Plumbing Sump

[Wijic]

Okay, now that my sump is leak-free (woo!), I'm getting ready to plumb the sucker. I have at Eshoppes overflow leading from my 75g display tank to the 30g sump. It's rated for up to 900 gph. It has two bulkheads, one of which will lead into the skimmer chamber and the other which will lead into the fuge section. 75% of the water will go into the skimmer section. 25% will go into the fuge. I'm figuring I can control these percentages by putting a union right after each bulkhead and then attaching a ball valve to the union and flexible PVC to the ball valves.

Sound okay, so far?

What's the best way to attach flexible PVC so that it doesn't leak or pop free?

Will a return pump of 900-1000 gph be all right?

Any helpful tips or tricks to plumbing a sump?

Thanks, everyone!

 

[CoralBandit]

You may want to consolidate the two bulkheads drain into one pipe then split. If you have one bulk head running 100% and the other backed up your going to significantly reduce your draining.
You can also go bigger than 1000gph return figuring in your head pressure your probably losing at-least 25% of that when you calculate height and how many Elbows the water will hit on its way out.

Flow Guard GOLD all the way but beware it sets almost instantly so your screwed if you dont like it lol I use it to plumb every tank as long as you get put a solid smear over the pipes that stuff will NOT leak - dry fit first just to be sure your putting everything in correct position and dont twist to much like I said it sets almost instantly

 

[CoralBandit]

l l
l l
Y - join two drains together but be sure in increase pipe diameter
l
l
^ - now split them again using original pipe diameter from bulkhead on fuge side but keep it slightly larger on skimmer side
l l
l Union + BV to Fuge
l
Skimmer

This way you utilize 100% of your drain - Assuming the skimmer can handle that much flow you need to measure that. For simplicity I dont plumb my skimmer I just have all the h2O go into the sump and then the skimmer sits in the sump. You can still utilize the same map as above for this set up as well.

 

[Troylee]

I personally would have both go into the chamber feeding the skimmer... If you tee it off to a fuge it starts to collect detrius and becomes a nitrate trap more than a fuge, more harm then good that route.. You always want the raw water from the overflow to the skimmer section and have the skimmer feed the fuge etc... It's easier to clean detrius from a little section of the sump where the skimmer sets than it is to remove from macro, live rock, and sometimes a dsb. If that's your flavor... I would leave both drains unrestricted and draining into the skimmer section of the sump for the best results IMO. By resrticting the drains you are asking for a overflow if something happens to clog one or the other...:(

 

[Wijic]

Thanks for the image, CoralBandit, that's very helpful!

Troylee, you're suggesting the raw water all go into the skimmer section and then I section off the return to get water into the fuge, instead? The way my sump is built, I need to plumb some kind of flow into the fuge.

Also, just to clarify, the water from the overflow will go into the skimmer chamber but won't be directly plumbed to the skimmer. The skimmer (An AquaC EV-180) will be plumbed to a mag 7 pump which is what AquaC recommends.

 

[AZDesertRat]

You never want to restrict the overflow with a ball valve. Full open at all times or you run the risk of a flood when something lodges in the valve and start packing up. I feed my refugium from the overflow but I installed a 1"x1/2" tee above the sump and the 1/2" feeds the refugium with the 1" going in to the skimmer section.

 

[CoralBandit]

Thanks for the image, CoralBandit, that's very helpful!

Troylee, you're suggesting the raw water all go into the skimmer section and then I section off the return to get water into the fuge, instead? The way my sump is built, I need to plumb some kind of flow into the fuge.

Also, just to clarify, the water from the overflow will go into the skimmer chamber but won't be directly plumbed to the skimmer. The skimmer (An AquaC EV-180) will be plumbed to a mag 7 pump which is what AquaC recommends.

Im just happy it came out as planned lol

You can go either way but I would plumb it back to the skimmer from the refugium passivly thats why I like the in sumps...

 

[Wijic]

Here's the current plumbing plan. How does it look?

 

[inactive]

You never want to restrict the overflow with a ball valve. Full open at all times or you run the risk of a flood when something lodges in the valve and start packing up.

This only really happens on tanks that are not flood-proof, i.e.... bottom of the tank drains/OF + too large of a return area/pump etc etc...

 

[Troylee]

Thanks for the image, CoralBandit, that's very helpful!

Troylee, you're suggesting the raw water all go into the skimmer section and then I section off the return to get water into the fuge, instead? The way my sump is built, I need to plumb some kind of flow into the fuge.

Also, just to clarify, the water from the overflow will go into the skimmer chamber but won't be directly plumbed to the skimmer. The skimmer (An AquaC EV-180) will be plumbed to a mag 7 pump which is what AquaC recommends.

yes all the raw water needs to go into the skimmer section...i would tee off the return pump to feed the fuge then... thats just my pref....:)