XxKnuckleheadxX
Reef enthusiast
with that setup yes use ballvalves for sure. i dont think you will need one on your return though.
IraqVeterans 75gal
- Thread starter IraqVeteran
- Start date
IraqVeteran
HOOAH
ok, cool.....thanks. I will do that then.
XxKnuckleheadxX
Reef enthusiast
fyi in the diagram your ball valves are placed in the wrong position on your intake. ball valve should be below the T section.
http://www.melevsreef.com/
that site is a great place to get and take designs from. i took my design from this site.
http://www.melevsreef.com/
that site is a great place to get and take designs from. i took my design from this site.
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Hornet
Reefing newb
For the diagram that you posted I agree with what Knucklehead says. You'd want the Ball valve below the Tee. Closing the ball valve partially would create a back pressure and divert water to the fuge section.
XxKnuckleheadxX
Reef enthusiast
i think the best setup with your fuge would be just very simple 1 line in 1 line out no ball valves. you could add ball valves on your intake and return if you wanted to slow the water down. so you would have your line in just go straight to the skimmer area. flows over to the fuge area and into the return.
daugherty
part time reefer
the ball valve on the return that is farther up in the line does not need to be there the lower one is fine it will control the flow to the fuge i would put the valve on the other side to control it and leave it open on the skimmer section
IraqVeteran
HOOAH
If I remove the ball valve on the overflow pipe then cant I keep the ball valve for the fuge area where it is so that I can control the flow for it and leave the one on the return fully open? Why wouldnt this work?
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XxKnuckleheadxX
Reef enthusiast
i would get rid of the t of section that goes to your macro algae all together. so then it will just leave you with one going into skimmer sectoin and one for your return.
IraqVeteran
HOOAH
thanks for the melevsreef website.........this picture on this site answered one of my major questions in a picture. I know you folks are doing your best at explaining things to me...I guess I am more of a visual learner. I really appreciate all of ya'lls inpute in guiding me to a good sump setup. With the valve in the place where it is at all I would have to do is just adjust it once to get the flow just right and then leave it in that position right?
XxKnuckleheadxX
Reef enthusiast
with that picture you are showing. the fuge area is all the way to the other side. not in the middle like yours is though. the return in in the middle of his. thats why i say do away with you teeing yours like that. its pointless to do that if your fuge is in the middle.
IraqVeteran
HOOAH
I think I see what you are saying...because with mine there is no way that the skimmer will skim every drop of water before it flows into the fuge and then the return. Is that why you say leave that section out because the fuge area will still be getting raw tank water anyway?
Hornet
Reefing newb
If your trying to send tank water directly to the fuge before it goes through the skimmer, you will need to add ball valve set-up similar to the pic. If your going to just let it flow from your skimmer section into the fuge then you don't need to do anything but plumb your drain directly to the skimmer section.
You can find a lotta good info on melevsreef site when you click through the sitemap.
You can find a lotta good info on melevsreef site when you click through the sitemap.
IraqVeteran
HOOAH
tomorrow is D-Day with my sump. I will set it up in the morning. When doing water changes from the sump do I turn the eqpt off or just let everything run as is when changing the water out?
I think I will go with Hornets idea and just plumb from overflow to first section using a union and ball valve and skip plumbing to the fuge and then plumb from return section to the tank but without a ball valve. How does this sound?
I think I will go with Hornets idea and just plumb from overflow to first section using a union and ball valve and skip plumbing to the fuge and then plumb from return section to the tank but without a ball valve. How does this sound?
XxKnuckleheadxX
Reef enthusiast
if your gonna slow down the water coming in you gotta slow down the water going out or you will just empty your sump.
IraqVeteran
HOOAH
so after reading melevsfeefs.com I will add a ball valve on the return so it points to the fuge area.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
I would suggest if you are going to use a ball valve, putting one on the return line is far more important than putting one on the line that goes down to the sump. Remember, the return pump controls the entire system. Water can only fall over the overflows and to the sump as fast as the return pump can raise the water level in the tank. If the return pump goes slowly, the water will drain to the sump slowly. You need to be able to control the flow from the return pump to have control over the whole system. Controlling the flow from the tank to the sump will do nothing except possibly cause your pump to run dry and burn out and overflow your display tank.
IraqVeteran
HOOAH
Thanks Biff, that makes sense. I did put a double ended union with a ball valve in between the two unions below the overflow box for the purpose of just in case I have to remove the overflow box for whatever reason and I dont want to spill water all over the floor I have it kept wide open when it is running. On the return side I put a ball valve above the sump and above that I put a union for if I need to remove it from the tank for whatever reason. I had my wifes dad help me with the plumbing because he is way better at that stuff. It turned out nicely.
I got it all up and running and then I turned the power off to simulate a power outage and the sump filled up with a few inches spare in the sump. I kicked the power back on and the aqua lifter on the overflow worked like a champ and the system ran good. I marked the water level in the sump with a piece of black paper (small) and put tape over it so I know where to fill for evaporation. Pics to follow. For some reason photobucket is not working for me right now so it will be a little bit for pics unless someone else has another suggestion on how to get pics uploaded here.
I got it all up and running and then I turned the power off to simulate a power outage and the sump filled up with a few inches spare in the sump. I kicked the power back on and the aqua lifter on the overflow worked like a champ and the system ran good. I marked the water level in the sump with a piece of black paper (small) and put tape over it so I know where to fill for evaporation. Pics to follow. For some reason photobucket is not working for me right now so it will be a little bit for pics unless someone else has another suggestion on how to get pics uploaded here.
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XxKnuckleheadxX
Reef enthusiast
great. cant wait to see how it turned out.
IraqVeteran
HOOAH
what the heck....my pics didnt show up....damn!!!!
IraqVeteran
HOOAH
Lets see if this works.....
I had to cut a small portion of the stand out (bottom right) to get the sump to slide inside the stand. Oh...and those little wooden blocks there are in place to keep the sump from sliding around when I am messing with it. I figured that was a good idea so I dont mess the plumbing up if I nudged the sump. (the tank is not away from the wall like this....it was like this so I can work on it. It is back against the wall now)
This is the finished overflow pipe. I did it like this in case I need to remove the overflow box for whatever reason
and so it wont spill water on the floor. I figure as long as the ball valve is wide open it wont hurt. (I have the valve open all the way it was just partially closed in this pic for some reason)
Here it is in the finished state under the tank and running (light is off though)
Some LR in the fuge with sand
The overflow with the aqualifter (awesome advice from folks to get this)
Thanks to everyone who helped me out along the way the past few weeks. I felt totally lost on the sump and the plumbing and without you guys I would have leaped off of a 20 story building trying to figure this out by myself. After doing it all I then realized I spent way too much time worrying about it and that it wasnt too hard afterall.
Thanks again. And I finally figured out the whole photobucket thing to upload images (I swear I am such a dumbass sometimes)
I had to cut a small portion of the stand out (bottom right) to get the sump to slide inside the stand. Oh...and those little wooden blocks there are in place to keep the sump from sliding around when I am messing with it. I figured that was a good idea so I dont mess the plumbing up if I nudged the sump. (the tank is not away from the wall like this....it was like this so I can work on it. It is back against the wall now)
This is the finished overflow pipe. I did it like this in case I need to remove the overflow box for whatever reason
and so it wont spill water on the floor. I figure as long as the ball valve is wide open it wont hurt. (I have the valve open all the way it was just partially closed in this pic for some reason)
Here it is in the finished state under the tank and running (light is off though)
Some LR in the fuge with sand
The overflow with the aqualifter (awesome advice from folks to get this)
Thanks to everyone who helped me out along the way the past few weeks. I felt totally lost on the sump and the plumbing and without you guys I would have leaped off of a 20 story building trying to figure this out by myself. After doing it all I then realized I spent way too much time worrying about it and that it wasnt too hard afterall.
Thanks again. And I finally figured out the whole photobucket thing to upload images (I swear I am such a dumbass sometimes)
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