75 gallon plumbing help needed

[Virtual Balboa]

no Attitude at all

I was just saying i would not pay that for a sump. My Search brought me to a site selling them for 450.xx . Was not giving you attitude there are many on here who have those custom built sumps .I was just making a point that in the end its just a sump a place for your equipment...

My comment came from you saying you do not have to keep the sump...Cost of the sump has nothing to do with it.

I agree it's a major rip off even at half the price. The only reason I went for it was because I ended getting it for a lot less than $430 or whatever they're asking. I guess you've got to draw the line somewhere. Some people buy powerheads that cost several hundreds of dollars. I would not. But since I wanted a nice sump that will be displayed that's what I chose. The same company that made my overflow sells sumps that are a direct fit for $500 - $750. I'm trying to avoid going that route. That's why I am asking if what I'm planning will work. Don't want to end up with an expensive sump that I can't get any money back on because you always take a hit when selling used stuff.

 

[ericarenee]

I agree it's a major rip off even at half the price. The only reason I went for it was because I ended getting it for a lot less than $430 or whatever they're asking. I guess you've got to draw the line somewhere. Some people buy powerheads that cost several hundreds of dollars. I would not. But since I wanted a nice sump that will be displayed that's what I chose. The same company that made my overflow sells sumps that are a direct fit for $500 - $750. I'm trying to avoid going that route. That's why I am asking if what I'm planning will work. Don't want to end up with an expensive sump that I can't get any money back on because you always take a hit when selling used stuff.

Going back to your original question.. For some reason we got off track..

The sump as its configured you would need to do the following ..

1 Reduce them to 1 inch as you originally thought . (my comment on that still stands)
2. If you use the sump as it is. you can drop the 3 rd drain the emergency into the open area of the sump near the filter sock . it will not have water running thru it..

The other option is to modify the sump by increasing the two 1 inch drain attachment points and still putting the emergency at another location in the sump.

if it were my sump and it worked for me and i liked it.. I WOULD no doubt in my mind modify it to fit my needs..

I think i have made this way more complicated then it should have been... sorry

 

[Virtual Balboa]

Going back to your original question.. For some reason we got off track..

The sump as its configured you would need to do the following ..

1 Reduce them to 1 inch as you originally thought . (my comment on that still stands)
2. If you use the sump as it is. you can drop the 3 rd drain the emergency into the open area of the sump near the filter sock . it will not have water running thru it..

The other option is to modify the sump by increasing the two 1 inch drain attachment points and still putting the emergency at another location in the sump.

if it were my sump and it worked for me and i liked it.. I WOULD no doubt in my mind modify it to fit my needs..

I think i have made this way more complicated then it should have been... sorry

No, this all got complicated when I thought you posted twice in a row earlier this morning! I think your advice is good advice. I like the idea of modifying the sump for 1 1/2" drain lines. I'll have to look at it on Thursday when it gets delivered to see how it would work out.

 

[Lsufan]

Reducing the drains to fit your sump will work fine & a 1" syphon will be more then enough for a 75 gallon. If that's the route u decide to go then I would use a 1.5" to 1" bushing straight in the bulkhead in the overflow box so everything ends up being 1" except the bulkhead itself.

Me personally, I would drill the acrylic top to accept 1.5" bulkheads. Not because 1" syphon wouldn't be able to handle the flow, but because a 1.5" open channel can handle more flow & flunctuations in the system & still remain silent.

With that said, if u aren't comfortable with drilling the acrylic then it will work fine with 1". The open channel just won't be able to handle as much flow & fluctuation in the system & remain silent. If your system doesn't have much fluncuation then it will not affect anything, but if it does the worse case scenario would be that u have to tune your syphon valve every once in a while so it's really not a big deal.
On my 150 gallon that I have all 1.5" plumbing I have a seperate fuge & a couple reactors that my return pump feeds.I can turn them off & the open channel remains silent without having to tune on the syphon valve.
On my 40 breeder I have 1" plumbing & if I turn off my reactor then I have to tune on the syphon a small amount to keep the open channel quiet. That's what I mean by 1.5" being able to handle more flunctuation in the system.

Like I said, eighther will work fine so just go whatever route u are more comfortable with.
As far as return plumbing, I would try to figure out what pump u are going to use & I like to upsize 1 pipe size higher then what the pump recommends. So if it recommends 3/4" I would use 1". If u want to use locline & not go over the back with your returns then u would need to drill the tank for 3/4" bulkheads because that is the largest loc-line u can find. U will also want to use threaded bulkheads so the loc-line adapter will screw straight into the bulkhead without having to use other adapters.
I also recommend the fluval return pump. I have a fluval sp 6 & I love it. For a 75 u would probably want a sp4.

 

[Desert Sea]

VB I'm building a 75g system myself. I'm using a similar overflow as your synergy reef except mine is built by Elite Aquatics. Keep in mind that these overflows are made to be used with larger tanks that would benefit from the larger drain size. For what we are building, a 1" drain line is fine. The amount of water that will drain to the sump is directly dependent on the amount of water being returned to the tank. Using a reducer right at the bulkhead on the overflow box to match the bulkheads on your sump is perfectly acceptable to do.

As for the returns, I also plan on drilling my tank for two 3/4" returns. With a 75g tank a return pump in the 1500 gph range is a good size. Most of the return pumps in this size have 1" discharges, some with 1 1/4". A 1 1/2" return is way too big for a 75g tank. Keep in mind that you really only want about a 5x turnover rate through the sump. If you go with larger piping and pump, your turnover rate will increase.

 

[Virtual Balboa]

Reducing the drains to fit your sump will work fine & a 1" syphon will be more then enough for a 75 gallon. If that's the route u decide to go then I would use a 1.5" to 1" bushing straight in the bulkhead in the overflow box so everything ends up being 1" except the bulkhead itself.

Me personally, I would drill the acrylic top to accept 1.5" bulkheads. Not because 1" syphon wouldn't be able to handle the flow, but because a 1.5" open channel can handle more flow & flunctuations in the system & still remain silent.

With that said, if u aren't comfortable with drilling the acrylic then it will work fine with 1". The open channel just won't be able to handle as much flow & fluctuation in the system & remain silent. If your system doesn't have much fluncuation then it will not affect anything, but if it does the worse case scenario would be that u have to tune your syphon valve every once in a while so it's really not a big deal.
On my 150 gallon that I have all 1.5" plumbing I have a seperate fuge & a couple reactors that my return pump feeds.I can turn them off & the open channel remains silent without having to tune on the syphon valve.
On my 40 breeder I have 1" plumbing & if I turn off my reactor then I have to tune on the syphon a small amount to keep the open channel quiet. That's what I mean by 1.5" being able to handle more flunctuation in the system.

Like I said, eighther will work fine so just go whatever route u are more comfortable with.
As far as return plumbing, I would try to figure out what pump u are going to use & I like to upsize 1 pipe size higher then what the pump recommends. So if it recommends 3/4" I would use 1". If u want to use locline & not go over the back with your returns then u would need to drill the tank for 3/4" bulkheads because that is the largest loc-line u can find. U will also want to use threaded bulkheads so the loc-line adapter will screw straight into the bulkhead without having to use other adapters.
I also recommend the fluval return pump. I have a fluval sp 6 & I love it. For a 75 u would probably want a sp4.

Thanks for explaining that. That was a huge help. I read bits and pieces of information all over the Internet and try to make sense of it all. With this being my first tank that will have a sump I don't have any experience to go off of. I was just reading about return pumps when I saw the post. Like I said in an earlier post I'll need to take a closer look at the sump when it arrives. I'm not sure if there is room where the input lines go to open them up to 1 1/2". There might be walls in the way. It sort of looks like the (2) 1" lines going into the sump are close together. And the chamber they go inside isn't very big.

 

[Virtual Balboa]

VB I'm building a 75g system myself. I'm using a similar overflow as your synergy reef except mine is built by Elite Aquatics. Keep in mind that these overflows are made to be used with larger tanks that would benefit from the larger drain size. For what we are building, a 1" drain line is fine. The amount of water that will drain to the sump is directly dependent on the amount of water being returned to the tank. Using a reducer right at the bulkhead on the overflow box to match the bulkheads on your sump is perfectly acceptable to do.

As for the returns, I also plan on drilling my tank for two 3/4" returns. With a 75g tank a return pump in the 1500 gph range is a good size. Most of the return pumps in this size have 1" discharges, some with 1 1/4". A 1 1/2" return is way too big for a 75g tank. Keep in mind that you really only want about a 5x turnover rate through the sump. If you go with larger piping and pump, your turnover rate will increase.

If I go with a bigger ac pump I could still reduce the output with valves right? I want to have a pump big enough to run things off a manifold. One of the things I hate about my setup now is the lack of options I have for equipment. And looking at all kinds of things in the display....and it's too small...haha...With 3/4" loc line are you using 3/4" bulkheads? If my pump has a 1" output where do you reduce it to 3/4".

 

[Desert Sea]

Yes you can throttle the pump to some degree by valving it. That is where the variable speed DC pumps come into their own. The DC pumps will give you more control over flow if you think that your requirements may change.

A 1500 or so gph pump should have no problem running a couple of reactors off a manifold.

As for the returns, yes a 3/4" loc line will need a 3/4" bulkhead. With the larger bulkhead you can always reduce it down in size if need be. You would tee off your return line to two drilled returns at the tank. Come out of pump with 1" or 1 1/4" and then split with a Tee to two 3/4" returns back to the tank.

 

[Virtual Balboa]

Yes you can throttle the pump to some degree by valving it. That is where the variable speed DC pumps come into their own. The DC pumps will give you more control over flow if you think that your requirements may change.

A 1500 or so gph pump should have no problem running a couple of reactors off a manifold.

As for the returns, yes a 3/4" loc line will need a 3/4" bulkhead. With the larger bulkhead you can always reduce it down in size if need be. You would tee off your return line to two drilled returns at the tank. Come out of pump with 1" or 1 1/4" and then split with a Tee to two 3/4" returns back to the tank.

That helps. Does it matter where you place the return bulkheads in the tank? I'll put check valves on the return lines but do the bulkheads need to be at the top? Looks like a lot of the pictures I see show tanks with no check valves and return lines fairly high so they can only siphon so much with the return pump off.

 

[Desert Sea]

That helps. Does it matter where you place the return bulkheads in the tank? I'll put check valves on the return lines but do the bulkheads need to be at the top? Looks like a lot of the pictures I see show tanks with no check valves and return lines fairly high so they can only siphon so much with the return pump off.

Most people place the returns high in the corners. Also it's been said to avoid check valves as they can't be relied on and to size your sump to handle the back flow when the return pump is off.

 

[Virtual Balboa]

Most people place the returns high in the corners. Also it's been said to avoid check valves as they can't be relied on and to size your sump to handle the back flow when the return pump is off.

I figured check valves were just a form of redundancy. Seems logical to do the math and figure out how much water would go into the sump based on where you want to put the return lines before drilling the tank.

 

[Desert Sea]

I figured check valves were just a form of redundancy. Seems logical to do the math and figure out how much water would go into the sump based on where you want to put the return lines before drilling the tank.

There is a calculator on the home page of this forum that will tell you how much water will drain back depending on the location of your lowest drain point, i.e. Overflow, returns, etc. It will help you size your sump to handle the water that flows back on pump shutdown.

 

[Virtual Balboa]

There is a calculator on the home page of this forum that will tell you how much water will drain back depending on the location of your lowest drain point, i.e. Overflow, returns, etc. It will help you size your sump to handle the water that flows back on pump shutdown.

I had no idea. I'll definitely be using that.

 

[125mph]

I have a 120 with a single 1.5" drain and two 3/4" returns. I have the same trigger system 34 sump. I reduce the 1.5" to one 1" drain into the sump. I do not use the extra drain which i think can be used as a backup. No issues. I think you'll be fine with what you have spec'ed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Virtual Balboa]

I have a 120 with a single 1.5" drain and two 3/4" returns. I have the same trigger system 34 sump. I reduce the 1.5" to one 1" drain into the sump. I do not use the extra drain which i think can be used as a backup. No issues. I think you'll be fine with what you have spec'ed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know that I can reduce down to 1" pipes and they can handle the flow I'd need. It seems to be more of an issue with tuning and keeping a bean animal quiet. How do you like the sump?