Need Help Designing Plumbing for New 240 Build

[KKamy]

Hi,

I am going to be setting up a 240 in my new den which hopefully will be done by Christmas. The tank will be in the den, and I am planning on running the plumbing through the wall into the adjacent room, where the sump/refugium and frag tank will be. This will be my first ever tank like this, the only other reef tank I had (still have) is a biocube and it is fully self contained.
I need help getting a handle on how to:

1. Run plumbing through the wall, both to handle the overflow and return from the sump.
2. Sump design, I am thinking of using a 75 gallon tank for the sump, to handle protein skimmer, calcium reactor and refugium. (although, I may just go with a prefab acrylic sump)
3. Decision on main circulation pump, I am planning on going with a Vortech MP40 within the display, will likely need more than one, but what pump to choose for main circulation.

The tank I am planning on installing is a 240 wide (72L x 30W x 25 Tall) from glass cages. The tank comes with two overflows with two holes at the bottom of each overflow, 1 hole for drainage to the sump and 1 for return to the tank.

A question I have about the return from the sump is, if the return line is located within the glass overflow, how is the water returned into the main body of the tank? Do I run piping up and over the top of the overflow?

I need to have this fully planned out before ordering the tank so I can provide locations for the over flows (need to avoid the 16" on center studs in the wall) and complicating this is that I will be using Solatubes for lighting (and so have to align the tank under the roof trusses too), so I really have to have the plumbing figured out before I order the tank.

I hope this isn't too rambling to follow, and any responses will likely generate more questions, but I could really use some help with this

Thanks!

 

[KKamy]

Bump

 

[287C]

There are calculators on the home page for figuring out flow rates and pretty much everything else you need.

A question I have about the return from the sump is, if the return line is located within the glass overflow, how is the water returned into the main body of the tank? Do I run piping up and over the top of the overflow?

Yes

As far as the main pump I think you mean the return pump and not the main circulation pump, you need to figure out how many feet of pipe you will have (head pressure)back to your display to figure out what pump to run.

 

[monotreme_man]

the short answer to your question is that in most cases,
the return looks like an upside down capital L, where the pipe
runs vertically up from the hole in the bottom of the overflow,
takes a horizontal run once it is over the height of the top of teh overflow,
and then normally dips down once it clears the overflow, terminating
just below water level (unless you like splashing noises).

some people use elaborate spray bars and somesuch to redistribute
the return water. my return tube simply has a 90degree bend
to get the water flow going horizontal and help a little with circulation
(which is mainly done with powerheads).

one of the fabulous aspects of teh web in general, and forums like this in particular,
is the large number of system photos. just look at 20-30 tank build threads
and see how people have done it (normally those photos are near the front
of teh tank build).

 

[KKamy]

There are calculators on the home page for figuring out flow rates and pretty much everything else you need.

Thanks for this, I didn't know these were here

 

[KKamy]

the short answer to your question is that in most cases,
the return looks like an upside down capital L, where the pipe
runs vertically up from the hole in the bottom of the overflow,
takes a horizontal run once it is over the height of the top of teh overflow,
and then normally dips down once it clears the overflow, terminating
just below water level (unless you like splashing noises).

some people use elaborate spray bars and somesuch to redistribute
the return water. my return tube simply has a 90degree bend
to get the water flow going horizontal and help a little with circulation
(which is mainly done with powerheads).

Thanks, that is what I was envisioning, but have not had a chance to get a close up look at overflow setups.