[On to the Plumbing. This was an area I think a lot of people fairly new to the hobby could use some help. I didn't even know what a union was used for untl a couple of years ago. This tank has 10 unions on it. Putting valves and unions in the right places can make ongoing maintenance and changing things down the road very easy. Here's how I plumbed the bulkheads:
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Here you can see the four 2" bulkheads. I put a 1/2 union valve on each. That way I can unscrew them right below the red valve handle and swap out parts, clean them, change things, etc.
The back line is the return. I had hoped to avoid using any 90 deg. fittings by using the flexible PVC tubing. I had it that way, but it would have been a pain to ever undo, and decided to go with 90s. The bend radius is 6", and when you move up to 2" it doesn't bend like the 1" spa flex hose does. Something I learned this time around.
The next one is a spare, but if a fish gets into the overflow, then I plan on opening the valve to drain the overflow box and hopefully suck the fish out in the process. Sure beats taking everthing apart over a few hours.
The next one is a durso using 2.5" pipe and fittings I had to special order from Savko. Remember you have to go bigger than the bulkhead to create the backpressure.
The front one is also a Durso, but it's going to run to the chiller on the other side of the tank. Below that is a manifold which will have 4 drip lines for acclimating new fish and corals. I still need to get some gate or needle valves.
I will probably use them to flow into the Refugium when not in use acclimating corals. One less powerhead, and why not use the potential energy you have already created with the main pump?
the water flows in on the left, makes a C around the Refugium and the skimmer will sit on the Right. I have easy access to the refugium and skimmer this way, and the back space gets used as a baffle. I'm pretty happy with my design.
Here's the Return plumbing:
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Here I split off the main line 4 ways. One to the skimmer, one to a drain that runs up to the attic and to a drain pipe over the kitchen sink for water changes, and one to a gate valve (gate valves are good for fine adjustments on flow, needle valves are even better) to run the calcium reactor, and one back to the main tank. I need to clean this up, but I'm going to do it after I move the skimmer, ca reactor into place.
I did this for 2 reasons: Efficency and Maintenance. One pump means I spend less on that pump vs 3, it costs less to operate (GPH/$), I don't have 3 pumps to clean or replace when they fail. I plan on buying another hammerhead in a month or so to keep as a spare or possibly to rotate them every 6 months. I will run a Stream pump in the main tank as a backup.
This tank is in my living room and I want it quiet, so I added rubber seals to the cabinet doors, and I siliconed all the joints inside the tank cabinets. I also ordered some sonex acoustical foam that really does a great job of absorbing sound. That's going on the underside of the tank. Remember I can only do this because of a vent to the kitchen pantry. it's going to draw in cold air from the floor and the noise escapes to the kitchen. There is a lot of space at the end of the tank and about 1" at the back wall for air to float up, which takes us topside . . .]
I could add a solatube later, but I doubt I will.
