Two shallow tanks & one sump setup

[Levinson]

There's also something else I've done today.
I cut out the yoga mats to go under the tanks.

 

[Levinson]

Siliconed the inner sides of the external overflow boxes yesterday.

 

[GoReefin]

Looking great so far!

 

[Levinson]

Purchased the return pump today. 70w, rated to pump out 6000 lph (about 1585 gph).
It's FAR more powerful than what I need but it was only like US$12 more than the 50w 4000lph model so I got the bigger one. I will be turning it down quite a bit of course.
Chose this pump because it comes with 2 year warranty.
My plan is to connect a threaded pvc socket to the male threads on the pump outlet, then connect a pvc Y split socket, then soft plumb from there on up.

Not sure if I should use 3/4 inch or 5/8 inch hose(tube) to go from the Y connector to the DT.

 

[Levinson]

I've put some tape on the underside of the top wooden board of the aquarium stand, right next to the frame.
Hopefully the bulge of the thick tape will stop the board from moving too much.

Waiting on the plumbing parts. Most of it would probably come by today or tomorrow. The bad news is, there are couple of needed parts that are coming in from China (aliexpress) and it will take a long time.

 

[Levinson]

Finally got the tanks on top of the stand and placed the overflow boxes.

Cleaned the pvc pipe with warm tap water.

Now I should really start the plumbing job but to be honest, I'm a little scared I haven't got around to it. I've plumbed with smaller pvc pipes a couple of times before but the stakes are much higher this time.
What if there's a leak? Will I be able to get the lengths right when I cut them? How can I test for a leak after cementing them?
The elbows were ok but for some reason, the unions and gate valves seem pretty loose when I tried to connect them to the pipe which worries me a little.
Will the length of the pipe that goes inside the sockets when I dry fit differ from when they are cemented? (Will the pipe go deeper into the sockets when the cement is applied?)

 

[New&no clue]

You got this, but yes, I agree plumbing is the worst. Although with everything you've been doing, I think you will be okay. Remember to measure twice, cut once. Put prime and cement on both the outside of the pipe and inside of the fitting. Unions are the best thing to add. Go slow and have extras; you can return them after if they are not used.

Also, random question- why are our overflows not on the same side as the sump? Then you would only have to go straight down?

 

[Levinson]

You got this, but yes, I agree plumbing is the worst. Although with everything you've been doing, I think you will be okay. Remember to measure twice, cut once. Put prime and cement on both the outside of the pipe and inside of the fitting. Unions are the best thing to add. Go slow and have extras; you can return them after if they are not used.

Also, random question- why are our overflows not on the same side as the sump? Then you would only have to go straight down?

Thanks. Dang now that I think about it I only have cement and no primer. I've read somewhere that primer is not needed for saltwater tanks, maybe that is not the case? Should have ordered it when I ordered the pvc parts.

I don't plan on having any wavemakers at the moment (like my current nano) to mix up the water in the tank so (it may sound silly but) I wanted the overflow to be far from the return (again, like my current nano). I was hoping most of the filtered water from the sump would travel across the tank then back to the drain. In which case, it was either drain or return that could be placed near the sump, and since the return pump will need more power to push further, I placed the drained further away (gravity is free although the plumbing parts aren't).
Actually, I could still change it and have the drain placed near the sump if I wanted to (just turn the tank around). Almost tempted to do this just because of how much easier it is to plumb but I'll stick to the plan for now.

 

[New&no clue]

Thanks. Dang now that I think about it I only have cement and no primer. I've read somewhere that primer is not needed for saltwater tanks, maybe that is not the case? Should have ordered it when I ordered the pvc parts.

I don't plan on having any wavemakers at the moment (like my current nano) to mix up the water in the tank so (it may sound silly but) I wanted the overflow to be far from the return (again, like my current nano). I was hoping most of the filtered water from the sump would travel across the tank then back to the drain. In which case, it was either drain or return that could be placed near the sump, and since the return pump will need more power to push further, I placed the drained further away (gravity is free although the plumbing parts aren't).
Actually, I could still change it and have the drain placed near the sump if I wanted to (just turn the tank around). Almost tempted to do this just because of how much easier it is to plumb but I'll stick to the plan for now.

That makes sense for the overflow placement. As for the primer, I am no plumbing expert, but I have always used it. From the Youtube videos I watched before I started plumbing, the primer begins a chemical reaction with the PVC needed for the bond.

 

[Levinson]

That makes sense for the overflow placement. As for the primer, I am no plumbing expert, but I have always used it. From the Youtube videos I watched before I started plumbing, the primer begins a chemical reaction with the PVC needed for the bond.

Can I ask you a question about PVC plumbing if you don't mind?
Will the part of pipe that goes inside the sockets be longer when cementing them together with primer and cement compared to when they are dry fit??
When I dry fit them to unions or other connectors, they often don't go all the way inside (sometimes they do).
From what I've read, the primer and the solvent softens the pvc so I thought maybe the pipe will go deeper into the sockets when they are applied.
If they do indeed go deeper into the socket, I want to be aware of it and take this difference in the length into consideration when I cut the pipe.

 

[Levinson]

Been working on the plumbing today. Cutting the pipes, etc.
Still got plenty more work to do.
It took a long time to figure out the gate valve placement. They were much bigger than I had thought and it didn't fit the way I had initially planned so I had to come up with a new way. There just wasn't enough space. I think I got it right now but I need to order a 45 degree elbow. Dang the gate valves are huge.
I have decided to go with 2 unions per drain. One below the overflow box and one before the gate valve and the sump. I'm not too happy with where the second unions are placed because they are close to where I'll be placing the electronics but couldn't think of another way.

 

[New&no clue]

Can I ask you a question about PVC plumbing if you don't mind?
Will the part of pipe that goes inside the sockets be longer when cementing them together with primer and cement compared to when they are dry fit??
When I dry fit them to unions or other connectors, they often don't go all the way inside (sometimes they do).
From what I've read, the primer and the solvent softens the pvc so I thought maybe the pipe will go deeper into the sockets when they are applied.
If they do indeed go deeper into the socket, I want to be aware of it and take this difference in the length into consideration when I cut the pipe.

They will slide a little further in, but not much