Sump Installation Tips anyone?

K

kaledrina

I'm about to install a sump (FINALLY!) on my 75g within the next week or so. I'm getting a 20g high soon and will be crafty and whatnot turning it into a sump. I have an 800gph pump that will be pushing water around 3+ft high. I have an overflow box w/ I believe is a 3/4" bulkhead.

Two problems. The tank is already set up and running so there's little room for error on pipe selection, set up, and whatnot. The other problem is I have all this stuff and I know what goes where, but I'm not 100% on the installation. I don't know what type of PVC pipes to use (Flexible vs rigid), what size, and in case all **** breaks loose... what to do?

Appearance doesn't really mean much to me at all since its going to be under the stand and nobody that visits the house is ever going to ask about the plumbing. I've heard that the flexible PVC = more quiet but is more pricey. Some people say use Ball valves others wouldn't get near with a 10ft pole. The pump I have doesn't have any type of flow control so in case its pumping water too fast I don't know what to do. Also unsure of the effects of a power outage and what that would do. At least as far as being away from home and how to keep the overflow going...

Any help is greatly appreciated. (I've already checked out Marc's site but would like more input)
 
Ball valves and unions are very handy, but check valves are not to be trusted. When you need them to work, something tends to go wrong.

There are two pages on my site that might help you that you may or may not have seen yet.

Making a sump out of a glass tank. Key thing to keep in mind: 1/4" thick glass or acrylic, not thinner. And make sure the baffles are 1/4" shorter than the width of the tank. You want a 1/8" gap at each end to avoid putting excess pressure on the walls of th tank, or risk cracking/failure.
http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/glass/

How to install a sump and plumb it in:
http://www.melevsreef.com/install_sump.html

Your return pump is rather strong for a 20g tank. The more flow you have, the more likely microbubbles will be a persistent problem.

SpaFlex is very handy but costs $2.20 a foot where rigid PVC tends to run $2 for 10' of the stuff. Instead of using 90 degree elbows, use 45 degree fittings to soften those turns. This reduces restriction of flow.
 
The stand I got is really the most stable stand in the world... I got it for free too. The downside to the stability is that there's a heck of a lot of reinforcements on the inside so there's not very much workable room. I tried getting a regular 20g in there but it was just a tad too long. (Good thing since the person who sold it forgot to take off a minuscule sticker saying "Do not fill with water" and I noticed that while turning the tank all sorts of fashions in attempts to fit it in there.) Crossing my fingers that the 20high fits.. Perhaps using another smaller aquarium in some fashion to create more sump volume.
 
When planning out your plumbing, draw it out on graph paper to scale. then once you've made a run (return, drain, etc) test fit the plumbing before even considering PVC glue. When you find the diameter pipe you want to run with, buy contractors packs of elbows, 45's, T's, and couplers.
Yes you will have left overs but it saves ALL sorts of time when you find out "if I ha just ONE more 45 I could route things this way". Also remember to have a Union for every point you want the ability to seperate the pipe at.
 
Here's a question...

Would it be possible/viable to install two overflows? My pump is 800gph and I don't think I'd get enough drainage on just one overflow. And if I could do two overflows is there any way to make sure I'm not getting too much drainage vs return w/o adding a larger pump?

And what could I do with the overflow boxes to prevent siphon loss during power outages? My house is older and so is the neighborhood... Storms usually equal a power flicker or two on a good day. Last thing I need is to be away at work and have everything fail and my sump pump explode.

Also since many people are hesitant towards ball/check valves what could I use instead?

This sump plumbing is just so... bizarre.
 
As long as both ends of the Utube remain submerged at total power loss, the siphon will restart when the return pump restarts.


This is something I regularly test on my 90G just to be sure.


Get the static water level at a height that is comfortable to you, and then power down and check where your overflow drains to when the tank finishes siphoning.

If the utubes are still pretty submerged, you should be able to kick back on the return pump and everything will go back to normal.


Also, you can of course place a piece of airline connected to a lift-pump in the utube and the other end of the lift pump into your drain, or into the sump and accomplish an added measure of security. The lift pump will cause a siphon to be restarted, and will also keep bubbles out of your u-tube for max flow.


Brad
 
One last question... I saw on Marc's website a picture of a sump with clear PVC from the drainage as well as the return. I really like that idea so that the chances of any PVC parts leaking is, well, 0! Is there any reason why I should not do that as long as I use the correct PVC diameter?

The drain side uses larger PVC than the return right? :?

I could tell you all about protein synthesis of the cell, but this stuff is just killing me!
 
Kaledrina,

I assume you are talking about Clear Silicone / Vinyl tubing ?


You could use that all the way down. The only drawback is that light gets in (which contributed to algal growth inside the tubing.)

Other than that it provided a similar path for the water, so it's really a personal preference.
 
Awesome, I think I'll go that route. If I used rigid white PVC my dad might have a heart attack just imagining what would happen if something failed.

Okay oooone last thing. For the return pump I'm definitely using clear PVC however the pump itself is pretty strong. I want to make a T out of the return line with some of the water returning to the sump with a check valve of sorts. What type of glue should I use on the T to prevent the clear PVC line from sliding loose?
 
Okay well maybe sometime this month this project will get done.. How do you use airline tubing in the overflow to keep the siphon in case its broken? I can't seem to find anything online and I'm not 100% on that concept..
 
So basically I'll have to poke a hole in the Utube, install the aqualifter... And the lifter will just siphon a tiny bit of water during normal operation and take out any air that occurs due to power failure, etc? Sweeeeet.
 
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