Custom In-Wall 150 Project

[melev]

You mean you bought thinwall pipe for irrigation?

 

[rdmpe]

Hey Conda, I plumbed my entire system with that thin wall pipe in 1", 1.5" and even a little bit of 2". IMO schedule 40 is overkill, I would be amazed if anyone has a problem with a pipe failing. The joints (glued or threaded) are much more critical I think. Thin wall gives you a little bit larger ID so better flow too.

 

[conda]

You mean you bought thinwall pipe for irrigation?

No, it is 1" drain water pipe. It was in the SC40 bin. I like the 40 because it is stronger and will distort less. Actually, while trying to plumb the thinner walled pipe it bent very easily. I'm sticking with the 40.

 

[conda]

Plumbing Update

Plumbing Update

Ok, the plumbing is finally done and roughed it, ready for critique! I finished it all last night. Here are the pics:

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This is the left side looking at the rear of the tank. Going from left to right, the first vertical pipe is one of the 1" closed loop returns, the next pipe is the return into the Sea Swirl, the next one is another 1" CL return, then comes the 1.5" CL intake pipe, and finally, the third 1" CL return. The forth return for the CL in on the other side.

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Here is the left read of the tank where I tried to get a pic of the return, but I did not do a very good job taking this one.

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This is a good shot of how I plumbed the overflows into the sump. You can also see the CL intake and output of the OM device. I did not join the overflows, it was too hard, so this is the best I could come up with.

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Here is the right side where the overflow and OM device is.

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Finally, here is the right side rear of the setup.

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Let me know what you think.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[rdmpe]

Whew! Looks like you had fun Seems like a lot of 90 elbows, but I don't see how you could have avoided it unless you used a lot of spaflex all over the place. Looks good to me :thumbsup:

 

[rdmpe]

Will you be doing some durso standpipes in the overflow? If not, that may get kinda loud.

 

[crazyfingersmike]

Yeah, those two bulkheads will definitely do a lot of "slurping" and it will get quite loud. Especially since the water level in that overflow box will be so low (probably only 1" total). Even if you just put a 3-4" standpipe in each bulkhead, that would help somewhat. But durso's would be a good way to go.

 

[rdmpe]

If one pipe can handle all of the flow and the other pipe can be taller and only kick in if an "emergency" where water rises to it's level, then you could do this method of drain plumbing:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=344892

 

[conda]

I'm not sure what I'm doing with the overflows yet. But I'm sure one could handle the flow. I have a Mag18 through a Sea Swirl, so after head loss, the flow should drop significantly.

As far as sound, I don't know if it matters since the tank is in another room. Unless I hear it through the walls, it probably does not matter. I will check that out when I test it.

What's the deal with having too many 90s? They are mostly on the CL, so it should not matter right?

I'm not glueing anything until I hear from the king.

 

[rdmpe]

The 90's just add more backpressure. You can use the RC calculator with your pump & pipe size and just do a stretch of pipe with a 90 and without (in the calculator) and you'll get an idea of how much head pressure is added due to each 90. May not be significant but probably worth checking out...

 

[melev]

Looks pretty good. I agree that the more elbows the more losses you may encounter. However, this is your first time to plumb it and you did good.

I see the Mag 18 and it is pushing up to the seaswirl. Is it pushing up to two of them, or only one?

What is the other pipe for, the one that is coming down over the Mag 18?

 

[conda]

I see the Mag 18 and it is pushing up to the seaswirl. Is it pushing up to two of them, or only one?

What is the other pipe for, the one that is coming down over the Mag 18?

Here is a better pic:

The flow goes from the Mag 18 into a Tee. From there it splits left to the Sea Swirl, and right into another Tee. I put one pipe down back to the Mag and capped the other end. This way I can reduce the flow if needed and have an extra pipe for a drain or extra Sea Swirl later on.

Should I remove some 90s? This was the only way I could get it to work. I guess I could use two 45s in place of some of the 90s. But I figured it didn't matter on the closed loop.

I'm probably not going to cap the pipe there. I'll probably add another 90 and bring it out front with a drain I can screw a hose on to. I don't know.

If this is wrong please let me know.

 

[melev]

So if I understand this correctly, you have two drain lines coming into the sump, and a single return going up to a single SeaSwirl right now, right?

That extra pipe coming back down - now I understand what you did. In that spot, I'd remove the Tee and the horizontal stubby piece and the cap, and just replace it with an elbow going down. I doubt you'll ever use that line to be perfectly honest.

So if you run a second Sea Swirl, what's the plan? Or will the Mag 18 keep up with both of them including all the somewhat-complex plumbing?

Softer corners increase flow. It would be nice to use two 45s when possible, to get the most out of your closed loop.

 

[conda]

Ok, I will make some changes and try and add some 45s instead of 90s.

Here are the head loss calculations I made from the calculator on the homepage:

Return to SS if BV closed: 946 GPH
Return to SS if BV opened: 815 GPH

CL Intake: 4134 GPH
CL Return 1: 2007 GPH
CL Return 2: 2320 GPH
CL Return 3: 2197 GPH
CL Return 4: 2442 GPH

When I recalculated using 2 45s to replace some 90s, the head loss actually decreased in some cases. It does not really show a difference. Now I am confused.

I can't believe the Mag18 flow was cut in half.

 

[conda]

Wait, I couldn't have calculated the CL right since two are on at one time.

 

[melev]

Trying to keep the return line as streamlined as possible will keep the majority of the flow going.

 

[bheron]

Well, I dont know much about CLs, but it looks like youve come a long way Conda! Good work! Alomst finished.

 

[mcdonaldtj]

That is why I like SPAFLEX more expensive but oh so much easier and forgiving to use .

 

[conda]

I ran out of 1" 45s, so I started glueing the overflows. Boy does this cement dry fast.

What if you do not get the pipe all the way into a fitting? I pushed a pipe into a ball valve too slow and came up about 1/4" short of snug. Is this a big deal?

 

[mcdonaldtj]

It shouldnt be a problem except for the fit with your whole setup. It might make another fitting off. Most of the time as long as the end is clean you dont need it all of the way in. What I did just to ensure that my fittings were completely sealed from air as well as water I used aquarium silicone around each of the fittings no problems with air .

V/Tim