Plumbing info from March meeting

[itZme]

There were a couple questions about the plumbing information I provided at the meeting for Reefkeeping 101. I figured I would post the links to where most of the info came from so you can research more if you'd like.

Herbie method thread is REALLY long now but worth the read if you work on it a little at a time. I was following it as it was first posted so I read the first 10 pages or so. Then it became much like all the other long threads on RC with random people asking the same basic questions without reading for themselves.

Marc Levenson will be at the club speaking next month and he has one of the best websites for sump design and critter identification.
His site is www.melevsreef.com

The Durso website is http://www.dursostandpipes.com

The Stockman website is http://home.nc.rr.com/stockmanreef/aqua-silencer_standpipe.htm

The Hofer Gurgle Buster site is http://home.everestkc.net/jrobertson57268/HGB/

There's also a hybrid/combination of the Herbie method and a Durso drawn up and described in this thread by BeanAnimal. It looks very failsafe and if I was planning a new system from the start I think I would go with this style.

There's a guy on RC that has a nice page with lots of DIY stuff on it. His screen name is RandyStacyE. The website is www.randystacye.com

If anyone would like to ask any questions in this thread about plumbing, overflows, returns, etc... I will do my best to answer them or point you in the right direction to research it further on your own.

Hope you guys enjoyed the talk tonight and hope everyone made it home safe during that storm.
-- Kevin

 

[Kreeger1]

Nice!

 

[Fdfiremedic]

Great job last night!!!!!!!! Taught me a few things and found a few wrong steps I did while setting up my system. I am going to go back and now put in a few unions. Gotta be honest too I was the guy thinking the more PVC glue the better. OOPS!!!!!!!!! Thanks for giving me a new project!!!!!!

 

[MJAnderson]

Word to the wise...put a cover of some kind on your overflow. Kevin helped me set up my tank with the Herbie method and a snail got into my emergency standpipe and blocked it. The emergency isn't really emergency at all, you use it constantly. i found it impossible to find a perfect level where the gate valve adjustment alone was enough. It would slowly rise or fall over time so I ended up setting mine so that it was always a trickle going into the emergency standpipe.

Maybe if your overlflow was spotless it would word, but I have a strainer on my mine and even a snail sitting on it will cause it to get out of whack. I have to scrub it weekly for algae or obstructions.

 

[itZme]

MJAnderson... I am glad to see you are still around! I haven't seen you post for months and thought about calling to see if you were still alive.

Yep, I have strainers on all of the drains for that reason but I cut out some of the teeth on the strainer to allow for more water flow and less restriction. I don't know why yours won't level out for you Michael. Mine seems to need a tweak every couple weeks but for the most part it stays put. I rarely have any water enter the emergency drains. Maybe it's because I don't clean the algae off the main strainer very often so I have it adjusted for the "dirty" state that it is always in

The newer post by BeanAnimal uses your idea and adds another standpipe for a constant minimal flow through it then still has one for emergency that is totally empty. Not everyone has the space for 3 standpipes though.

PS. I said that there was a link on the All-Glass website that shows if a standard-sized tank is tempered bottom or not and its empty and full weights as well as dimensions (so you don't have to ask each time a standard tank is posted for sale ). I found that info in a pdf from their site >>>HERE<<<

 

[DiscoReefRover]

Great job last night im a prettygoodplumber and even learned a few new tricks ....

Thanks alot
Sean

 

[itZme]

Somebody asked about this thread last month and I forgot to bump it up for them like I said I would... Sorry for the delay.

I think it was something to do with adding a Durso standpipe to an older All-Glass tank that only used a straight pipe with a sponge over it and made tons of noise.

HTH
-- Kevin

 

[Tswifty]

I recently used BeanAnimals hybrid plumbing method on my tank, if anyone would like to look at the build/install.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1310919

It starts on page 6 or 7 I believe... I personally plan on plumbing any future tank this way also.