SCA 150 Plumbing- Opinions Wanted

BirdGuy21

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Finally getting around to doing a plumbing mock up for my SCA 150 with a Trigger CR 44 sump and looking for opinions/feedback. First time plumbing a tank. Not as much space as I thought I’d have under the stand but I think this will work. Herbie style overflow with two Adaptive Reef manifolds.

Id appreciate some feedback or opinions as this is my first time doing hard plumbing. Had trouble getting everything to fit space wise so this is the best I’ve been able to come up with. Tried to use unions everywhere when it’s feasible with the space I have.

Main drain view without the emergency drain. Union at the bulkhead and before the gate valve.
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Emergency drain- not enough space with the primary drain gate valve to do a straight 90 so two 45’s into the intake.
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Return with the manifold on the T fitting and the Apdx flow meter leading to the bulkhead.
B7ECAE90-164D-4939-A06A-5AE4BB637814.jpeg
 

Gup

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Considering it's your first time plumbing a tank, it's done very well. It seems you have some type of plumbing experience. First thing I did notice was that you do have a gate valve in place. Smart move. When I purchased my system, everything included, the drain line was plumbed with a ball valve. I know plumbing, but that got past me, so after a couple difficult water changes, fortunately, I was able to insert a gate valve after the ball valve. Worked out just fine
 
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BirdGuy21

BirdGuy21

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Thank you! I have some plumbing experience from home DIY projects but not much. I’ve tried to research as much as possible and take inspiration from others build threads.

I think I’ll add a union after the elbows from the bulkhead, that way I can remove smaller pieces at a time if needed. I wanted a union between the return sump bulkhead and T fitting but I don’t have any space for one. The Apex flow meter has the two unions though so I think I should be good. My only concern is if I ever want to remove the flow sensor I’ll need to redo the entire return plumbing. I can’t think of a way around that though as I’m limited in space.
 

Hydrored

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Thank you! I have some plumbing experience from home DIY projects but not much. I’ve tried to research as much as possible and take inspiration from others build threads.

I think I’ll add a union after the elbows from the bulkhead, that way I can remove smaller pieces at a time if needed. I wanted a union between the return sump bulkhead and T fitting but I don’t have any space for one. The Apex flow meter has the two unions though so I think I should be good. My only concern is if I ever want to remove the flow sensor I’ll need to redo the entire return plumbing. I can’t think of a way around that though as I’m limited in space.

Me personally I will not place a flow meter directly in my returns, off to a manifold or dedicated UV line sure. What if they discontinue that flow meter or it had a major failure? I’m also a person who keeps spares of things on hand so that’s just my opinion

Good job on plumbing the tank!
 

Gup

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Thank you! I have some plumbing experience from home DIY projects but not much. I’ve tried to research as much as possible and take inspiration from others build threads.

I think I’ll add a union after the elbows from the bulkhead, that way I can remove smaller pieces at a time if needed. I wanted a union between the return sump bulkhead and T fitting but I don’t have any space for one. The Apex flow meter has the two unions though so I think I should be good. My only concern is if I ever want to remove the flow sensor I’ll need to redo the entire return plumbing. I can’t think of a way around that though as I’m limited in space.
Space would ultimately be your biggest hurdle from what I see
 
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BirdGuy21

BirdGuy21

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Me personally I will not place a flow meter directly in my returns, off to a manifold or dedicated UV line sure. What if they discontinue that flow meter or it had a major failure? I’m also a person who keeps spares of things on hand so that’s just my opinion

Good job on plumbing the tank!

I’m rethinking the flow meter overall. Would be nice to have that information as a baseline b it debating if it’s worth having in the event of having to redo part of the return plumbing. Really locking me in to this configuration.


Space would ultimately be your biggest hurdle from what I see

This stand is even the larger 36” height too. I had the plumbing all planned out on paper before I had the stand. Looked great and had everything I needed….except the space to put it.
 

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