Mangrove swamp

[sfin52]

This started a month ago. I got a call from @fishguy242 asking if I would like a snew tank. Told me it comes with tank, stand, canopy, sump, skimmer and return and it was around 120 gal or so.

* Edit *
Update.
The enabled upgrade is now the mangrove swamp.
It's a 50g Rubbermaid stock tank

The life support is very simple. Internal canister with filter floss and carbon. Marineland mj 1200 running into a sock. The sock is held in place by a eflux magnet.

Noopsyche for the light. It's set to run at 100%

Approximately 35lbs of rock.

Live stock.
Half back angel. Banished from the dream.
3 peppermint shrimp
Hermits and assorted snails.

3 mangrove sprouts all with 2 leaves. A 4th will be added soon that has about 6 leaves.

Plans
Shallow water Rfa With macros that I can feed to the dream

 

[sfin52]

The pick up and cleaning 23 0ct 21. Actual measurements 60.5×18.5×26.5.
Road trip form Springfield IL to Wheaton IL. Thanks to Tim Fryman for the use of his van. We had a little issue the canopy didn't fit. Thankfully Heather (wife) was in Wisconsin and on her way home was able to pick up the canopy.

 

[sfin52]

Plumbing was done 6 - 7 Nov 21. Special shout out to @fishguy242 @JoshH , @Lost in the Sauce @F i s h y and @TriggerFinger and @Eagle_Steve @SaltyT lots of help with plumbing

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Yeah Boiiii!!!

Has it gotten wet yet? I found this sweet spot with one inch pipe for how far it goes underwater to be about two and a half inches. Any more and it has problems purging at all.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Looks great, can't wait to see more.

 

[SaltyT]

Sweet!! I’m along for the ride!

 

[sfin52]

Looks like 2 new seals and 2 new bulkheads. How do I figure out the size I need.

This is the conversations about the plumbing from the Dream. Figured it would be worth adding loads of info.

Do you have a micrometer? Mic the inside hole dimention and order the correlating outside bulkhead size. Brs has a chart on the website that I used.

I do not

Then a tape measure will have to get you close enough.

Here's a pic of some numbers

That's the loc nut part number. Looks like it correlates to a 1-in bulkhead.

Here is your measurement on the inside of the nut for a standard 1 inch bulkhead. Looks to be one and a half inches. Measure yours if it lines up, it's 1". If the measurement doesn't line up let me know and I'll go measure some other ones

So that's a 1-in female thread on one side,

Who is a 1-in male thread measured

Would you say mines a 1 1/2

No the female thread you measured there comes in at one and a quarter. The 1-in male side I measured for you comes in at one and a quarter. Mine is a 1-in male fitting, That means yours is a 1 inch female.

It's such torture to get started, only to have to wait for an order.

Suggestions on type of 1" bulkheads. This is all very new.

Returns, I went with 1" slip outside of the tank in order to use street 90's for a lower profile to the wall and 1" threaded inside the tank that immediately splits to two 1/2" loclines.

Overflow, both sides 1" slip so that I didn't have to worry about adjusting the bh if the threads didn't align in the direction the pipe was headed. Glued on the outside, press fit inside the overflow.

Of just the bulkheads?

Here is a side view installed. It looks like I had to step down with a reducing bushing from one inch to 3/4 on the inside before splitting into dual half inch.

Thank you. Mine come out the bottom I don't thing I'll need an elbow

Are you talking about buckhead's for the returns or drain lines?

All thee above. I have corner over flows. The type of drains are candy canes (lack of proper terminology) the return use one set of holes in the corner over flows.

Sounds like you have a single durso in each corner. Now would be the time to convert those to Herbie and drill the back for your returns if you want to do so. You would use the return line hole in the overflow as your emergency drain.

Well the bean animal is out of the question. I only have two holes.
Your correct the dorso is what I have now.

The herbbie must be what your talking about

Yeah that's what I said above.

"Now would be the time to convert those to Herbie, if you wanted to do so"

My 120 has a durso and it's loud and needs retuning often. I was very happy to move to an easier to tune system when I had the chance.

Or just take returns over the back... but def do the herbie's

Or just one Herbie, 1" main siphon in one overflow and Secondary one inch in the other and use the 2 3/4" holes for returns ;Writing ;Bookworm

Or is it just the single overflow I forget ;Bored

Its double

I thought so, that would be my suggestion is use the two 1" pipes for your herbie drain and the smaller ones as returns

They are all one inch

Interesting... usually they have one one inch and one 3/4" in each overflow

This was an all custom tank. I think thats why things are the way they are.

Sorry I must have totally missed the custom part, I just saw the dual overflows and thought it was a standard tank lol. Have you ordered the bulkheads yet?

You guys i feel like a newbie and lost like an Easter egg on Christmas day

Make a list!

Get things on paper so you aren't thinking about everything at once. Tackle each thing and move on.

You got this homie.

Looking for what type of bulk heads to order

You know your size. Do you need slip or threaded on the flange side, slip or threaded on the tail side?

just take the ones you have to shop,have them order new ones...

I was thinking about slip for both

would this be what is needed for the herbie?
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/low-profile-bulkhead-overflow-strainers.html

Would this be a good bulkhead

Bulkhead ABS Slip x Slip

Bulkheads are used to attach plumbing to aquariums and sumps to allow water to flow through them. These low profile reef safe bulkheads are made from black ABS plastic. Our supplier manufactures these slightly thicker than competitor aquarium bulkheads making them more reliable. Bulkheads come...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

yes ,just make sure you get correct size.

would this be what is needed for the herbie?
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/low-profile-bulkhead-overflow-strainers.html
no ,not this...

Was also looking at these. @F i s h y this one is for you.

Bulkhead Schedule 80 Slip x Thread (Slip on the Flange/Head side)

Bulkheads allow plumbing to flow through your aquarium or sump. Heavy duty Schedule 80 PVC bulkheads feature some distinct advantages over ABS bulkheads: O-Rings are 2X as thick as ABS O-Rings Schedule 80 construction will far outlast ABS Reliable seams Flange and nut side are very easy to grip...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Folks Thanks for your patience and all the info. Really learning a lot

Starting to get excited

You should be. It's fun.

i normally put balls on drains,in case i want to shut down for any reason,
yes gates or balls on returns , wiwd...

One's easier to close quickly, one get your finer adjustment. Six of one half dozen of the other I think.

All the plumbing besides bulkheads i can get at lowes or menards. Sorry closest homedepot is 1hr away

Menards usually has better selection too...

edit ,stay away from flat bottom ball valves, they never shut all the way after time.

Bulk heads in cart. They are 1 inch slip ×slip. Sleeping on it really thinking of slip and thread. I like the quick disconnect.

Was looking at the 80s after reading the Abs should be fine and the 80s are way over kill.

Also going herbie drains. I like the ease of fine tuning for noise reduction. The returns will be over the back.

Do I wake the sleeping beauty. Not a chance. Will have them ordered tomorrow.

When it is all set up will it be hard to have access to the bulkheads? And your holes will not take sch80 bulkheads anyways so that's not really an option unless you wanted to step down in size but even then it's not a good idea

Honestly no need to run dual one inch herbie drains, I don't believe you plan on running 2500+ GPH through your sump but I may be mistaken. If you want the returns can be run using two of the 1 inch pipes in the overflows. Just trying to keep your options open

It was set up as 2 dorso and 2 one inch returns. I was thinking herbies to make it quieter

Those will work. unless they won't fit in your holes in the tank.

In a perfect world maybe, But I don't think two, 1" Herbies will handle 2500 gallons per hour. A single straight one inch pipe will drain about 1100 in perfect conditions. Add all the plumbing back to it turns restrictions and such. The number of drops pretty quickly.

On top of that, there is the redundancy for one to carry the load in case of an issue with the first, Plus if you are only running both of your mains at 30-50%, You should get a lot quieter operation overall than trying to run two at max capacity

I ordered those first for inside the overflow and they would not fit in my holes.

You all three made good points going with the ABS. They look like what came with my tank.

Thanks for all the help it truly is amazing. So many different ways to do it.

But you aren't trying to run both at max capacity, even if you are correct about the flow rates, which we will have to agree to disagree with.

Regardless, even if both were tuned to 500 GPH per drain there is no need to run 1000 GPH through a sump on a 100 Gallon tank. And a Herbie drain is self reliant. That's the whole point of the design aside from being quiet is that the secondary drain at max siphon will cover any clogs in the main line.

Having two is no more reliant than one. It just means you are tuning two drains for no reason, wasting money on a gate valve that's not needed, trying to force 4 pipes into a sump where typically people only use two for a regular Herbie and spending more money on plumbing. Just seems like a complete and total waste to me. One Herbie drain will easily Handle all the flow that is needed and be virtually silent.

Well articulated points made and taken.

I fully agree with you there is not a necessity to run two. To me it would be a creature comfort and there's not enough reasons why not to.

Personally I have no problem running 1000 GPH through 100 gallon tank. I'm throwing 1800 to 2000 through a 180 so at scale it's pretty much the same.

I am doing the same with my 2x 180s and sump. Being as I have a macro heavy sump, the flow is much appreciated by the macros lol. I run 2 full siphons, one on each side and an emergency on each side. Tuning is a slight pain, but once set, it is done. Moving that much water, nothing can really build up on the gates to slow it down.

For me it's about keeping it cheap and simple for @sfin52, first time plumbing can be daunting enough and only having to worry about one drain might be a nice thing. I still feel if he needed he could get close to 1000 GPH on one drain but that's also not really needed (IMO).

You are right though, everyone has a flow they like to push through there sump and everyone is different.

I should still have two emergencies ?

So, as discussed above, you have a few options at your fingertips.

Option 1 - (Dual Herbie) Take each overflow and set them up as individual Herbie drains. That means each overflow has a fill siphon drain (With preferrably a Gate valve) and a Secondary/Emergency drain. Running your return line/lines up the back and over the top. I believe most of the pros and cons of this have been discussed above. If you run dual Herbies, you absolutely need two Secondary/Emergency lines UNLESS your total flow between the two main siphons is less than what the one Secondary/Emergency can handle on it's own. Then you could go with one Secondary and one as the return line.

Option 2 - (Single Herbie) Take one drain from one overflow and make that your main siphon line, and one of the other drains in the second overflow your Secondary/Emergency Drain. Using the two other drains (One in each overflow) as returns. You can reduce these to 3/4" if you wish to up the velocity of the returns without upping the flow.

Option 3 - (Modified Bean Animal) Use one drain in one overflow as your main siphon, A second drain, ideally in the other overflow as your Secondary and a third drain as your Emergency line. Using the last drain as your return line.

Option 4 - (Dual Dursos) As it was setup before. Really not ideal as this is difficult to tune and keep quiet.

I was just thinking and writing this out as well.

Stefan, you've got multiple options. Whichever one you choose to run with, you've got peeps that can help.

It can be. I'm running 1" bean animal, and 1" return on a way overpowered dc pump, running low speed. In this setup, the pump will overpower two 1" full siphons if turned up. I'm running my main siphon gate Wide open.

Absolutely they are, I edited my post above as I prefer to call these (And even the external overflow BA's) Modified Bean Animals as they are not the origional design but a modified version that follows the same basic principles.

Ideally all three pipes in this situation on the drain lines are the same. Returns can be sized however you see fit and can even be smaller if you wish as long as you size your pump properly to compensate for the added friction a smaller pipe creates (Not ideal, but can be done). One could also use larger pipes on there secondary and emergency lines if they wish. However not really needed as a full open line will always handle more flow than a slightly choked main siphon line of the same size.

At the end of the day, Your main siphon drain should be sized to handle 100% of your planned return flow. So whatever that flow goal is, it needs to be matched by your main siphon size. From there your extra drains should be of equal size or greater. When it comes to returns, they should again be sized to match your flow goals. Ideally with the least friction in mind within reason to keep your pump options as wide as possible.

Thanks @Lost in the Sauce and @Josh H.
Revelations happening over here today.

I have 3.

This makes a lot of sense. I have just one place for socks in my sump. I agree I was looking at trying to cram 4 pipes into the the sock area.

I really like this idea. One corner is the main overflow the second is emergency.

Question won't one corner overflow box fill up and still drain using the emergency drain? Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong?

The overflow box would fill up, but the weirs are the same height, so it would only go as high as you set it on the main siphon box. Basically, one box would be the one moving water and the other would move it amongst the display and the box slowly.

The box with the emergency drain could also be setup as a cryptic zone, since flow in and out would be slow.

Edit: Water height in overflow is set with the pipe height and where the gate valve is tuned.

I would probably go Full siphon and Emergency drain on one side (Herbie), durso standpipe on the other end creating the 3 part MBA. Water in one overflow with only an emergency drain seems like it would have a tenancy to stagnate.

The agitation of the waters surface would correct that. Water will flow in to the "emergency" overflow and then flow out as well. As long as there is movement across the surface and water height is set correctly, no issues. If water height is set real low, you get the splashing noise and then run the risk of the water in the second overflow of becoming stagnant.

There is also the option of making water exchange holes in the "emergency overflow". Drill some small holes towards the bottom of the overflow and then slightly slot them. This would make water exchange amount more in that box.

Tons of options lol. Luckily I have done all of them (or sadly lol whoever you look at it)

Bulk heads ordered.

I got some goodies today from BRS. @Bulk Reef Supply thanks for the Halloween gift. I already spent it on bulkheads.

Whats causing the glowing red

@Another_Undertaker take a look at this little guy

I went with two herbies and ran the returns over the back.

 

[TriggerFinger]

Yayyyyy! Glad to see thread on your biggen!
Also appreciate the post of quotes so I can bookmark everyone’s knowledge in one spot!

 

[sfin52]

Filling with tap water 6 &7 Nov 21
Houston we have a problem a bulk head leak. Whoops needed a 1/8th turn and leaked stopped

Left it running for a week just to be sure.

 

[sfin52]

Yayyyyy! Glad to see thread on your biggen!
Also appreciate the post of quotes so I can bookmark everyone’s knowledge in one spot!

I think I got all of them but at least you can go back and look.

 

[sfin52]

Yesterday was a long day we broke down the 55 and changed over to the 120.
Loads of 5 gallon buckets. Water saved from the the 90 water changes. 42 brute trash with sw mixed. And 80lbs of sand plus sand from the 55.

I had enough water to fill but not the sump. So I used 10 gal from the 90 and made another 20gal of water. I was short by 30 gallons. No big deal had rodi ready just needed to mix. Maxi jet 1200 made short work of mixing a 5 gal buckets. Takes about 30 min to mix with the 1200.

 

[sfin52]

Yeah Boiiii!!!

Has it gotten wet yet? I found this sweet spot with one inch pipe for how far it goes underwater to be about two and a half inches. Any more and it has problems purging at all.

Its wet and the drain system works like a champ.

 

[sfin52]

My favorite sand is bahama oolite. Its so fine and reminds me of the beaches in grand cayman, Costa Maya and Cozumel.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Its wet and the drain system works like a champ.

You should have just told me to shut up and wait for you to finish the into and sprinkles some fairy dust!

 

[fishguy242]

looks great @sfin52 ,... please go on...

 

[sfin52]

looks great @sfin52 ,... please go on...

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

@fishguy242
.. Kinda looks like it's missing some bright green no?

 

[sfin52]

@fishguy242
.. Kinda looks like it's missing some bright green no?

Ya @fishguy242

 

[JoshH]

This is the conversations about the plumbing from the Dream. Figured it would be worth adding loads of info.

@Dolelo96 You have met your match.

 

[sfin52]

@Dolelo96 You have met your match.

She makes comments for each quote. She makes me look like a rookie.