4221
1 x 3/4 thread to 1" inch slip adapter
3 x 1 inch 90 degree elbows
1 x 1 inch gate valve (slip/slip)
1 x 1 inch union (slip/slip)

In addition, I used:
10 feet of red 1" PVC
5 feet of red 1/2" PVC

 

[Butuz]

Looks amazing!

 

[canadianeh]

@Eight look amazing man!

Questions.

Is new O ring necessary to hook up the reactors to the PVC?

The main drain line look on the way. Do you have enough room for easy removal and maintenance of the reactors?

 

[Eight]

@Eight look amazing man!

Questions.

Is new O ring necessary to hook up the reactors to the PVC?

The main drain line look on the way. Do you have enough room for easy removal and maintenance of the reactors?

O Rings for reactors: I believe so. I'm basically just following the instructions Broadfield used when he hard plumbed the reactors. The pvc fittings do not recess into the reactors the way the aquamaxx stock barbs do.

Main drain: Well I'll know more when I actually have to do maintenance but I find it easy to turn all the screws and remove the canisters with the main drain in place. Being able to close the gate and open the union to remove the main drain line and Clarisea is a bonus.

 

[canadianeh]

@Eight what equipment you will install on the right empty side of the sump? Which ATO you will be using? I see some people install union check valve close to the pump. Are you going to install one too?

It looks like there is not enough room to install reactor on the last outlet?

 

[canadianeh]

Ok, here is the complete parts list for what is built above. I have not listed the few parts you'll need to connect your return pump since that will depend on your pump and whether you hard or soft plumb it. I think it's easiest to categorize the parts by each main assembly.

For the manifold including the gate valves:
1 x Redsea Part 4221
1 x 3/4 thread to 1" slip adapter (Wrap this with tape and it attaches to the above)
4 x 1 inch 90 degree elbows
1 x 1 inch corner tee (This is the angled tee in the back left corner)
2 x 1 inch tees (These point down to feed your reactors)
3 x 1 inch to 1/2 inch reducer bushings (These reduce two of your 1 inch tees and one of the down pointing 90s to 1/2")
3 x 1/2" gate valves (slip/slip)
1 x 1 inch slip by slip union (This will lead to your return pump)

For each reactor... so double this if you are doing two of them:
2 x 1/2" thread by 1/2" slip adapter
2 x 1/2" 90 degree elbows
2 x O rings (3/4" ID x 15/16 OD x 3/32 Section)

For the emergency drain:
1 x Redsea Part 4221
1 x 3/4 thread to 1" inch slip adapter

For the main drain:
1 x Redsea Part 4221
1 x 3/4 thread to 1" inch slip adapter
3 x 1 inch 90 degree elbows
1 x 1 inch gate valve (slip/slip)
1 x 1 inch union (slip/slip)

In addition, I used:
10 feet of red 1" PVC
5 feet of red 1/2" PVC

The Red Sea part, you mean Part 42221? I wrote 4221.

I wanted to make sure that I am ordering the correct parts. Can you please confirm the following?

3 x 1 inch to 1/2 inch reducer bushings (These reduce two of your 1 inch tees and one of the down pointing 90s to 1/2")
link to item: https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/837-130-1-x-1-2-schedule-80-pvc-reducer-bushing-flush-style.html

1 x 3/4 thread to 1" slip adapter (Wrap this with tape and it attaches to the above)
link to item: https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/3-4-x-1-sch-80-pvc-reducing-male-adapter-mpt-x-socket-836-102.html

3 x 1/2" gate valves (slip/slip)
link to item: https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/1-2-pvc-socket-gate-valve-spears-2022-005.html

1 x 1 inch slip by slip union (This will lead to your return pump)
link to item: https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/897-010-1-schedule-80-pvc-union.html

2 x 1/2" thread by 1/2" slip adapter
link to item: https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/836-005-1-2-schedule-80-pvc-male-adaptor.html

1 x 1 inch gate valve (slip/slip)
link to item: https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/1-pvc-socket-gate-valve-spears-2022-010.html

Also, where did you order the O-rings from?

I hope I am not troubling you so much.

 

[Eight]

The Red Sea part, you mean Part 42221? I wrote 4221.

I wanted to make sure that I am ordering the correct parts. Can you please confirm the following?

3 x 1 inch to 1/2 inch reducer bushings (These reduce two of your 1 inch tees and one of the down pointing 90s to 1/2")
link to item: https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/837-130-1-x-1-2-schedule-80-pvc-reducer-bushing-flush-style.html

1 x 3/4 thread to 1" slip adapter (Wrap this with tape and it attaches to the above)
link to item: https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/3-4-x-1-sch-80-pvc-reducing-male-adapter-mpt-x-socket-836-102.html

3 x 1/2" gate valves (slip/slip)
link to item: https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/1-2-pvc-socket-gate-valve-spears-2022-005.html

1 x 1 inch slip by slip union (This will lead to your return pump)
link to item: https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/897-010-1-schedule-80-pvc-union.html

2 x 1/2" thread by 1/2" slip adapter
link to item: https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/836-005-1-2-schedule-80-pvc-male-adaptor.html

1 x 1 inch gate valve (slip/slip)
link to item: https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/1-pvc-socket-gate-valve-spears-2022-010.html

Also, where did you order the O-rings from?

I hope I am not troubling you so much.

I've seen the part referred to as both 4221 and 42221, in any event this is exactly what I ordered and the store I ordered it from:

Red Sea Reefer Nano Reefer 170 250 350 Max-E Sump Replacement Pump Return Connector 16 mm 42221

Replacement Red Sea Reefer Nano, Reefer 170, 250, 350 & Max-E Sump Pump Return Connector 16 mm. Red Sea Part # 42221.

www.marineandreef.com

The rest of the links look correct, although I ordered the gates from BRS. My advice is to order extras in case you decide to change things up as you go or mess up a PVC weld. I have a box of extra parts which I will hang on to in case I decide to change things around later. Some parts will be readily available at your local hardware store, like the Schedule 80 elbows and unions, so you don't need to get many extras of those. The parts you want to be sure you order are the gate valves, bushings and reducers since these are harder to find locally.

If you have not worked with PVC before, then I recommend you pick up 5 feet of 1" standard white PVC and a few 90 degree elbows and dry fit out the main drain line. You want to be comfortable measuring, cutting, positioning, priming and cementing before you start working with the parts you can't easily get. I would also watch some tutorials on how to work with PVC on YouTube. I did this with all the white PVC and then after I was perfectly happy with each pipe section, I cut the red pipe to match. Finally, I can't stress enough to get a PVC cutter. Don't use a hacksaw... you will make a huge mess and risk bad welds which will cause you headaches down the road.

 

[Eight]

@Eight what equipment you will install on the right empty side of the sump? Which ATO you will be using? I see some people install union check valve close to the pump. Are you going to install one too?

It looks like there is not enough room to install reactor on the last outlet?

I haven't started on the right side yet, but I will be re-using parts from my old tank:
- Neptune Apex with Energy Bar and modules
- Neptune DOS
- Tunze Osmolator ATO
- Vortech MP40
- DJ power strip

I am not using a check valve. I don't think it's really needed. I might have installed a gate valve above the union to make servicing the pump easier, but it's not really necessary and space is tight.

And yes there is space on the last outlet to install a third reactor, but it would be cramped. I would sooner use that outlet to run a line to an algae turf scrubber or algae reactor if I want to later.