New Tank Plans Help

[assassinco97]

Hi guys,

I'm in the process of buying a 150H g tank to upgrade my 75g. The question is I want to put my 75g in the basement as a sump and have never done anything like this before. Can anyone give me any advice on how to do this, or plans that I can modify to make this work.

Thanks,
Ed

 

[somethingphishy]

Free bump

 

[nmywrx]

Is your question about modifying your 75g to a sump, plumbing for a basement sump, or both?

I am planning a 150g with a basement sump, so it sounds like we are in a similar boat.

 

[assassinco97]

I'm actually planning on doing both....Hey your in hermitage....I know where that is...sorry randomness is a habit with me.

I'm trying to build a 150g with a 75g sump in the basement aka the new fish room (dont tell the wife she doesnt know yet) but I'm nervous about trying to do this on my own as obviously drilling a hole in the floor could yield impending doom for me with the wife if it isnt pretty. Any ideas on how this is done or what info I should know before even attempting this feat.

Thanks
Ed

 

[nmywrx]

Small world isn't it.

Lucky for me I am building a house so new construction makes things a lot easier. I can do everything before drywall goes up.

As far as drilling a whole in the floor, being pretty should be the least of your concerns. The main thing you don't want to do is drill into a floor joist. This will compromise the structural integrity of your floor that will be holding approx. 1500 - 2000 lbs.

What's below the tank in the basement? Is there a wall under the tank that helps support the floor that the plumbing can run down? If not, are you planning on building one? Also, if the basement is finished you may have to remove some of the ceiling drywall to help located the floor joist?

Give me some more specifics about your basement and I will do the best I can to help you come up with a game plan.

 

[assassinco97]

Im lucky in that the basment is unfinished but the wall below the tank is stone. So no running pipes through walls for me. I have to drop the pipes right down through the floor into the sump. I dont think I will need another wall to support the tank though because I plan on using floor jacks on the joist to add necessary support. I really dont care what the basement looks like as its just a storage area hence the addition of the sump. I can find the joists easily since I dont have a finished ceiling in the basement.

Lucky you with the new construction. My house is totally redone but I bought it like this and didnt have any input on the fact I wanted a tank. But so far I think I can do this with a little help of course.

Is the only thing I have to worry about when drilling the floor is the joist or is there something else

 

[JimKelly12203]

If you scour the issues of on-line reefkeepers, the various tanks of the month will surely give you some ideas. I can recall at least a dozen or so in the past five years worth of issues where they had basement sumps. I suppose it will involve pvc pipes and drilling them quite literally into your floor. Quite the project, but the results seem more than worth it.

My advice is to just treat it like a normal tank to sump overflow, except it will be going a lot farther down and through your floor. I'd be stressed out doing this, but there's no reason why it should be too difficult. Just gotta get out your drill, take a shot of whiskey and let err rip!

 

[assassinco97]

Alright whiskey and fish....What could make it a better day !!! Im not to worried about the floor as I'm going to carpet around the pipes and the room the tank is in....to make it look pretty. I've checked out several of those tanks but no one seems to go into too much detail about how to calculate how much pump you need to get the water up into the tank from the basement without having major issues. Any ideas on this?

Ed

 

[nmywrx]

Use the head loss calculator to help you with you pump decision. My philosophy is going to be the bigger the pump the better. I am traveling about 14 vertical feet. There isn't a lot of additional cost in oversizing your pump. I would rather have to much than to little. I think some of the pumps even allow you to adjust the flow rate.

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php

Also, since your basement isn't finished your job just got a lot eaiser. I would drill up from the basement to make sure I wasn't hitting a joist. As far as drilling through the floor it shouldn't be too difficult. Usually there is a sub-floor that sits on top of the joist that is made of OSB or partical board. Then on top of that is your finished floor i.e. carpet, tile or hard wood. If it's carpet you will want to pull it back, because drilling through carpet will turn into a big disaster. If it is wood or tile you should be able to get through it with the correct bit.

Remember "measure twice and cut once."

 

[assassinco97]

Haha....Yeah Ive learned the measure twice cut once thing long ago....long story. So Im guessing it shouldnt be too much of an issue except for the carpet issue which isnt huge.

 

[nmywrx]

Nope. Should be pretty easy, just don't quote me on that.

The sub floor is probably 1/2" to 3/4." You may want to drill a test hole with a regular drill bit to check the thickness and make sure there isn't anything funny in your floor. Then just get the right size hole saw for your plumbing.

When do you plan on doing this? I want to hear how it comes out.

 

[assassinco97]

I hopefully plan on doing this in the next month or so...Im in the process of getting new carpet and everything for the room so that I dont have to change anything once the tank is in there...I will probably be planning alot before I do this as mistakes can be costly...But I will definately be putting up a log of the tank and the construction so you all can see...because I cant find anyone who has like step by step instructions on how they did this and we all know it isnt as simple as point and drill....Is it?

 

[nmywrx]

It always sounds easier than it is of course, but it's not rocket science. You should be able to handle it.

I am curious as to what size plumbing you are going to use. I have ordered my tank and it is sitting at an LFS in Cleveland, but I don't know what size fittings it has in the overflow. I think most of the higher flow pumps have 1.5" fittings. I think the overflow to sump should be sized larger than the return line to the display tank, but I am not sure of this.

Have you put any thought to this? Seeing how we both have a 150g with basement I am curious as to what your thoughts are.

 

[assassinco97]

I think the guy at my LFS has said that we are looking at a 3in hole in the floor. Now that could mean two 1.5" or two 3" holes. I guess I better get clarification on that....haha. when I heard 3" i immediately thought about how I was going to passify the wife.

Do you know of any reef clubs up in our neck of the woods that could help us with this stuff. So far all I could gather is the one in Pittsburgh and several others out in the middle of the state.

 

[nmywrx]

I am new to this so, I haven' t networked with any reef clubs. I have just been doing research in books and online to figure out how I am going to plumb this.

Do you have a tank picked out? Once you know what plumbing your tank and sump need the number of holes and size should be a no brainier.

Here is the best diagram that I have been able to locate so far. I scanned this out of one of my books.