Plumb to basement or AIO?

[vessxpress1]

I'm desperately wanting to get back into the hobby. I have a neat spot to put a tank off to the side of my kitchen. This is in a corner that is over an old shower in the basement that we don't use.

I really like the simplicity of AIO tanks but I also dream of how nice it would be to have all the equipment in the basement sitting over a floor drain if there was ever an issue. Plus it would give me near unlimited room for any equipment I wanted and allow the display to have a larger area. If you had this option available would you plumb it to the basement?

For anybody that's done this how big of a pump should I expect to use? I figure I can use a stand to keep things higher in equipment room for ease of maintenance and to reduce head loss. Maybe have to pump water back up 8 or 9 ft? What would be the best pump for this job? Does it add a lot of heat?

 

[mcgyvr]

Plumbing to a different floor is IMO a last resort...
The decision depends on specific details of your system..
If you cannot achieve your plans on the same floor then the added cost of the pump/electricity may be acceptable to you..

 

[Mtaters]

I have a basement sump and couldn't imagine having it set up any other way. It makes maintenance so much easier.

 

[vanbro1]

mine is in the basement. It really doesn't take that much more effort. Just 4x the return pump size, recommend DC so you can change the pressure as needed/desired. Also a couple of pneumatic pumps for your ATO and you are set.

 

[Sk8r]

I use an Iwaki 100 pump for a 102 gallon tank, typical vertical lift with a 3 foot zag in it to reach the 'up' hole and an 8 foot horizontal run to reach the sump; and the tank is really tall, counting stand, about 6'. You can actually put the hole in the wall above the baseboard if you don't want a hole in the floor, but a couple of one inch holes are really easily covered when/if you sell the house. I have a utility sink and floor drain down there: invaluable. Not the only way to fly, but the easiest. I do recommend the Iwakis with the Japanese motor---absolutely indestructible. Worst thing ever happened, a snail got through into one of the impeller slots, and I just used a screwdriver and a quick undo and redo to remove it. It's run since 2007 without a glitch or problem except the snail. Put a gate valve on the up line only, and valve it down if it's too strong for your tank---best be over-powered reined in than underpowered struggling to get flow.

 

[Kevin Guthrie]

I have a tank in the basement, a tank upstairs, and a stock tank sump in the basement utility room. I absolutely love not having everything jammed into the tank stand, there is plenty of room for everything. Another advantage is all the noisy equipment is packed away where you can't hear it. OTOH you definitely pay for it with a higher-cost pressure pump to get the return water upstairs. Plumbing to and from the upstairs tank is with thick walled vinyl tubing which works well.

One thing nobody mentions is basement floors are cold. Good if your tank overheats, bad if you have to run heaters to keep the temp up. Stock tank is on a foam insulation board to lower the heater bill.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Basement sumps should be OFF the floor on a bench!
Saves on the back & knees along with easier maintenance.
A no brainer IMHO.

 

[jerseyboy]

I have a basement sump and couldn't imagine having it set up any other way. It makes maintenance so much easier.

same here. about a year ago i got rid of that scrawney little 12 gal sump under my 135 gal and plumbed it into the basement. now i have a 3 chamber 40 breeder as well as another 40 breeder refugium plumbed together on a waist high bench. my life has been so much simpler

 

[jerseyboy]

I have a tank in the basement, a tank upstairs, and a stock tank sump in the basement utility room. I absolutely love not having everything jammed into the tank stand, there is plenty of room for everything. Another advantage is all the noisy equipment is packed away where you can't hear it. OTOH you definitely pay for it with a higher-cost pressure pump to get the return water upstairs. Plumbing to and from the upstairs tank is with thick walled vinyl tubing which works well.



One thing nobody mentions is basement floors are cold. Good if your tank overheats, bad if you have to run heaters to keep the temp up. Stock tank is on a foam insulation board to lower the heater bill.

have you looked at the dc jabeo pumps? i bought the 18,000 it pumps 11ft vertical and 20ft horizontal run. pushes about 1000gph to my display tank running at 60%. all for $189. i will never look at any other pump

 

[Mussin]

I wonder how well the DC jabeo pumps work. Longevity wise...

 

[Alex3344]

It shouldn't be a problem. Be careful with the returns. Put a hole on each to keep it from siphoning too much down to the sump and be sure it's kept clean. Sorry about the seahorses. I know how you felt about them.
_____________
basement remodel

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Lots of good points made about basement setups here.

Me, I like everything together, on the same floor. When I work on my tank, I don't want to have to go up and down stairs. Wouldn't it be easier to plumb a drain to your basement shower, than to plumb a return pump, etc. up to your tank?

 

[five.five-six]

IMO, if I had a basement, I would seriously consider having the sump down there. Keep all my supplies and stuf, I think it would be great, just the electricity to pump the water back up. Sure the pump would be more but generally I would drop the upfront cash for a high efficiently and durable solution.

 

[jerseyboy]

I wonder how well the DC jabeo pumps work. Longevity wise...

.mine has been going for two yrs now with no problems

 

[acer]

Yep - Downstairs sump and refugium for me. As you get older , bending down or getting down on your knees to service a bottom sump/skimmer is literally painful. Love the fact that I can clean my skimmer, watch all the "life" in my refugium ,etc without bending over. I have a whole build thread over on that other reef website.

But yea- having to purchase a larger return pump due to the head pressure is a factor.