So i thought i knew about plumbing...

[HeavyHittah]

Anyone knows any good articles or websites that talk about reef tank plumbing, i feel like i understand the matter but not well enough. In particular im trying to learn how to plumb a 75 gallon using a closed loop system with a refugium/sump as to acheive flow.

 

[RyanG]

Here you go newt, this will take you to a bunch of DIY aquarium plumbing articles
ReefIndex : Reef Aquarium Index > How-To > Do-It-Yourself (DIY) > DIY Plumbing

heres another
How to make a closed SCWD loop

 

[HeavyHittah]

is this right?? I dont know which mag pump to use

 

[RyanG]

Kind of...You dont really want to use 90s better off with 2x45s they are less restricive. One of the Council of Knowledge will chime in soon Im sure.

 

[bjohanson1234]

Kind of...You dont really want to use 90s better off with 2x45s they are less restricive. One of the Council of Knowledge will chime in soon Im sure.

Or if room doesnt allow 2 45's, They make 90's that have a larger more swooping radius. Also, if you could pitch the horizontal runs for the drain down alittle, it will help the water run through the pipes smoother.

I would also eliminate the T in your drain and have 2 separate drains into the sump if room allows. it would be less restrictive.
Brian

 

[fatman]

Unless you want me to write a lot you need to be more specific as to what you are starting with and what you want to potentially use your finished tank for. or I would have to write pages of information. Are you speaking of a 75E tank, meaning a tank that is 4 ft long and 18 inches wide and 21 inches tall (roughly dimensioned)? Is it a pre drilled tank? Are you willing to drill holes or have holes drilled? Circulation should be anywhere between 1400 gph and 3500 gph depending on your intended ultimate usage. It is much easier to dial down a circulation system than to dial up an existing system once it is in use. How much are you willing to spend in watts to provide circulation? Is your tank already drilled for tower type overflows. Do you want your tank side walls outside to be clear of plumbing piping? Are you comfortable about cutting and gluing a lot of short pieces of plastic pipe. How much time and money are you ready to invest in this step of tank development. For an example in a 120 gallon SPS mother colony display tank I have two Iwaki MD40RLXT pumps rated at 1200 gph, a dart Pump rated at 3600 gph. In my back wall I have a 18 " x 6" x 3 " overflow box feeding two 2 " bulkhead over flows feeding a 40 gallon sump. The sump is drilled for a 1.5" bulkhead to feed one Iwaki pump, which returns through 1.5 inch pipe to a true 90 fitting feeding two one inch lines running to two 1 inch bulkheads which are reduced inside to feed two Locline 3/4 nozzles. Yes I oversize my feed and return pipes to minimize flow losses, and then reduce them at the nozzles to maintain good flow but at increased velocity. The other IWaki is fed in a closed loop through a 1.5 inch bulkhead about 10 inches above the tank bottom in the tanks back wall and feeds two more nozzles like the previous Iwaki n the back wall. All four of the back wall holes are one bulkhead holes diameter from the top of the glass. The dart is fed by a two inch bulkhead at the same level from the tanks bottom in the back tank wall. It is also a closed loop and returns through 2 inch PVC running to the middle if the back wall where it is branched with a true Y fitting down to two 1.5 inch pipes which run around the sides of the tank to the middle height and width wise where they branch with true Y fittings to 1 inch pipes which run to 1 inch bulkheads 8 inches from the front with one 6 inches down and the other 12 inches down on each side of the tank. All pumps have a ball valve and a union on each side of pump. Twenty two degree and forty five degree fittings were used where possible and all cuts were made with a carpenters cutoff saw and deburred before solvent welding. Only about 15-20 gallons of water is in sump to allow for back flow from sump pump when power goes out. My tank came as a reef ready tank with two overflow towers on the back wall with four small predrilled holes in bottom tempered glass. I cut the towers out of reef ready tanks and plug the bottom holes with glass and silicone patches. The extent of my circulation is not necessary, as it is a SPS mother colony tank and not a grow out tank. However, other than having less light, it is set up essentially as a SPS frag grow out tank but also includes live coral and a deep sand bed in side the tank rather than in a large sump as I do with grow out tanks. It also includes the monitoring I put on a contract maintenance tank, and the double skimmers and ozone system that I use in frag grow out tank systems. Basically it is way over done by almost anybodies standards. I would not try to talk a customer to put so much into one tank except for a university or other research center.

Yeah, alright it is a little long.

For those gradual swooping nineties go to a electrical supply and ask for 90 degree PVC sweeps. They come in o.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5. and 2 inch and probably larger. They will typically be gray in color and a typical schedule 40 in thickness, meaning the will fit standard PVC fittings used for residentail plumbing.

 

[bjohanson1234]

Yeah, alright it is a little long.

For those gradual swooping nineties go to a electrical supply and ask for 90 degree PVC sweeps. They come in o.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5. and 2 inch and probably larger. They will typically be gray in color and a typical schedule 40 in thickness, meaning the will fit standard PVC fittings used for residentail plumbing.

Not too long for very good info

Also, I wouldnt trust the electrical swoops on the return side just the drain side where there isnt as much preasure.

Brian

 

[fatman]

Not too long for very good info

Also, I wouldnt trust the electrical swoops on the return side just the drain side where there isnt as much preasure.

Brian

The electrical pipe is the same pipe as domestic water piping and could easily handle any pressure associated with an aquarium setup or up to at least 100 psi, and probably higher.:bounce:

 

[HeavyHittah]

The thing is that im trying to plumb for circulation without the use of powerheads. I like fish,verts, and corals ( i like everything really) so i figured a 75 gall (48x18x21 i think is correct) would be a nice size to start with. Also i wasnt planning on buying a 75 with built in overflows already(reef ready right). I was thinking about buying a reg AGA 75 gallon and drill two holes for bulkheads, an elbow, and a simple bulkhead strainer for overflow. I dont like the thought of having any plumbing on the sides of the tank. I think im understanding that the less amount of 90's the better, so it doesnt restrict flow. So i should use 45's. Anything i can put together and easily take apart would be great (due to the fact that i may have to move it later on down the road) but if i have to glue everything together then i dont mind. The part i dont understand is how much it will drain in gph and how fast in gph i need to pump it back in??

If someone can help me understand this plumbing situation, and help me create a schematic to plumb it, i would greatly appreciate. After all i am a noob...LOL

 

[badmeowth]

as for being able to move your artwork later down the road, unions ftw! btw, union is the piece that joins/disjoins pvc pipes. very useful for tank maintenance

 

[fatman]

The thing is that im trying to plumb for circulation without the use of powerheads. I like fish,verts, and corals ( i like everything really) so i figured a 75 gall (48x18x21 i think is correct) would be a nice size to start with. Also i wasnt planning on buying a 75 with built in overflows already(reef ready right). I was thinking about buying a reg AGA 75 gallon and drill two holes for bulkheads, an elbow, and a simple bulkhead strainer for overflow. I dont like the thought of having any plumbing on the sides of the tank. I think im understanding that the less amount of 90's the better, so it doesnt restrict flow. So i should use 45's. Anything i can put together and easily take apart would be great (due to the fact that i may have to move it later on down the road) but if i have to glue everything together then i dont mind. The part i dont understand is how much it will drain in gph and how fast in gph i need to pump it back in??

If someone can help me understand this plumbing situation, and help me create a schematic to plumb it, i would greatly appreciate. After all i am a noob...LOL

I promote back wall overflows over towers and predrilled tank bottoms which are undersized and/or overrated. I would suggest you use a Glass-Holes.com dope aquarium stuff 700 gph rated overflow box which requires a 1.5 inck backwall bulkhead be installed. I would use to return lines for the drainage return from the sump for that overflow. Seven hundred gallons per hour will give you more than an adequate amount of water into your sump for any skimmer you coul buy. For the rest of the circulation I would install either a nother bulkhead two thirds of the way down the back wall to feed a dedicated closed loop circulation pump or use a grated box instead of a strainer. The box does not protrude as far into tank. I would return the water through four nozzles installed in four bulkheads. The size of the pump would depend on the circulation you wished. I would shoot for another 1500 to 2000 gph of circulation allowing you to dial up or down your flow for what ever you stocked your tank with. All the return bulkhead would also be on your back wall. The return lines for the sump pump return would be near the bottom of the tank and the other returns would be spaced out at lower levels.

 

[HeavyHittah]

Ok i think i see what youre saying, i just thought that there was a way to do it like the rough picture i made. so i wouldnt have an overflow box. but anyway is there anyway you can draw a diagram for me. or is that asking too much?

 

[fatman]

I do not know if this forums software will accept an AutoCad drawing, but I will try to work something up.

 

[HeavyHittah]

can you save it as a jpeg or bmp image in autocad, if not then a simple paint picture would be fine