Does my plumbing look fine?

[hyeteck]

here is a pic of the plumbing for my tank that i am thinking of doing. I just got the 40 gallon tank and it fits perfect in my stand. Now i just have to get some baffles to section off the sump.

I got 1" pvc piping, a ball valve, and a check valve.

i have 4 drilled holes in the back of my tank and a built in overflow.

here is a pic of what im thinking of doing. My only concern is the return plumbing into the closed loop. Is there any way around this?

http://www.techcab.com/_personal/tank/new/plumbing.jpg

[pjgriffin]

A few quick comments:

1) I would suggest valves on the tank returns so that you can control flow to each (non closed loop) return.

2) Install unions to be able to remove pumps and disconnect units for maintenance/repair.

3) Do not rely on a check valve. I use a check valve as a secondary precaution and it has failed.

4) I do not have a closed loop but I belive you should keep the loops separate. I will let closed loop experts comment....

Hope this helps

Peter

[sjm817]

I dont like the return setup. Make that separate from the closed loop.

[hyeteck]

thanks for the input guys

1. should i just swap the location of the fuge and return area and have one overflow drain into the sock filter?

2. Im not sure what you mean by installing installing unions to be able to remove pumps and disconnect units for maintenance/repair.

3. Im not sure where to direct my return plumbing.

[pjgriffin]

I would suggest that:

1. You take the closed loop line through the pump and return to the tank. If you search for "closed loop" you can find several methods for distributing the return.

2. The drain should flow to the sump. I used to split the flow to the skimmer and the refuge both then flowed to the return pump. Soime people flow all the drain to the skimmer and use a powerhead to the refuge.

3. A union is basically a screw fitting that joins PVC piping and allows you to remove items that need maintenance. If sll your items are in the sump you may not need.

Hope it helps

[hyeteck]

how about if i drill 3 holes in my overflow box and run the piping through there to keep things hidden and clean.

http://www.techcab.com/_personal/tank/new/plumbing2.jpg

1. Should i use 1 inlet for the closed loop (the center inlet) and the other 2 for the return or should i keep it the way it is.

2. Will the bottom 2 holes on the back of my tank be pushing out more water than the top 2 because of gravity?

[hyeteck]

bump...anyone?

[silverwolf72]

alot better. I would a small pin hole on the return to remove the vaccum incase of power outage just in case that check valve dosen't work.

[hyeteck]

thanks, not sure what you mean about the pin hole though. Can you explain a little more about the pinhole?

[fishnugget]

closed loop is just that. A closed loop. It should be plumbed separately. 2 pumps would habe pressure beyond belief. Especially in an 80 gallon.

Both pumps you are using are way too much for an 80 gallon.

[SDguy]

The 1/4 HP chiller should have 480gph according to their manual. Marine depot lists this as the minimum. Use the RC head loss calculator to see what gph you will get with your pump choice. I agree that this might be too much for your tank return. To solve this I simply split my return line, so one goes back to the tank, and one goes to the chiller then simply back into the sump.

Drill a tiny hole in your return line just UNDER the running water level of the tank. If power goes out, water will only backsiphon from the tank to the point on the hole, then air will enter and break the siphon. Voila! No check valve needed.

As for the closed loop, this is just my personal opinion. I do not like to have holes drilled into my tank THAT low. I know in theory this should never happen, but what if for some reason you need to redo/clean/remove the plumbing? You would have to drain the tank to below the level of the lowest hole. Instead, I simply have 1 or 2 holes drilled about 4-5 inches below the water level of the tank. These are the CL intakes. Then I return the CL via a perimeter manifold around the top of the tank. This way each outlet pushes the same amount of water also.
http://members.cox.net/sdsmartguy/CL%20Manifold%203.jpg

hth

[hyeteck]

thanks alot for the input. I have changed a few things around. How does it look now?

i added an extra 3 way split right after the eheim for easy water changes.

For my closed loop, i split the piping into 4 lines all on one horizontal line to keep the flow equal to the 4 holes on the back of the tank.

i split the return to the chiller and the tank to reduce flow of the eheim.

i removed the check valve and added the pinhole method.

http://www.techcab.com/_personal/tank/new/plumbing3.jpg

what do you guys think?

[all-apologies]

Make sure that your pinhole is fairly large. This is for the prevention of a backsiphon.You don't want the pipe that is supposed to return water to the tank suck it all back down to the sump and flood when the power goes out.

Also, on your bubble trap from the skimmer to the return. Make sure the first and last baffle hit the floor of the sump and the center baffle is up. Right now your diagram is the other way around. If you don't fix it, the water level will change equally (evaporate) in the return section and the skimmer section(until it hits the top of the middle baffle). This is bad cus your skimmer won't run that well if the water level is always fluctuating.

Otherwise, i think that you are going to have to much water wanting to flow into the chiller and not enough back up to the tank. Remember keep it simple.

I think your second drawing that you posted will work well. Just "T" the line going from the pump to the chiller. Put a ball valve after the "T" going towards the chiller. This way you control flow into the chiller and the rest goes to the tank.

Then just connect the water coming out of the chiller back to the water going up. Run it up with the 'pinhole' siphon break and your done.

If you want you could add the "T" right after the eheim for water changes. Just put a ball valve on the "T" and keep it closed (duh) unless your doin a change.

Good Luck