Basement sump/Mini fish room build

[LeRenard]

My living room has a "cove" where our display tank sits. It's about 50" wide, meaning a 48" tank is about as big as I can fit. Right now my 36 gallon bow front is there, but in the next year or so I'm planning on going with a 120 I think (I found a 180 48" but it might be too deep)

Anyway, directly below that cove in my basement is a similar space. Since maintaining my tank with my kids (toddlers) running around is tough, I've decided to build a basement sump, mix stand, etc. The downstairs cove already has a 20 amp circuit, a drain, and a cold water pipe I can plumb my RO/DI to.

I had a bunch of 2x6s, so for peace of mind I put in some doubled up 2x6 headers with doubled up 2x4 uprights in addition to the framed walls just under the footprint of the tank. I don't think I'll need to worry about weight anytime soon

I had planned on a 40 breeder sump with a refugium with the mix station below. I set the sump height so I could reach the skimmer cup without standing on anything. Now that I'm half done it appears I have much more room than I thought... Enough for up to a second 40B I think.

Besides showing off my handy work (it's not done, more supports to come, etc) I was hoping for some suggestions on what else I might want to frame for. Should I move the sump down and put a frag tank above it? A 40g refugium? Smaller frag tang, fuge in the sump, and room for the QT?

 

[hobineros]

I did something similar for my tank. I had a cold water line nearby (tapped for RODI) and the houses main sewage line. Installed a t-union onto the sewer put a valve for water changes. WORKS AMAZING. Only thing I would suggest is... if you contact the basements floor with un treated lumber it will eventually degrade and rot.

Other thing I learned the hard way... Try to keep any pumps and electrical equipment at least about 3 feet above the ground. That way if you flood... you have a little time to save your expensive equipment.!


For a second tank... I'd vote for a frag tank always end up needing more frag space!

 

[LeRenard]

Other thing I learned the hard way... Try to keep any pumps and electrical equipment at least about 3 feet above the ground.

Yeup, that's why the two Rubbermaid cans I intend to use for mixing and collecting RO are at the bottom. Also, lucky for me, the basement sump is behind that wall, so I'll probably install an emergency sump pump to move things outside in the event of a disaster.

If I were to put a 40B sump on the one shelf I've started to frame, my total distance from the sump bottom to the current tank rim is about 8 feet. If I make another shelf 24" lower and move the sump there, I could stick another 40B (or something similar) on that top shelf. I just have to figure out how much room I need above the sump to be comfortable- I didn't worry about that with the current placement because there isn't anything over it. I may need to move that shelf placement to make it work.

I think (think being the operative word) in that two tank scenario I'd have about 10 feet of head straight up to the DT. If I were shooting for 300-400Gph, a Mag 12 should be just about perfect.

Would I do better to 1) Run the drain from the DT into the frag tank, then the overflow of the frag tank into the sump 2) run the DT and frag tank with separate drains and split some of the return off to "feed" the frag tank 3) run separate drains and return pumps in a common sump?

Option 1 seems like the most efficient way to give the frag tank filtration flow equal to what's going through the DT but there could be a down side I don't know about.

 

[LeRenard]

Today I added framing for a bottom shelf and moved the RO/DI mount location. I also put in some vertical 2x4s so that the rails are sitting on something and aren't just hanging from ring nails. I'm pretty sure this is way over built but it was just an easy way to do it. Now I just need to plumb in the filter and deck the shelves (and maybe some paint) and I can get to work on prepping the tank(s)

In case anyone cares, the width between the verticals is 37" and the front to back is 22". It's just what happened to fit and leave enough room for 40B tanks. The bottom opening is ~22" tall (with 5" under the shelf above) and the top shelf has about 28" above it to the 2x6s and more in that "space". I'm planning on putting the wiring on the other side of that wall mounted to a board, and I also have that space to run some of the plumbing if necessary.

 

[LeRenard]

Last night I finished up the decking. I used joist hangers, 2x4 cross braces, and 3/4" exterior CDX. I was super pleased to find the decking is perfectly level and I don't see any gaps between the braces and the bottom side of the decking.

I came across a steal of a deal on what I think is an Eshopps RS-200 or RS-300 sump. It isn't set up for a fuge so I need to decide if I'll mod it for one or use it as is and plumb in a dedicated fuge above the sump.

I also can't decide if I want the sump on the top or bottom shelf. If I put it on the bottom shelf I have the top shelf for a fuge and/or a frag tank, but I have to pump an additional 2 feet of head. Another option is to put an overflow in the Eshopps sump and use it as a fuge/frag tank, then build out a 40 breeder as the actual sump on the bottom shelf as I originally planned. Decisions decisions..

I do know that I'm planning on a Jebao DC-9000 or DC-12000 return pump and 1" PVC drain and return. If I place the sump right The return will be a straight shot and the drain will have two 45s with only 2 feet of horizontal travel.