Thinking about putting sump in basement

[heyfredyourhat]

I am debating on whether or not to put the sump in the basement..I have my tank setup almost the way I want it, a few things I need to tweak yet, but there are no livestock of any kind yet. Just SW.

Besides bigger pumps and holes in the floor and more plumbing, what are somethings that I should consider??

The "fish room, is on the other end of the house, so it is not a straight vertical drop, but the basement ceiling is all that teebar, drop ceiling stuff so I could fasten the pipes to the joist very easily.

Just pondering for now, any ideas to think about would be great...

[poppin_fresh]

I would never want to go back to having my sump under my tank. The only draw back is needing a little bit larger return pump. Having plumbing near by helps a lot. I installed a utility sink right next to my sump for easy W/Cs and skimmer cleaning.

[swjim]

If my house had a basement with space available for equipment I would definitely do it because there never seems to be enough room underneath the tank and I don't have a dedicated fishroom. That said, if you're already set up the way you want it might not be worth reworking everything unless you want to install additional or larger components to your system.

Besides the pumps and plumbing you would want to consider how you would deal with humidity if you plan to have a lot of water down there. As poppin_fresh mentioned, having a sink and drain would be great to have as well. Good luck!

[rodstar]

I just finished plumbing a 125g tank to the basement. It was not a straight vertical drop either. I had to go about 10 feet through the subfloor. I ran 1 1/2 inch spa flex plumbing to and from the tank. The drain tees into the spaflex into the basement where it tees out into 2 tanks. The one tank is a fuge, the other is my sump. They then drain to the center into a Blueline HD70 pump (throttled way back right now) to run back up into the tank.

Once you get the adjustments right (how much water, flow, etc) it is very nice.

I find that I have a lot of evaporation, so I added an ATO as well.

[rodstar]

Here are a couple of pictures...







I hope that helps...

[capn_hylinur]

Here are a couple of more pictures:
the biggest expense was the pump--I went with a mag3600 there is 7 feet of head pressure to the tank--this still gives me a flow rate of 2200gph--that pump was 275 dollars.
All the rest was done for about 100 dollars

[heyfredyourhat]

cool pics. I don't really want to go through the wall with my plumbing unless I have too.

What about resonance and noise through the pipes in the walls and what not...or is there none??

Another big thing that makes me want to leave it alone is I had ran 2 15amp breakers to the tank and put the outlets where I had thought were the best position for the sump under the tank...So if I move the sump downstairs I need to redo the electrical again....

As much of a pain it will be to make the move, I think I will be better off in the long run. Having the sink right there and the peace and quiet upstairs would be good I think

[heyfredyourhat]

I like the space that is available to a "fish room" as well. Trying to cram all that stuff under a tank and still leaving room to do work is a nightmare

[heyfredyourhat]

one more thing what are some good pumps for return...i guess i can lose the eheim 1260 and the snapper...Or would the snapper be a good choice for a return?? I will have a lot of head pressure though..

[poppin_fresh]

There is on a Head Loss calculator on the main page of RC will tell you if the pump will flow enough. You simply input the piping info and the pump and it will tell you the amount of flow you can expect.

I can hear my overflow, but I cannot hear the pump or any other resonance. Plus I no longer have a white film on all the surfaces in my dining room from the sump.

[Macimage]

Just wishing we had basements in Calif.............

Joyce

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by heyfredyourhat
cool pics. I don't really want to go through the wall with my plumbing unless I have too.

What about resonance and noise through the pipes in the walls and what not...or is there none??

If you notice the 18 inches of plastic inserted on the pvc return line---that absorbs all the vibration---when I didn't have that on, you are correct--the noise travelled along the pvc.
The mag problems are also submersible which would absorb allot of noise also. I just didn't go that route because of heat issues I was having with the tank upstairs.

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by heyfredyourhat
one more thing what are some good pumps for return...i guess i can lose the eheim 1260 and the snapper...Or would the snapper be a good choice for a return?? I will have a lot of head pressure though..

as reported above---check the head pressure calculator on the first page--but I think the investment in the mag3600 gets you good return for your bucks.

[poppin_fresh]

I think there are a lot better options for a return than a Mag 36... its a power hog. There are several pumps that are the about the same purchase price, but are a lot less power usage. Even if you have to spend a little bit more up front, you would save every month in power.

[James77]

It's great having my sump in my basement- my only downside is my basement is cool in the winter- but I built a dedicated room so I can heat it.

The vertical on mine from pump to tank outlet is about 13', and I run it horizontally about 22'. I run mine through the wall, into a closet, the into the cellar. I hear no noise except the overflow when I am actually in the closet.

I would definitely consider using a sequence or iwaki pump over a magdrive- I use a sequence tarpon, and after head loss, it gives me about 700 GPH with 170 watts.

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by poppin_fresh
I think there are a lot better options for a return than a Mag 36... its a power hog. There are several pumps that are the about the same purchase price, but are a lot less power usage. Even if you have to spend a little bit more up front, you would save every month in power.

poppin-fresh-----can you give me a few choices for options--the mag3600 gives me a flow rate of 2200gph at 7 feet of head pressure. I know it is a power hog--ouch--would love some options.

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by James77
It's great having my sump in my basement- my only downside is my basement is cool in the winter- but I built a dedicated room so I can heat it.

The vertical on mine from pump to tank outlet is about 13', and I run it horizontally about 22'. I run mine through the wall, into a closet, the into the cellar. I hear no noise except the overflow when I am actually in the closet.

I would definitely consider using a sequence or iwaki pump over a magdrive- I use a sequence tarpon, and after head loss, it gives me about 700 GPH with 170 watts.

don't you think 700 gph is two little--I was told 2200gph was just on the average size for mine.

[rodstar]

You want a lot of flow in the tank, but not necessarily through the sump and/or fuge.

I have a BlueLine HD70 pump. I have about 12-15 feet of head height and multiple unions, elbows, etc...

and I have it throttled way back.

I use Vortechs within my tank to get the "flow"

[poppin_fresh]

I doubt that you are really getting 2200 gph from that Mag. That much flow through the setup you have would cause all kinds of problems. I suspect that your plumbing is creating more than 7' of head.

I personally am a big fan of less flow though the sump. I only run about 600 gph through mine. The slower flow gives the filtration a chance to actually do its job. Please note that this is not the same as flow in the tank, where you want to be on the higher side.

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by poppin_fresh
I doubt that you are really getting 2200 gph from that Mag. That much flow through the setup you have would cause all kinds of problems. I suspect that your plumbing is creating more than 7' of head.

I personally am a big fan of less flow though the sump. I only run about 600 gph through mine. The slower flow gives the filtration a chance to actually do its job. Please note that this is not the same as flow in the tank, where you want to be on the higher side.

thanks---I have addressed flow rates within the tank its self--I use three koralinas(1,2,3) I have just done that with the idea of creating different flow zones for different corals.
Is there some other reason you want to be on the higher side in the main tank.

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by rodstar
You want a lot of flow in the tank, but not necessarily through the sump and/or fuge.

I have a BlueLine HD70 pump. I have about 12-15 feet of head height and multiple unions, elbows, etc...

and I have it throttled way back.

I use Vortechs within my tank to get the "flow"

isn't that a really expensive pump--the mag3600 was 275 bucks.

[rodstar]

It was only $250 And, honestly, I could have easily gone with the HD55

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by rodstar
It was only $250 And, honestly, I could have easily gone with the HD55

thanks---definetly alot of misinformation in my area---I will definetly check that out.

[rodstar]

Check out Champion Lighting for the pump.....

I like high flow in the tank to remove dead zones where detritus can accumulate and to help the corals. I use lower flow through the sump to give the skimmer, heater, etc time to do their thing...

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by rodstar
Check out Champion Lighting for the pump.....

I like high flow in the tank to remove dead zones where detritus can accumulate and to help the corals. I use lower flow through the sump to give the skimmer, heater, etc time to do their thing...

I know positioning and turbulant flow are big factors in the quality of flow but what is your total flow in your main tank?