Looking for help from LI'ers

[jarhead]

I think I bit more than I can chew. A little background if I may. I am setting up my first tank and running the plumbing into the basement (had to make it complicated :rolleyes: ). I have plumbed everything under the tank and now moved down to the basement plumbing. I don't know what it is (probably fear of screwing up), but I just don't know how to properly plumb everything together. Almost every night I go down, look around trying to picture everytihng, and go back up confused :o .
Is there anyone in the area that would be willing to help me out finish a project that has started in May.
My apologies if this is not an appropriate forum, but I figured that it would get the most exposure for the LI'ers.

-Alex

[Corpus Callosum]

Maybe if you say where you're located theres some people nearby you?

If you shoot over your email I can add you to the mailing list for future Long Island meetings (we only had one so far).. and yeah you can post whatever you want here.

[jarhead]

Originally posted by sci33
Maybe if you say where you're located theres some people nearby you?

If you shoot over your email I can add you to the mailing list for future Long Island meetings (we only had one so far).. and yeah you can post whatever you want here. Doh! That would make sense. I live in Syosset and my email addy is aberk62@hotmail.com

[joefish]

Did you check out last months Tank of the month ? JBNY has a great tank with a basement sump room . His web site is as impressive as his tank .
http://www.cnidarianreef.com/
HTH


:D

[jarhead]

Originally posted by joefish
Did you check out last months Tank of the month ? JBNY has a great tank with a basement sump room . His web site is as impressive as his tank .
http://www.cnidarianreef.com/
HTH


:D Yes. Many, many times. My setup is slightly different.

[joefish]

Hey Alex how are you making out with the plumbing ?

[jarhead]

Originally posted by joefish
Hey Alex how are you making out with the plumbing ? Haven't made any progress at all. I am not sure how to best handle the rest.
Here's what I have to plumb:
basement left (http://a7.cpimg.com/image/3B/33/13072187-bc0b-01560200-.jpg)
basement right (http://a8.cpimg.com/image/3C/33/13072188-61c2-01560200-.jpg)
sump front (http://a0.cpimg.com/image/A2/BA/12751010-160f-02000156-.jpg)
sump back (http://a4.cpimg.com/image/A6/BB/12751014-a42b-02000156-.jpg)

I want to have that 30g AGA drilled and used for a refugium.

[joefish]

Alex ,
Maybee you can descibe what those pipes are a little . Which is the return to the tank and which is the supply for the sump . how far do they run horizontal like that . As far as the refugium you will have to decied to either run a pump up to it , or tee off the sump supply and have one go to the refugium and one to the sump .
I would love to come over but , I work days ,my wife nights three days a week ( my 6 year old and a 3 year old are with me while my wife works ) , plus I'm in the middle of putting my tank in the wall along with living room renovations .:D
I'll try to help you as much as possible here , and If I finish my project first I'll come over to help you .

Sorry for the limmited help
:(

[Corpus Callosum]

well you got the hard stuff done already.. where you put everything now is just a matter of choice i guess

[jarhead]

Originally posted by joefish
Alex ,
Maybe you can describe what those pipes are a little. Which is the return to the tank and which is the supply for the sump . how far do they run horizontal like that.Joe,
The one on the left is the drain from the tank, the right one is the return. I have not glued anything in the basement yet, so as far as the length out of the wall, is not an issue. I was thinking to split off the drain and have one pipe/hose go the the refugium and the other to the sump. I am not sure if it's best to leave the sump on the floor or place it on the bottom of that table that you see in the picture (the refuge would sit on the top). If I place it on the bottom of the table, I'd have to drill holes in it to run the pipes up. Little things like that drive me nuts.

Originally posted by sci33
well you got the hard stuff done already.. where you put everything now is just a matter of choice i guess.
Mike,
It does seem like it, but to me it's the other way around - the basement plumbing is the hard part.

[joefish]

How far into that wall do the pipes go or do they go up from there ?
I would tee of the sump return , one to the sump the other to the refugium .
Slide the table over put the sump underneath and refugium on top .
It looks like the skimmer is to big to go under , so build a little platform . just big enough that the bottom of the skimmer is 1" or 2" higher then the bottom of the sump .
What pump are you using for the return ?
I wouldn't drill holes in the table . Just pull the table away from the wall and run them through the back .

One thing you have to remember is that these are just my opinions . There are plenty of right ways to do this .

[jarhead]

Originally posted by joefish
How far into that wall do the pipes go or do they go up from there?
The pipes run to the left towards the gas furnace, then into the middle of the basement, and up.

What pump are you using for the return?
It's a Sequence 4600. I hear it's got a set of kahunas :D.
I wouldn't drill holes in the table . Just pull the table away from the wall and run them through the back.Any particular reason why you don't recommend making holes in the table? I may not have a choice since that area is somewhat narrow. If I pull out the table away from the wall, I may not have room for the skimmer.

Thanks,
Alex

[fdm]

Hi Alex,

Just a couple of questions and observations.

1) What size is you main tank?
2) How many gallons does that Lifereef sump hold? It looks pretty small.
3) How much flow does that Sequence pump put out at the head you are expecting?
4) What size drain and return holes do you have on your main tank?

Personally, I would ditch the Lifereef sump and buy a large glass aquarium for your sump, the largest one you can comfortably fit. The Lifereef is very small and the amount of microbubbles you are going to have when the water falls from upstairs to the basement is tremendous. Especially when you are using a large pump like the Sequence.

I setup up a basement sump when I moved into my house last year. I learned a lot and I am currently in the process of modifying my setup a little to cope with issues that have cropped up. My main tank is 125g. My sump/refugium is also 125g. I bought a Perfecto 125g tank for the sump, and had two holes drilled on one end to plumb in 2 external return pumps. I also installed a seperator in the middle to split the tank into the refugium and sump sections. And installed 5 baffles in the sump section to reduce micro bubbles. I am currently using 2 Iwaki MD55 return pumps. They give me about 1750gph flow in the main tank. Believe it or not, this is too much flow through the sump. Even with the large sump and the baffles a lot of micro bubbles make it back to the main tank. Also, I only have 2 1" drains on the main tank. At this flow, they are right at the max. I've had instances when a snail has crawled into drain and overflowed the tank. So I am removing one of the Iwakis from the sump return and installing 2 closed loops to compensate for the loss in flow through the sump.

The actual plumbing part is quite easy. The best thing to do is probably draw it out to give yourself a good idea of how it will all come together. I would put the sump on top of that table that you built and maybe make a little platform on one side for the refgium. The refugium only has to be a few inches higher than the sump. You can do this by laying a few 2x4's pices on top of the table and add a piece of 3/4" ply on top. Having both the sump and refugium at that level will help alot because every day you will be doing something in them, dosing, cleaning, pruning, cleaning the skimmer, etc. If you have sqwat down or bend over to do this you will get sick of it fast. Also, having the return pump 3 ft. higher reduces the amount of head and increases the flow giving you more pump for your money.

I know this was long winded and maybe a little incoherent. Let me know if you want me to elborate on anything. If you still need some help I maybe able to stop by one day next weekend (this weekend I'm travelling) and give you a hand. I'm pretty new to all of this myself but I've learned a lot in the past year.

LMK,
Frank

[jarhead]

Originally posted by fdm
What size is you main tank?
Frank,
The tank is 135g
How many gallons does that Lifereef sump hold? It looks pretty small.The sump holds 28g. According to LifeReef, it's for tanks up to 240g. I know, the bigger, the better. I bought it used and paid $275 for it. Had I known then what I know now, I wouldn't have bought it. Live and learn.
How much flow does that Sequence pump put out at the head you are expecting?I think I am dealing with 17' of head. Based on this chart (http://watergarden.com/catalog/_pumps/sequence/pix/sequencepro1000perf.gif), Sequence 4600 will put out 2400 GPH.
What size drain and return holes do you have on your main tank?The drain holes are 1" and the returns are 3/4"
Personally, I would ditch the Lifereef sump and buy a large glass aquarium for your sump, the largest one you can comfortably fit. The Lifereef is very small and the amount of microbubbles you are going to have when the water falls from upstairs to the basement is tremendous. Especially when you are using a large pump like the Sequence.I understand and agree. I was going to set up a bubble trap like the one Flame*Angel was using from this post (http://archive.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74073):
http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?s=&postid=498155

[fdm]

Hi Alex,

Yeah I understand about buying somehing and then realizing you don't really need it. You could always sell the LR sump if you decide too. It is a great product, I just think in your situation a simple tank or rubbermaid tub would be fine.

Flame*Angel's bubble trap will work good for you. If you plan on splitting the drains from your main tank to feed the refugium, do it after the bubble trap. One of my other problems was too many bubbles in the refugium was getting salt spray all over the lights. So for now I have a powerhead feeding the refugium from my sump. I will elminate this when I get around to it.

How many 1" drains do you have from the main tank?

So have you worked on the plumbing at all? Do you still help?

LMK,
Frank

[jarhead]

I have (2) 1" drains and (2) 3/4" returns that were pre-drilled. It's a 135g Oceanic RR tank.
I have read that to avoid bubbles going to the refugium, some people split their return pump to feed the refugium instead of stplitting their drain from the main tank.
I haven't worked on the plumbing yet and would welcome any help.

[fdm]

Having only 2 1" drains might not be enough to handle the 2400gph flow, we'll have to see.

Have the drain feeding the refugium is the best way so that any detritus makes it to the refugium instead of settling in the sump.

I also sent you a PM about help.

Frank