Two Displays Run From Basement Sump

[incloud design]

It seems like an accident waiting to happen. I see too many variables and the result is a flood. I would personally keep the RS as a stand alone system. Switches fail, check valves fail.

A thought, you could put a bulkhead in your sump, above the waterline, draining to the basement. If the RS pump fails, the sump would fill until the bulkhead drain. Should work. I wouldn't do it, but should

I had thought of something like that and it would probably work just fine but then I'd have to drill more of the Red Sea stand and my hard woods. What do you think about adding a stand pipe to my 150 sump a few inches below water line so that if the Red Sea pump fails it would only be able to receive water until reaching the pipe? In theory that would eliminate the problem and also add a security measure to my existing 65 gallon DT. As of now if anything blocked the MegaFlow drain in the 65 DT 170 gallons of water would be pumped into my dining room. That would not be good!

I use a small stand pipe in my skimmer section before the 150 sump to maintain water level like below. Works perfectly and skims the surface!

 

[incloud design]

I'm thinking a pipe on the pump inlet so that only a limited amount of water can be pumped rather than 150 gallons.

 

[incloud design]

Had an idea as a safety precaution for my 150 sump and added a vertical pipe with a screen fitting just below the water line to avoid the sump pumping all 150 gallons into my living room if the Red Sea pump fails. So now that relieves some stress but I am still going over in my head whether I am missing anything before I tie it all together. I could really use some more minds involved to get this resolved and will appreciate any and all feedback. Thanks in advance for your time and consideration!

 

[BHHOWARD]

duplicate post

 

[BHHOWARD]

I'd would simplify the solution.

Remove the sump under the Red Sea Reefer 450.

One dedicated pump to feed your 65 with a return to your basement sump.
One dedicated pump to feed your Red Sea Reefer 450 with a return to your basement sump.

This way, you can take either tank offline and still not impact the other tank.

As others have stated, you will need to check to make sure your basement sump has enough remaining volume to handle the backflow in the event of a power failure. (You cannot rely on a check valve).

 

[incloud design]

I'd would simplify the solution.

Remove the sump under the Red Sea Reefer 450.

One dedicated pump to feed your 65 with a return to your basement sump.
One dedicated pump to feed your Red Sea Reefer 450 with a return to your basement sump.

This way, you can take either tank offline and still not impact the other tank.

As others have stated, you will need to check to make sure your basement sump has enough remaining volume to handle the backflow in the event of a power failure. (You cannot rely on a check valve).

As of now I have a large pump feeding my 65 gallon from the basement sump. I now also have the Red Sea Reefer with a dedicated pump as a separate system. My goal is to keep the Red Sea system as is but tap into the other (65 gallon) system. The reason I am putting so much into this is because all of my equipment and my water change system is in the basement not to mention the large volume of water to benefit overall. I also have a brand new Bubble Magus skimmer, Algae Scrubber, UV Sterilizer, and Bio Pellet Reactor that could be utilized below the Red Sea if and when needed. I understand that it would be best to keep it simple but am also trying to make the best of what I have and make maintenance as simplified as possible. Right now all I have to do for a water change is open a valve, close a valve, and then flick a switch and I'm done. Leaving the Red Sea system separate will be a nightmare and waste all my efforts and expense I've put into the basement. As far as backflow, if I turn off my system it hardly changes the sump level at all. The return has a tiny hole and sucks air after a couple seconds of no power. My plumber is going to take a look at my setup and give me some advice so I'll wait and see what he says. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it!

 

[incloud design]

I think I may have come up with an idea to have both systems run without a problem. If I run both systems as usual and tap into the basement sump with a return line going to the Reefers ATO with a very low flow rate I believe the float valve would stop the return and excess flow would then be distributed to my 65 gallon. If someone could jump in here and tell me if this is possible it would be a great help. Thanks in advance for your support!

 

[lmm1967]

I've run multiple tanks off 1 sump and would have no problem doing it again - however - I would always use a dedicated return pump and isolated drains per tank. I would never pump to one and overflow to the other and then to the sump the way you have it outlined.

There are multiple failure points and all of them lead to a disaster. I would not rely solely on float valves or sensors to be the only way to stop a flood.

Design the system so it can't flood.

Also keep in mind - you WILL find things getting from one tank to the other. No matter what you do - it will happen. Mainly pests if you ever have any.

 

[incloud design]

I've run multiple tanks off 1 sump and would have no problem doing it again - however - I would always use a dedicated return pump and isolated drains per tank. I would never pump to one and overflow to the other and then to the sump the way you have it outlined.

There are multiple failure points and all of them lead to a disaster. I would not rely solely on float valves or sensors to be the only way to stop a flood.

Design the system so it can't flood.

Also keep in mind - you WILL find things getting from one tank to the other. No matter what you do - it will happen. Mainly pests if you ever have any.

You are absolutely right and I have about given up on the idea. My above thought came to a crash very shortly after I posted and realized it would just leave water in the line once topped off. I desperately wanted to make use of my basement sump and all my equipment but it seems to do so will require even more equipment either way so I'm going to try and set up a decent water change setup for the Reefer and also figure out a way to use the ATO without having a tank in the sump area as designed. Oh well, no rush so I'll just keep planning. Thanks a lot for your response and feedback it is greatly appreciated.

 

[dugthefish]

I'm not seeing a good reason not to run dedicated lines to each tank, and put your skimmer and other equipment in the main basement sump. If utilizing both sumps is that much of a priority, put them both in the basement and tie them together.

 

[incloud design]

I'm not seeing a good reason not to run dedicated lines to each tank, and put your skimmer and other equipment in the main basement sump. If utilizing both sumps is that much of a priority, put them both in the basement and tie them together.

I'm thinking, lol!

 

[incloud design]

Thanks everyone for the advice along the way. I tried it with both sumps and it too unsafe so took the Reefer sump out and plumbed it all to the basement. Funky looking pipe work but it works with what I had for red pipe, lol.

Before

After

 

[maroun.c]

I run one tank at home and 4 in basement connected to same sump. It just has to be large enough to handle the syphon from All tanks when Return pumps are switched off.
I have the DT at home on a separate pump and 3 tanks in basement on another and one has its own pump. This way it's a bit more secure it a pump fails and also as one pumo wasn't enough for all tanks. I can also control which tank to stop flow for when feeding fish or corals.

 

[maroun.c]

Basement sumps aren't efficient by any conventional sense of the word, so maybe I'm offbase as far as the highest priority...but why not make one or both systems AIO? That's MUCH more efficient.

Cause then ull be chilling, heating, testing and dosing multiple setups which is no fun. Also the added volume when u combine setups makes for more stability.

 

[incloud design]

I had a lot of issues and last night after routing everything through one sump in the basement had a couple leaks. I got it all sorted and system is running perfectly now and powering off everything causes no problems thus far. I'm satisfied for now but have plans to do some mods in the basement now to increase filtration with the Red Sea sump as a pre-filter and run my bigger skimmer (Bubble Magus Curve 9) in the 150 gallon stock tank. I have Kessils in a box not being used and may hang them over the sump and also have an algae scrubber that could be used.