Plumbing question

I have this sump too that someone gave me. Would this sump design work? Pump in middle, skimmer on right and fuge left. Or should I just stick with other sump?





 
Went ahead and plumbed it this way to see how it'd go. I have the emergency drain going to the fuge on the right.
I have unions to add on return lines. Just didn't put them in yet.


 
That is looking like some plumbing now. :D

I would drop the emergency into the return chamber though, as if you do have to use it it will flow fast, very fast... I'm not sure the fuge would like that.

Not sure what i would do about feeding the fuge though, the valve takes up so much room you can't really fit a tee in there... A separate pump might be simpler.
 
Dang. Good point about fuge. Will have to try something else. What do you think about this sump vs other?
 
Its hard to tell relative size and such from the pics on the sumps. I would probably try to use whichever is bigger. The glass one seems pretty well made, and the other looks like a pro job so it should be too.
 
You may be better off adding a couple 90° els so you have a place to tee off for the fuge. Like gorgok said, it's hard to tell for sure from the pics. It's good to design the plumbing to minimize head loss, but you also need to make it work, too!
 
What size display is this? It looks like an Eheim pump and depending on the size of this display I doubt you'll be dialing it back with that valve as Eheim doesn't make a pump that delivers a super amount of flow. I like a glass sump because you can really get in there and clean it without scratching it to hell.

Again I would go pump, union, 1" pipe, 1" tee x 3/4" fpt, true wye, flex pipe to bulkhead. From the 3/4" fpt of the tee run some pipe and a valve to feed the fuge.
 
billdogg said:
Actually, DO NOT use schedule 80!!! The difference is that sch80 is thicker walled (same o.d., smaller i.d.). Therefore you will get less flow using the sch80 than you will if you use the more common (and less expensive) sch40. In fact, if you can find it, sch20 (it's not called sch20 but it's real name escapes me) is more than adequate for our low pressure systems. And yes, that means even if you are using a pressure rated pump.

If you want it to be pretty grey, (or any other color) spray paint works well. All my visible plumbing is black - less visible at the back of the tank.

jm.02
Click to expand...

This is 100% true.

Sch 80 has less ID than Sch 40.

When working with steel & metal there is "Schedule 20 & 10".....With pvc, it is called "DWV" which stands for "Drain/waste/vent". For low pressure applications DWV would be more than sufficient and cost quite a bit less than pvc.

Also, there are other "plastic" tubes that come in variety of colors.

ABS plastic as I see usually is black. It would require a different glue than PVC, and I would not cut it with any power tool because of how fast it will literally melt itself back together.


Tschupe:

Overall the plumbing looks great. I personally would have run BOTH of the drain lines to the sump separate. The way that you have fittings back-to-back mixed with the "bull-head" just looks odd. The fear with having back-to-back fittings in this way is that IF you ever want to change it, where can you cut pipe to glue another fitting on?

Keep in mind that I am a plumber/pipefitter by trade. Most likely this will have little impact.
 
Your last photo looks the cleanest from a flow stand point.
Marine depot sells SpaFlex by the foot. You can get it in long lengths like 50 feet which I use for water changes and it is very flexible and less expensive then the common flex joints I have seen. They also sell Y fittings which do not cause the huge flow restrictions that a T fitting does. Every fitting and joint you use reduces the flow as much as a foot of hose does or 3 feet in the case of T or 90 degree fittings.
 
Last edited:
Spaflex is good for some things (especially gentle bends) and can help to reduce the transfer of vibration from the pump to your plumbing. While it's more flexible than regular pvc, it's still pretty stiff. Around here, Lowe's sells it by the foot as well.

Either plain vinyl hose or an RV water hose would be a cheaper and better option, IMHO. If you get the camper hose, make sure you cut off the brass fittings and replace them with plastic.
 
My little pumps on my bio cube had rubber suction for vibration. Do you guys put something under your big pumps?
 
+1 to the silicone trivet

you can also cut a piece off to put between the pipe and your tank to reduce the vibration transmission
 


Ordered this guy and some of the flex pvc from marine depot. Hopefully it all arrives by this weekend and I can hook it up.
 
That is nice... but how are you feeding the fuge? I would do separate pump with that as neat as it is.
 
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