Setting up a equipment room....

[Volkman]

Ok, so, really thinking long-term, and doing a lot of reading here, I think that I want to set-up a equipment room down in the basement for all the sumps, fuge's, skimmers, etc.... and have some questions. I will post pictures, dimensions and all that stuff here in the next day or so. I have to do some measuring and whatnot.
So here it goes. My tank is a 125 with HOB overflows, reef tank in process. I have it set-up as a see-through tank in the living room and I have to move two couches to get to the equipment under the tank. As I get more into this, I am going to have to get into that every day. That is not going to work, and the girlfriend does not want access doors on the formal living room side. So, I was think about running pvc piping (1") through the floor, dropping about 4' into the crawl space, and running to the 5 x 10' closet (about 15') that is attached to the crawl space.
What kind of experience's have you guys had with something like this. I know that I will have to get pumps to compensate for head, and the length of the run, but other then that, what kind of issues may arise?? I am going to have a 55-gallon as a sump/fuge, with auto top-off, new skimmer, and all that stuff. Cool thing is, there is electric already plumbed, and also water plumbed into the closet too. There is existing plumbing for an in-ground sprinkler that was never finalized. So I can hook up the ROI right there for the top-off. So I am thinking that this should not be a big deal right?? (I also thought reefing was not too in-depth till I got into it) so that is why I am asking before I get the PVC ran!!
What do you guys think???

Thanks in advance to everyone!! RC ROCKS!!

 

[Volkman]

Actual measurements are 9' head, and 24 feet of length, with probably only 2 90's(hopefully, I don't see why I'd need more) Any recommendations on pumps?? Also the fuge is actually a 30 gal (36x12x16) is that enough for this tank? I did the calc for sump volume, and it said 11 gallons for overflow, and 23 for sump.

 

[bertoni]

30g is a nice size refugium for that size of tank. Larger is pretty much always better, but 30g is fine, in my opinion.

I haven't run a setup like that, but I'd think carefully about the consequences of pipe breakage. For pumps, I've only used small Eheim units.

 

[Volkman]

Thanks Bertoni!! I suppose that I can always get a bigger tank, I know bigger is better. Those are cheap. I just had a 30 sitting around gathering dust. Is a 30 going to be enough for all the skimmers and everything else?
I am sure that I would be able to find out the psi that would be pushed through the pipe right?? Then just get the proper pvc?? I am curious about the amount of flow I should have though. This is the pump I was thinking about:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=4614&N=2004+113041
The actual pump is the 5.5.
According to the head loss calc, I should get around 1080 gph through this pump. Will my HOB keep up with this? And can I basically put "splitters" on the return to direct flow to different parts of the tank? Thanks!

 

[bertoni]

Okay, I don't quite understand. Is the 30g for a refugium or for a sump? It'd be fine for one or the other. I'd be sure to pick the skimmer and check its footprint before picking a sump.

For a tank that size, I'd probably target a sump flow of about 400 gph, or perhaps a bit less. I don't know anything about that brand of pump. The equipment forum might be a good place to ask. The rest of the required flow could be from powerheads or a closed loop.

Do you want to drill the tank for returns? If not, you could put a T in the return line in back of the tank, and run it over the edge from there.

 

[Volkman]

Sorry, the 30g is for the sump, not the refugium. Does the skimmer need to be in the sump or can I just plumb it externally?
As far as drilling, the tank is a running tank, so I don't think that I could do that. Also, little nervous about drilling glass, so I think I will just stick with the T and run it back into the tank. What do you think about making some sort of splitter for the return so that I can increase current in different spots of the tank?

 

[bertoni]

Some skimmers can be plumbed externally, but many need to be in the sump.

The splitter idea is fine. You can also add something like a SeaSwirl to give a bit more random flow, although some powerheads can be controlled to give random flow, as well.

There's lots of good choices.