Moving sump to basement

[cdamiano]

Does anyone have any experience with moving their sump to the basement? I'm looking to do this at my house where I currently have my tank and sump located in a cabinet on my main floor.

As part of this project, I also want to setup a utility sink in the basement to use for water changes. My current waste line is about 7 feet from the floor in the basement so I can't use a gravity drain on the sink. I have seen these sump pump in a box type of setups that I am considering using. The sink drains into it, and the output from the pump is connected to the waste line. I will also need to run plumbing from the tank on the main floor down directly underneath it into the basement where the sump will be relocated.

I was wondering if any of you have done this and can offer a few pointers as far as potential gotchas and also where to get the sump pump in a box. If there is a better way to do this without spending too much let me know.

Also, if anyone can recommend someone that I can hire to do this I would appreciate if you can provide their contact info.

Thanks!!!

Chris

 

[Reefist]

Hey Chris,
I put a 6G bucket in the floor and put an automatic pump in the bottom with a clear swing check valve. I bought a cheap plastic slop sink from HD and a pull out faucet real cheap. Thing works great. I also have a basement sump set up on my 120 Reef for 10 years now. I'll be moving it soon though. In the picture you can zoom to see the sink set up. This is my reef room in progress from 6 months ago. I could email you a pic of the sump in the basement under my stair case .

Tom

 

[cdamiano]

Tom,

Thanks for the picture and the info. Where do you have the automatic pump in the floor draining the water to? I'm a little unsure about digging a hole through the basement floor to sink a bucket for the sump for the slop sink. I was considering doing this with an above the ground bucket with the pump in it since I have seen them sold this way as a kit. Do you know of any issues that this way might cause?

Is that a refugium that I see in the picture....is your display tank in the room above that?

Here is my email address (cdamiano@gmail.com) if you can email me some pictures of the sump setup under the stairs for your tank and also how you have the plumbing setup to drain the water from the bucket in the floor for the slop sink that would be great.

I was thinking of hiring someone to do the work, but if I can find out more info on how to do it, I may do it myself. But if anyone knows someone who can do it for a reasonable price, let me know.

Thanks!

 

[Reefist]

If you look above the window you will see the pipe which comes up from the bucket( it's block by the doorway) and next to the tank you'll see it's connection to go outside by the actinic light . The reason I put the bucket in the floor was when I have spills of any kind they go right into the bucket, Of course above the floor is fine too.The checkvalve keeps the pump from cavitating and also makes sure any sewage backflow can't happen.
That set up isn't finished there will be a 210G on that platform. There is another tank in my LR that is plumbed from the basement. I will email you the pic of the sump for that.
Tom

 

[DgenR8]

I have a Home Depot bought sump for my laundry/utility sink in the basement. I make sure to flush it with fresh water after any salt water goes in there, but have not done much at all to protect it from laundry lint. It's been working down there for at least 10 years, and I think I paid less than $100.00 for it. Set up and plumbing it were really pain free. It's a feed from the sink, a pipe up to the main waste pipe, and a vent. I recommend finding a way to vent it to the outside, as they get pretty stinky over time.

I have my sump(s) and refugium in my basement, too. I found that plumbing through the floor is easier than trying to drill holes in the wall, and plumb that way.
If you can use a tape measure, and glue PVC, you're 80% of the way there already. Measure everything out, at least twice. Be sure that you drill between joists, and not through electrical/cable TV/water pipes, etc.

 

[cdamiano]

Larry,

Is the sump you got from Home Depot for your utility sink the type that comes with the pump? Just curious if home depot carries that type of above ground sump pump box kit. If not, I would be interested to know if you are using the sump in the ground or above ground and what type of pump you are using.

Thanks for the info!!!!

The more I find out about this, the more I'm starting to think I may be able to do it myself.

 

[DgenR8]

It's a pump that operates on a mercury float switch, sitting in a black plastic box, that sits on the basement floor.
I got it at Home Depot, and I believe it's a Floatec product. The black box and pump come together. I guess you could call that a kit. You have to buy the PVC to plumb it seperately.
The plastic box and pump "kit" IIRC, was about $70.00.

 

[Sk8r]

Curiously, [and I lucked out: my basement had the sink, a floor drain, and plumbing for the washing machine, plus utility sink]---MY biggest problem was getting the tank plumbed down TO the area.
I also lucked into the best plumber in Western Washington: I handed him the problem of getting the lines down there, specified what I wanted, which was a no-right-angles connection from the living room through the basement ceiling and through a dividing wall to the unfinished side of the basement.

He spent quite a while cross-measuring the room upstairs, the rooms downstairs, and was absolutely dead on within 3" of where the pilot hole came through. Two holes drilled, right through carpet, pad, and hardwood floor, and if you took the hose out, you'd have to feel around to find the holes: you can't see them.

Then the fun began, because getting hose of the right dimension that will flex isn't easy. 1", no problem. 1 1/2 inch, HECK of a problem. I was determined not to have right angles. I was willing to go down to 1 1/4 for a drain hose, via a spa hose connection, but no further. I exhausted the inventiveness of the House of Hose, billed to have absolutely everything, and found, at Lowe's, a very light, thinwalled spa hose that's meant to be cut in short segments. Cuts easily, but tough---very tough.
Only one drawback: when full of water, it stretches like you wouldn't believe: it's ribbed, light, and it gives downward, not outward, thank goodness. I had to grab rope and tie the sucker fast as the pump cut on.

Put a cutoff valve in the upbound hose. One in the downbound hose wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

For the rest, thank goodness I'm only a quarter mile from Ace Hdw: I built reducing connectors out of bits and bobs of pipe like you wouldn't believe: the biggest adventure is getting the tank plumbing to fit the hoses/pipes/pumps/inflow/downflow. Nothing wants to match, when you start going for larger pumps and ordinary tanks.

The real bennie in this is that you can use an external Iwaki pump [get the Japanese motor]. I have the largest, and I know for a fact you can go less than that unless you're shooting for the third floor.

Using an external pump means less heating of your water. I have a mag 9.5 submersible in the same chamber as the Iwaki intake, driving the EV120 skimmer, and I have the skimmer sitting on egg crate above the sump, along with a potent little light: this gives me a nice big refugium.

One thing: I absolutely stopped the microbubble problem: I routed a hose from the skimmer outflow back to the INFLOW chamber of the sump, making the bubbles go all the way back to the beginning, and through the refugium's monster cheato ball, which utterly disposes of them before the water goes on to the heater and then the pump chamber. This has been one of the nicest gains in the current arrangement.

You'll love having the sump in the basement. A ro/di barrel instead of a bucket, [Rubbermaid Brute trashcan] and little maxijet pumps to assist water transfers from this bin to that to the sump, or the drain, etc. Room for everything; and with a really big sump I can do a quick10% water change without shutting down the main pump, just the the topoff pump.

 

[Reefist]

This is the pump I used .
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant-...24-7426451?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1183567668&sr=8-1
I was lucky I got it for free it was in someones basemet for 10 years running a basement sump for floods and now in mine for 2.
it's compact and reliable and thats what I needed. IMO opinion I wouldn't skimp on the pump you won't believe how much you'll use that sink. Also if you look at the specs this pump is rated for 2600GPH w/head at 18' so it keeps the bucket clean especially of you have other waste product(algae prunings) besides water.
As a note on waterchanges in the basement sump I do 40G waterchanges in 10min with out a bucket and with out affecting the display tank.
PS heres a whole set up
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant-...8576324-7426451?ie=UTF8&qid=1183567741&sr=8-5