It's been a long time since I've been on this site and it's nice to see that it's still a great wealth of information. I am getting back in to the hobby after about 15 years so I am relearning a lot! I will make this as short as possible but my situation is a bit unique and I could use some guidance.
I am building a cabinet for our living room and have decided that a reef tank is something that would great on top of it. Our house is a split level so it can be tricky to run plumbing and electric, but I am willing to take on the work. The tank will be viewable from 4 sides, even though one side will be about 8 inches from a wall. The front, back, and 1 side will be in full view. The cabinet I am building will only have about 18" internal height so I will need to plumb to the basement.
The tank will be 90 gallon and it measures 48wx18Dx25H. It is drilled in 1 corner with an internal overflow. 2 holes, 1 for return and 1 for drain. Being that the tank will be over the garage due to the set up of my home, it will be a little tricky to get the plumbing to where I need it in the basement, thus requiring a pump that can handle some decent head pressure. I will try to explain the layout as best I can.
As stated my sump will be in the basement and an external pump will be necessary. The route the plumbing will travel is as follows:
-from pump up the wall 6'
-90 degree turn and run 8 feet horizontally above laundry room
-45 degree turn and run 2 feet horizontally (actually at a 45 degree angle)
-45 degree turn and run 7 feet vertically to the top of the tank
My plan is as follows and I am looking for suggestions on how to alter my plan if needed.
-40 gallon breeder as sump connected to Iwaki MD70RLT external pump.
-Running 1" PVC return to tank, with appropriate gate valves and unions etc to facilitate cleaning and maintenance. I plan to use flexible at the 90 and 45 degree turns.
-Running 1" PVC drain from tank to sump using same method as return, probably splitting drain near sump to run through 2 filter socks or something similar.
I calculate this to have approx 25' head height in total. Looking at the pump rating it seems to me that I will get approx 680ish GPH through the sump which is about 6 times turnover per hour. Depending on performance I may install a gate valve to slow it down a little or install a manifold of some sort to run other equipment.
The tank is used from a friend and currently has no stand pipes in it, just the standard 1" drain and 3/4" return bulkheads I believe.
My questions are as follows:
1) will the pipe diameter I am using be adequate or should I increase it to 1 1/4"?
2) will the pump I choose be sufficient?
3) what style drain should I install in the tank? Durso? My wife won't be happy if the drain is loud. I don't want to drill any new holes and I am unsure if tank is tempered.
I am sure I'll have more questions, and any help is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to be as accurate as I could so people can get a good idea about what I am trying to accomplish and where.
I am building a cabinet for our living room and have decided that a reef tank is something that would great on top of it. Our house is a split level so it can be tricky to run plumbing and electric, but I am willing to take on the work. The tank will be viewable from 4 sides, even though one side will be about 8 inches from a wall. The front, back, and 1 side will be in full view. The cabinet I am building will only have about 18" internal height so I will need to plumb to the basement.
The tank will be 90 gallon and it measures 48wx18Dx25H. It is drilled in 1 corner with an internal overflow. 2 holes, 1 for return and 1 for drain. Being that the tank will be over the garage due to the set up of my home, it will be a little tricky to get the plumbing to where I need it in the basement, thus requiring a pump that can handle some decent head pressure. I will try to explain the layout as best I can.
As stated my sump will be in the basement and an external pump will be necessary. The route the plumbing will travel is as follows:
-from pump up the wall 6'
-90 degree turn and run 8 feet horizontally above laundry room
-45 degree turn and run 2 feet horizontally (actually at a 45 degree angle)
-45 degree turn and run 7 feet vertically to the top of the tank
My plan is as follows and I am looking for suggestions on how to alter my plan if needed.
-40 gallon breeder as sump connected to Iwaki MD70RLT external pump.
-Running 1" PVC return to tank, with appropriate gate valves and unions etc to facilitate cleaning and maintenance. I plan to use flexible at the 90 and 45 degree turns.
-Running 1" PVC drain from tank to sump using same method as return, probably splitting drain near sump to run through 2 filter socks or something similar.
I calculate this to have approx 25' head height in total. Looking at the pump rating it seems to me that I will get approx 680ish GPH through the sump which is about 6 times turnover per hour. Depending on performance I may install a gate valve to slow it down a little or install a manifold of some sort to run other equipment.
The tank is used from a friend and currently has no stand pipes in it, just the standard 1" drain and 3/4" return bulkheads I believe.
My questions are as follows:
1) will the pipe diameter I am using be adequate or should I increase it to 1 1/4"?
2) will the pump I choose be sufficient?
3) what style drain should I install in the tank? Durso? My wife won't be happy if the drain is loud. I don't want to drill any new holes and I am unsure if tank is tempered.
I am sure I'll have more questions, and any help is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to be as accurate as I could so people can get a good idea about what I am trying to accomplish and where.
