Looking For Advise on Basement Sump Design

chilake08 · Jul 15, 2023

Hello Everyone,

The time has come to UPGRADE! I've had a 60Gal Peninsula aquarium for the last 10ish years and I moved, so now i'm trying to work a new aquarium into a new space. With access to a basement, i'm excited to use at least part of that as an aquarium room for the messiest of tasks. BUT i'm concerned with some aspects of my design, and I figured the best place to sort it out is here. Some things i'm thinking hard about:

1) Do I need a bean animal overflow drain system? Running 3 pipes all the way to the sump is a lot in this situation, so can that be simplified without drastically increasing risk
2) Return pump - i'm looking at 10-15 feet of verticle, but 20-25 feet of pipe. I know there are pumps that can handle this, but would the large ecotech pump I have be sufficient?
3) Around 15 feet of horizontal return pipe running across the ceiling in the basement seems like a place prime for a clog. Do I need cleanouts or breaks in that run?
4) Reasons why the aquarium isn't immediately overtop the sing/sump area are we didn't want to damage the old wood floors, layout of the 1st floor would put it in a wall or in the middle of a room, and structurally the aquarium would sit in the middle of the open floor span so without additional basement supports we'd worry about sagging.

My goal is to have a fun 1st-floor aquarium but with as much of the maintenance mess in the basement. Any and all advise is welcome, even if its "this is a bad idea".

*and i'm a horrible speller so I apologize for the title

blaxsun · Jul 15, 2023

2. The EcoTech pump isn't going to cut it, unfortunately.
3. Hard to say, but planning ahead for that eventuality (ceiling access, valves, etc.) probably isn't a bad idea.
4. Is there a possibility of moving the fish room to the boiler room instead? (shorter runs)

chilake08 · Jul 15, 2023

I figured the ecotech probably didn't have the headspace for something like this.

Fortunately, its a bare ceiling so getting to the pipes is easy, but some breaks along the way is probably a good idea

Its a give and take. There is a much smaller space between the boiler and the door. Big enough to put a small sump, but this would mean both the top off water and waste water from the skimmer would either need to be manually moved or pumped over the top to the sink area. So much smaller working area and complications with maintenance, but shorter pipe run.

chilake08 · Jul 16, 2023

Would there be a better subforum for this question than the general discussion?

DCR · Jul 16, 2023

I think it will work if your secondary and emergency overflow pipes are oversized (I would consider at least 2" for the horizontal run if you can). 3"would be even better. You may also need to add some air release vents on the inlet and outlet or high points of the horizontal runs of those drains depending on how level you can make that horizontal run of pipe without any pockets. The larger the pipe size the less you need them. You would know this if the flow becomes unstable and goes from no flow to full siphon. The vents can be small (1/2" or 3/4"). Downside if is that you may be some salt creep near them. You probably do not need the vents but I would have provisions to add them if you get unstable flow from the secondary drain.

cilyjr · Jul 16, 2023

You can run any type of drain you like. I've seen a standard durso style with a very similar layout.
I have just a syphon and a durso on my aquarium each 1.5inches I'm not running as far as you and only have 5.5 feet of head so I use a standard pump.
My durso standpipe has an air inlet that is turned downward so should the overflow take in too much water the air hole gets submerged and the 2nd drain will syphon. That's how I account for my "emergency" flow.

A 1.5 inch syphon at 5 feet head will move 25ish gpm. ( recently found a chart that I'm grabbing this from)

Your horizontal run needs at bare minimum a 1/8 in fall per foot. Do as much as you can. Here in California the drain/waste is 1/8 in per foot.
I would not cut in a clean out in these runs you could consider a bulkhead so you could replace a part of the pipe. I really don't see an issue with clogging with water consistently running through them unless there's a restriction where crap can get caught. Mind you I'm thinking everything is 1.5 in or bigger.

What I don't understand is your little jig in the pipes to what looks like the exterior of your home.

cilyjr · Jul 16, 2023

If all your drains are syphon fall in the horizontal runs is less important.

Hal3134 · Jul 17, 2023

1) My basement sump is very similar to yours, except my lateral run is only about 8 feet. I run a bean animal setup for the extra safety factor. You can remove the non-durso emergency drain (open drain) and you'll have a "Herbie" drain if you really don't want so many pipes, but you'll lose the double redundancy for the emergency overflow. As a former engineer, I like redundancy for emergency functions, so I chose not to do so. Also, if you're running 3x pipes anyway, adding a fourth isn't much more. My siphon drain, durso drain, and return are all 1 inch. My second emergency overflow (non-siphon, non-durso) is 1.5 inches.

2) I run an Iwaki 100RLT for my return pump. It's a big pump. It is only slightly oversized for the calculated head resistance. I run a 1 inch return pipe. I have 5x 90 degree bends and 1x 45 degree bend in my plumbing. I highly doubt the Ecotech pump would be adequate. Originally I thought the pump, on paper, would be a huge overkill. Not so much.

3) I doubt any type of cleanout is necessary. However I highly recommend a strainer on your siphon drain to prevent anything from the overflow making it into the pipes. I've had a few fish show up in my sump before I added my strainer. I've been running my sytem for about 7 years so far.

4) Good decision. You need to put the display tank where it will fit into the rooms.

Other than that, the only down side I see is that if you finish the basement the ceiling will have to accommodate your piping. If you use a floating ceiling (which I recommend over drywall) that's not a problem. If you went drywall it would be an issue.

Putting in a basement sump was one of the best decisions I made. It greatly simplifies maintenance, quiets down the display tank by not having a pump in the room, and allows for bigger equipment in the basement. I have 2x 75 upright water reservoirs in my basement, a large protein skimmer, and a 20lb CO2 tank for my Calcium reactor that would all be impossible or extremely difficult to have under the tank. I've also been able to install a water line and drain near my 150g horse tank sump that allows me to have my RO filter nearby for easy auto-topoff (through my reservoirs and ATO pump, not plumbed directly), and bucket-less waterchanges.

The only down-side to a basement sump with all the equipment down there is that I've found I'm pushing the limits of my 20 amp circuit-breaker when I'm also running my QT tanks. The extra pumps and heater provide just enough current draw that when the heaters kick on my circuit breaker sometimes trips. And I have a dedicated circuit for my fish room in the basement. I ended up moving a heater out of the sump and into my DT to lighten the load slightly, but even then I still get some tripping.