Critique my plumbing

[BlackTip]

I am designing BeanAnimal plumbing for my future 325g glass tank and 100g sump. The tank has an internal overflow box 22"X6". The sump has 13"X18"X18" refugium area. It will be used for cultivating pods.

Questions:

- Do I need to glue together the PVC parts inside the overflow box? Can I just dry fit them, so they can be de-assembled when/if needed?

- I will be using threaded connection from/to the bulkheads. Should I use Teflone tape, or there is other stuff that is better?

- I am skipping on installing a valve on the Emergency stand pipe, because I don't see a purpose for it. Is this OK?

Please critique my design

 

[sleepydoc]

From your picture, I'm assuming The bulkheads are at the bottom of the tank?

1. Normally you should at least glue the full siphon channel. Friction fit connections can sometimes work but can often leak a small amount of air, leading to persistent bubbles and noise in the siphon channel. This isn't as critical for the other two channels. If it's going to be completely submerged under the water line as pictured, this probably isn't an issue. Always glue all slip fit connections outside the tank/overflow. Also, be aware that if the lower connections to the bulkheads are not glued they may slowly leak water, allowing it to drain into the sump, so plan for this to prevent floods in your sump when the power is turned off.
   
2. You should use a thread sealant formulated for PVC connections. Spears makes this one, but there are others.
   
3. No real need for valves on the open channel and emergency standpipes.
   
4. The airline tubing should be above the intake for the dry emergency standpipe. With a standard bean setup, having it lower can cause the open channel to turn into a siphon, draining the overflow and causing startup issues. If you have a large height difference between the open channel and siphon lines, this may not be an issue.

Why do you have 2 pumps? What kind of flows are you targeting and what size plumbing are you planning on using?

With the setup you have pictured, you can probably skip the Tee and elbow on the siphon line; I'll let others with experience on similar setups comment on that.

 

[BlackTip]

Than you very much Sleepydoc

No real need for valves on the open channel and emergency standpipes.

I want to be able to close the open channel for maintenance and testing. When I close the main siphon and the open channel, the emergency channel should handle the return load.

The airline tubing should be above the intake for the dry emergency standpipe.

I thought the airline tubing should be above the tank water line. The open channel should convert to full siphon, before the emergency channel is used. The E channel is only used, when both the main and the open channels are blocked, no?

Why do you have 2 pumps? What kind of flows are you targeting and what size plumbing are you planning on using?

2 pumps are for redundancy (not backup). My target flow is 1300gph at 5' head. I will be using 2 Bubble Blaster HY-5000 at 60W each. The plumbing size is 1.5" all way around. The pumps outlet is 1.25", I beleive, so I'll have to step it down at this point. The pipe feed the refugium will be 1/2".

 

[Gorgok]

I don't like threaded fittings, so i glued up my entire plumbing down from the bulkhead. But i wanted it removable for whatever reason intact, like you seem to with the adapters under the bulkheads. Instead of adapters i flipped the bulkheads upside down and glued up my plumbing onto the flange side. If i want to remove the plumbing, i can remove the bulkhead nut and the whole pipe assembly drops down. The inside doesn't matter if it leaks (with proper design), so it can be threaded or just dry slip fits.

Doing the same would cut down on the silly number of unions you have (if i read the schematic right).

It does make installing/tightening bulkhead nuts a little harder, especially if that is as deep as it seems. But i solved that with a pvc pipe big enough to sit around the nut, and a piece of it glued into itself, then machined into a socket (in my case its 70mm). It makes no difference now how deep and cramped the nut is, i can tighten with ease.

 

[BlackTip]

Any more feedback?