drummereef's 180g in-wall build

[drummereef]

Now that the tank was drilled I could move back to the room to complete some necessary details. I installed the FRP panel behind where the tank will sit.

I put the tank back on the stand and did some very careful measuring for the two holes that needed to be drilled.

Holes drilled. I hope this is right!!

So I decided I could use Uniseals where the pipe transitions through the wall to give me a super clean look inside the room.

I was able to grind the I.D. of the Uniseal down just enough for it to slip over the threaded side of the union. As you can see the flange on the Uniseal is slightly larger in diameter than the threads on the union.

Here's a pic of the whole assembly. The threaded side of the union will slide through the wall and the Uniseal will give it a nice finished look.

And the finished product.

On the other side of the wall you can see the nut side of the union and a little rough-in of the fittings I will be using to complete the drain plumbing.

 

[psteeleb]

great job!

when I first saw those uni-seals on the wall I was thinking; "what the heck are you up to now". After reading it made perfect sense and looks great

 

[psteeleb]

will you have enough space to slope your lower of the two drain lines?

The lower line looks like it's right up against your horizontal in this picture, or does it only go a couple feet.

 

[TheFishTeen]

will you have enough space to slope your lower of the two drain lines?

There already is a slope, created by the two fittings that move the drain out of the way of the one on top. Why would he need to slope the pipe even more? There should be plenty of downforce already present after those two fittings to move the water to the sump.

 

[Reefahholic]

Looking great Brett!

How much of a slope are you trying to achieve anyway? Shouldn't take much to move the water to the sump. I would guess about 25-35 degree angle.

I think if you had it sloped too much, you would create some water noise (splashing into the sump). I'm assuming you would terminate the pipe right at the waters surface or just below.

 

[psteeleb]

per piping standards drain lines should slope 1/8 to 1/4" per foot. This slope provides not only a gravatational pull to keep the water moving and keeps it from becoming stagnate, it also acts as a way to allow the air to escape without being pushed down by the water. This second element of air/water seperation is critical to keeping a system quiet. Too much slope and you get turbidity and gurgling.

 

[aquaph8]

Love it, nice clean work. Im so jealous of your room.

 

[Reefahholic]

per piping standards drain lines should slope 1/8 to 1/4" per foot. This slope provides not only a gravatational pull to keep the water moving and keeps it from becoming stagnate, it also acts as a way to allow the air to escape without being pushed down by the water. This second element of air/water seperation is critical to keeping a system quiet. Too much slope and you get turbidity and gurgling.

I did not know that. Thanks for the info.


How would you calculate that slope per foot equation?

 

[v1...rotate]

Thanks so much Andrew. Your tank is an inspiration to us all! I don't think I did a tutorial on how to make one but it's really simple. I just took some wire cutters and cut the eggcrate base and legs to size, sanded the rough edges, and used super glue to hold it all together. Very easy. The skimmer stand has a center leg for support as well, otherwise it would probably sag from the excess weight. My skimmer is just flat acrylic on the bottom, no rubber feet, so it sits very flat on the eggcrate. Here's the best pic I have so hopefully you'll get a better idea of what it looks like.

Thank you Brett for the info and picture. I will give it a try

 

[drummereef]

great job!

when I first saw those uni-seals on the wall I was thinking; "what the heck are you up to now". After reading it made perfect sense and looks great

will you have enough space to slope your lower of the two drain lines?

The lower line looks like it's right up against your horizontal in this picture, or does it only go a couple feet.

Haha, you know me... Always looking for ways to use Uniseals for what they were never intended to do! I should have taken a better pic originally to show the perspective of the pipe against the wall. The pipes will sit on the outside of the stud wall and run down roughly 6 feet where they will enter back into the sump room. Here's a better shot for perspective.

Looking great Brett!

How much of a slope are you trying to achieve anyway? Shouldn't take much to move the water to the sump. I would guess about 25-35 degree angle.

I think if you had it sloped too much, you would create some water noise (splashing into the sump). I'm assuming you would terminate the pipe right at the waters surface or just below.

I roughly estimated, per Pete's recommendation, that the total slope will be roughly 2" from the fittings in the pics to the elbows back into the sump room. I'll obviously be able to regulate the amount of flow through the tank so I'm hoping I can keep turbulence to a minimum.

per piping standards drain lines should slope 1/8 to 1/4" per foot. This slope provides not only a gravatational pull to keep the water moving and keeps it from becoming stagnate, it also acts as a way to allow the air to escape without being pushed down by the water. This second element of air/water seperation is critical to keeping a system quiet. Too much slope and you get turbidity and gurgling.

Thanks Pete. This is what I roughly estimated. As I stated above, I will have about 2 or 2.5" of drop from the fittings in the pics above to the elbows back to the sump. This is about 6 feet of run plus the 2 feet or so after it elbows back to the sump. Sound about right? There will be another couple inches of drop into the sump where the pipe comes over the edge of the sump but I couldn't avoid it, unless I drill the side of the sump which I really don't want to do.

Love it, nice clean work. Im so jealous of your room.

Thank you Brett.

I did not know that. Thanks for the info.


How would you calculate that slope per foot equation?

The way I did it is 1/4" of drop per foot of run. So 1" of drop per 4 feet of run.

Thank you Brett for the info and picture. I will give it a try

You are welcome Andrew.

 

[Reefahholic]

Ok, thanks...can't wait to see it finished and hear how it's working for ya.

 

[psteeleb]

Thanks Pete. This is what I roughly estimated. As I stated above, I will have about 2 or 2.5" of drop from the fittings in the pics above to the elbows back to the sump. This is about 6 feet of run plus the 2 feet or so after it elbows back to the sump. Sound about right? There will be another couple inches of drop into the sump where the pipe comes over the edge of the sump but I couldn't avoid it, unless I drill the side of the sump which I really don't want to do.

That sounds good to me. You still may want to put an elbow or tee at the bottom end of the vertical drop right at the water line to help muffle the splash. I put mine where the tee or elbow is half in the water to allow for a transitional horizontal flow to minimize splashing yet still allow for air flow

 

[drummereef]

Ok, thanks...can't wait to see it finished and hear how it's working for ya.

Will do, thanks Reefahholic.

That sounds good to me. You still may want to put an elbow or tee at the bottom end of the vertical drop right at the water line to help muffle the splash. I put mine where the tee or elbow is half in the water to allow for a transitional horizontal flow to minimize splashing yet still allow for air flow

Awesome, thanks Pete. Yeah, I definitely plan on adding a fitting to the end of the pipe to cut down on any splashing. We'll see how it goes as I'd like to avoid using a sock since it's coming from a "fuge". Hopefully the low flow will help cut down on any splashing or bubbles too.

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Quick question then some updated pics of the fuge project...

I want to use a 3/4" bulkhead on the stock tank to transition into some Loc-Line. I was considering installing the bulkhead on the side of the tank, which is rounded. When I put the nut up to the side you can see a small gap between the nut and the side of the tank due to the radius of the tank's side. The tank has a little flex to it so I'm on the fence whether the bulkhead will seal up OK. I'd rather use a bulkhead vs a Uniseal just because it seems like a safer option.

What do you think??

Here's some updates on the build-out...

I re-framed the wall where the fuge drains will enter back into the sump room. My luck, there was another stud in the way so I needed to frame around it to accommodate the holes I would need to drill in the drywall. I also moved the electrical that was in the way as well.

I also needed to build a support bracket for the pvc pipe. This will give the pipe a little extra support where it will hang over the side of the sump.

Here's the bracket installed and how the pipe will look once plumbed.

I then used some pipe to mark the wall where the necessary holes will be drilled.

Using a hole saw, I drilled the holes to be able to plumb the pvc through the wall.

And finally, Uniseals provide a clean transition through the drywall. I need to pick up 2 more unions to plumb on the other side of the wall. But with this complete, I feel like I'm on the downhill with the project. Plumbing ahead!!

 

[TheFishTeen]

Awesome! Looks awesome. I was planning on using the metal wall pipe plates where my piping comes through the wall or a stand but I like the unseal idea! Gives me something to think about. Thanks Brett!

 

[110galreef]

Brett. For the bulkhead question. I would use a sch 80 bulkhead so not to worry about it cracking on u down the road. Plus the gaskets are thicker so will take up some more of that gap. Which by the way.is pretty small.

 

[110galreef]

Oh and the uniseals look slick on the wall! :dance:

You just couldn't leave a pefrectly smoth cut hole for the PVC to go thru.......NOOOOO :uzi::headwally::deadhorse1:

You need to use a super slick matching black "cinder block material" LOL:lolspin:

 

[110galreef]

Oh one more point/thought....Is that bulkhead for water going to the stock tank? If so it could be above water line to, and then use the loc line to submerge into the water worst case if you don't think it will seal. Loc line will be liquid tight for you above the water line

 

[drummereef]

Awesome! Looks awesome. I was planning on using the metal wall pipe plates where my piping comes through the wall or a stand but I like the unseal idea! Gives me something to think about. Thanks Brett!

Thanks FishTeen. I like the idea of Uniseals because they are rust proof! And you can easily machine them to different pipe sizes to easily be able to slide the pipe through them since it's not a water tight application.

Brett. For the bulkhead question. I would use a sch 80 bulkhead so not to worry about it cracking on u down the road. Plus the gaskets are thicker so will take up some more of that gap. Which by the way.is pretty small.

Oh and the uniseals look slick on the wall! :dance:

You just couldn't leave a pefrectly smoth cut hole for the PVC to go thru.......NOOOOO :uzi::headwally::deadhorse1:

You need to use a super slick matching black "cinder block material" LOL:lolspin:

Oh one more point/thought....Is that bulkhead for water going to the stock tank? If so it could be above water line to, and then use the loc line to submerge into the water worst case if you don't think it will seal. Loc line will be liquid tight for you above the water line

Good thoughts on the Sched 80 bulkhead. I thought about that but cant find one that's slip on the back side and threads on the flange. That would make my transitions so much easier to deal with if they made one like that. :hmm4: With Sched 80 bulkheads do you always have to add a male threaded adapter to transition to pipe? Basically I would need to transition from 3/4" FPT on the bulkhead to 1" flex pvc that is coming from the return pump....

You know me, a simple hole in the drywall would be unacceptable! :lol:

Yes, the 3/4" bulkhead will be feeding the stock tank from the return pump. With where I plumbed the drains, using the upturned elbows, the bulkhead will be right at the water line. So I'm guessing partially submerged unless I cut some slots into the upturned elbows (which I still might do) or just cut them down a little.

 

[110galreef]

Here is what you need:

1" slip x 3/4" MPT

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/vassallo-1-in-x-3-4-in-pvc-slip-x-mpt-coupling-340905.html

lowes should have them too.

or just flip the bulkhead around. Just keep the gasket on the flange side. bulkhead work backwards too.