Plumbing for marc's model F

S

sublime250

This is my plumbing idea for my friend's 120 gallon reef. Please give me some input.

The only thing that's not really put on here, is that that pump, a gen-x will be plumed through the front of the sump on the return section due to lack of space on the sides.

The overflow sectionis on the left and is a built in box, it has a stand pipe in it and the return rises through the box as well.
 
I would (an I am going to) put either 2 45's at the top of the return pump instead of the 90. Less restrictive. Better yet, consider using spa felx.
 
Looks good Mark! I get to pick mine up in the next day or two. Looks like cooking and plumbing is on my agenda for the long weekend.

Can't wait! I think I have everything, just need the light bulb for the fuge.

Sorry for the hijack sublime - My suggestion still holds though. You want as few turns as possible so you can have increased flow. Wish they had 1 inch long sweeps, those would even be better than the 45s'.

The only differences between the your proposed setup and mine is I will not have an external pump, I also two overflows and two returns. My plan now is to have two return pumps for redundancy as improved through put.
 
My bad... I meant to reply to Sublime250... LOL :oops:

Just for clarity I used 1 1/2 after the 1 inch coming out of the tank I quickly used expansion couplers to do this. Take note of the unions they make cleaning a snap.

I have no 90's in the plumbing only 45's
 
when should i use spa flex?

Also, should the pipes from the overflow be sitting on the sump or should i keep it as close to the top of the stand as possible? if there is distance between the sump and the plumbing would the pvc be rigid enough to support itself even though it is only held on at one point, the over flow drain bulkhead.
 
Your plumbing should be no more then an inch or two in the water. If you go any futher you will have a burbing affect. But it does need to be underwater

My plumbing is supported by the bulkheads.
 
The spa flex can be used at any point in your design. You could come out the the return pump with a compression union and go spa flex all the way to the return.

As for support you can always use cable ties to hold it up. Put a screw or eyelet in the wood frame, run the cable tie through it and around the pipe. All though unless you have a long run I do not think you will have a problem. The pipe will be supported between the bulkhead and the top of the pump on the return side. For the drain side you will probably want to add a tie to hold the pipe up at the skimmer. You do need to have the ends of the pipe in the water, just below the surface.
 
You can see on the top that the return section is in the middle. The stand might be able to fit the pump in the front but what do you think about puting the pump on the side of the sump and just running pvc straight to it. no down angle or anything. If everything is air tight, then it should be a vaccum right?

What do you guys think of this?

Ps Monkey can you post a wider shot of your sump and plumbing?
 
Here's what I recommend for that sump:

plumb_it.jpg
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I'm going to make a new picture soon, since this one doesn't have the bubble tower and it is hard to read some of the text.

I think you're plan is just fine. Remember, the water entering the refugium should be out of an elbow that is half submerged, half above water (to let the air breathe out quietly). The line going into the bubble tower / skimmer section should only be submerged 1" at the most.
 
Is there any problem of doing two 45's right from the bulkead of the return section and take pvc down the side of the pump like the diagram on top?

Do i need to have an angle in it from the bulkhead to the intake of the RETURN PUMP ( not skimmer sorry!)?
 
Using 45s is usually best. I would avoid all 90s if you can.

Gravity will feed the skimmer, so I don't know that you need it to slope at all, assuming this is a recirculating skimmer.
 
hehe sorry sometimes i use the wrong word when im using so much reef jargon =-) Read edit please :oops:

look at " A " in the picture above. Im trying to position the pump so that it is parallel with the left side of the sump, even though the bulkhead for the return pump needs to be in the front center of the sump, look at " A " in the picture above (as the sump is a Fuge/ Return / Skimmer)
 
Okay, I think I understand now. First of all, inside the sump I'd just have the strainer, without an elbow. Don't add yet more restrictions if they are unnecessary.

Going from the bulkhead to the pump, I'd almost like to see you use spaflex for the full run, because #1) it will absorb vibrations that the pump tends to generate, and #2) you can soften the corner and into the pump. It is your call, but if you can manage it, that is the way to go.

If your pump has a 1" inlet, you might consider doing this with 1.5" tubing. You don't want the pump to cavitate due to be starved of water.

There is another possibility, but it will take some effort on your part to pull it off. You could drill the internal refugium baffle and the end wall with aligned matching holes, then use bulkheads or uniseals to run PVC from the return through the refugium and out to the return pump at the end of the sump. I've seen it done, but have never tried it myself.
 
An acrylic sump - yes. A glass sump - you'll need a diamond-tipped hole-saw.
 
Okay, so i'm going to use a 1" bulkhead in the sump instead of a 3/4 to keep from starving the pump (GENX ~1700GPH)

It looks like on the existing plumbing, the standpipe is made out of PVC larger than 1", the drain pipe below is 1" and so is the bulkhead under the overflow box.

Is a 1" standpipe going to be able to take the flow from the Genx pump?
 
Your tank's drain is 1"? This may be tricky. Or do you have two drains?

If you have more pump than the tank can drain, it won't work unfortunately. The tank will overflow.
 
The tank has only one drain.


Okay, the existing standpipe is 1 1/4" Not 1" like i first thought

It is reduced to 1" for the bulkhead, and continues 1" where it hits a T. From there two flexible ridged tubes connect it to the existing sump.

What do you think of doing the 1 1/4" stand pipe reduced to 1" for the bulkhead then enlarged back to 1 1/4" for the drain pipe?

Essentially everything drained from the overflow box would be in 1 1/4" except for the bulkhead. would there be any reason why I couldn't do that?

* Update*

Drilled the 1" bulkhead in the side of the sump with no problems... the return part of the sump installation is ready to go.
 
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