drummereef's 180g in-wall build
- Thread starter drummereef
- Start date
TheFishTeen
New member
Personally I would put the unions on the inside (on the fish room side) and not the opposing wall.
Taqpol
New member
That was my first thought too, but with the size of the stock tank i thought it might be hard to get a hand back there and attach any unions while the tank was in place. On the other hand if you make the holes in the wall slightly bigger then the smallest part of the union you could just slide the tank into the right place with all the plumbing attached, and then go to the other side of the wall to attach the big part of the unions and have much more room.
TheFishTeen
New member
I see where your coming from, but wouldn't the unions go in first, then from there attach to the bulkheads on the trough?
drummereef
Team RC
You are the man Alex! That's exactly how I was seeing it. For some reason I thought you had 2 more bulkheads in the design but the pic helps clear it up. Plumbing this might be harder than it looks though, just to keep all the lines straight and clean where they come back into the fish room. Depending how I attach the pipes to the unfinished wall, I'm just trying to brainstorm the angles to make it all work out as clean as possible. :hmm5:
Indeed, a 1.5" union is ~3.5" in length which is pushing the whole tank out towards the door to the sump room. I'd rather have it sit a little shy of the door just for aesthetic reasons and still keep the access to the room unobstructed. I think I can get the best of both worlds... see next response.
Ideally yes... It would be better but like I was telling Alex, there's a limit to how far out I can push the tank into the room. I'd like to keep the tank as close to the wall as possible. That being said I think I'll be able to cut the door of an access panel in half, that way I could remove both halves around the pipe leaving a large enough opening to access the unions that will be located on the other side of the wall. That, or I'll think of something better in the mean time. :lol:
drummereef
Team RC
Quick couple questions...
1. Will 2 inches of drop be plenty over 6 feet for the drains on the stock tank? Just making sure there will be enough flow without creating Niagara Falls when the drains terminate in the sump.
2. How high over the upturned elbow will the water level be as it flows over the elbows? Like 1/4" or more? Obviously depends on flow rates but what's a good guesstimate? I guess this would also effect the overall water level in the tank?
1. Will 2 inches of drop be plenty over 6 feet for the drains on the stock tank? Just making sure there will be enough flow without creating Niagara Falls when the drains terminate in the sump.
2. How high over the upturned elbow will the water level be as it flows over the elbows? Like 1/4" or more? Obviously depends on flow rates but what's a good guesstimate? I guess this would also effect the overall water level in the tank?
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110galreef
New member
1.) 2" drop should be fine. But if you can do an extra inch or 2 i would. You going to have it empty into a sock or bubble buster anyway right?
2.) The water should be about 1/4-abouve the top of the elbows, just enuf to overcome the surface tension of the water.
drummereef
Team RC
OK sounds good. I'm going to pick some pipe and fittings up tonight and check some angles. I was trying to avoid using a sock or other bubble killing device just to avoid catching pods etc that I would like to see make it into the display. Do you think that's a good or bad idea? I was going to put a 90 on the end of the down pipe in the sump and submerge it halfway underwater to make a gentle transition of flow into the sump. But maybe there's going to be too much flow to avoid excess bubbles huh...?
110galreef
New member
True. Ignore the sock. Flow should be slow Enuf and at a very small slope so splashing should be very little.
I have faith Ull make it work perfectly!
I have faith Ull make it work perfectly!
drummereef
Team RC
drummereef
Team RC
UPDATE:
A little more progress...
I brainstormed some rough plumbing designs tonight to see if I could route the plumbing with the proper drop while keeping the lines as clean and simple as possible. The first pic shows the pipe with a simple elbow. With a shallow drop to the sump, the two drains would have to overlap to keep the bulkheads in the stock tank even. This obviously won't work...
The two elbows pictured would be plumbed to the bulkheads in the stock tank. **Visualize the floor as the wall behind the stock tank.**
So I brainstormed some more... By adding a 45 along with the elbow, I was able to stagger the pipes a bit to keep the bulkheads even. The design still allows for a decent amount of drop along the total run back to the sump. Again, this would be the side plumbed to the stock tank.
Here is the opposite side that would return back through the wall and terminate at the sump. I'll probably shorten the top pipe a bit to keep the drains closer together when they return back to the sump.
Here you can see the whole run, stock tank at the top and sump return at the bottom of the pic. The total drop of the pipe is 2". If you factor in the fittings, the total drop of the whole run is 4.5". The blue tape represents a plum line so you can see the angle of the pipe for a comparison. Still need to add unions to complete the design but I'll probably fit those in as I rough it out on the wall. Let me know what you think.
A little more progress...
I brainstormed some rough plumbing designs tonight to see if I could route the plumbing with the proper drop while keeping the lines as clean and simple as possible. The first pic shows the pipe with a simple elbow. With a shallow drop to the sump, the two drains would have to overlap to keep the bulkheads in the stock tank even. This obviously won't work...
The two elbows pictured would be plumbed to the bulkheads in the stock tank. **Visualize the floor as the wall behind the stock tank.**
So I brainstormed some more... By adding a 45 along with the elbow, I was able to stagger the pipes a bit to keep the bulkheads even. The design still allows for a decent amount of drop along the total run back to the sump. Again, this would be the side plumbed to the stock tank.
Here is the opposite side that would return back through the wall and terminate at the sump. I'll probably shorten the top pipe a bit to keep the drains closer together when they return back to the sump.
Here you can see the whole run, stock tank at the top and sump return at the bottom of the pic. The total drop of the pipe is 2". If you factor in the fittings, the total drop of the whole run is 4.5". The blue tape represents a plum line so you can see the angle of the pipe for a comparison. Still need to add unions to complete the design but I'll probably fit those in as I rough it out on the wall. Let me know what you think.
Last edited by a moderator:
Taqpol
New member
That looks awesome! I think if you just use a bubble trap as opposed to a filter sock you wouldn't get rid of any 'pods, but I also think you are not going to be getting enough flow/bubbles to even really worry about it. Especially if you have the pipes terminate into the sump decently far away from the return pump inlet.
drummereef
Team RC
Thanks Alex. I'll see how the flow goes once I'm further along with plumbing it. I'm hoping to not use anything on the end of the drains but I'll keep all the suggestions in mind.
Haha. Thanks sponger0.
drummereef
Team RC
Having a brain fart guys... Is there a way to transition from 1" flex pvc pipe to a 3/4" 90 elbow? 
So basically reduce from 1" pipe to a 3/4" elbow...
So basically reduce from 1" pipe to a 3/4" elbow...
110galreef
New member
I dont think u can do it with one piece especially if you want slip x slip.
Get 1" elbow and then add a 1" x 3/4" reducer.....
Sometimes I think you can find a 1" slip x 3/4" thread elbow?
Or as shown above!
Get 1" elbow and then add a 1" x 3/4" reducer.....
Sometimes I think you can find a 1" slip x 3/4" thread elbow?
Or as shown above!
drummereef
Team RC
Thanks guys!! My Monday brain was at full throttle :lol: Seems like an easy fix. I think I saw a reducing elbow at Lowe's last time I was there... I'll look again. Otherwise the slip bushing will make it work.
Making progress on the fuge build. I'll try and post some updated pics tonight.
