I've decided to place my new tank in my living room which has a concrete floor, just behind the wall I want to place the tank is a wall that is shared with the garage. I'd like to plumb into the garage and place my sump/ref there. What size pumps and pvc would you guys recommend for doing this? I am thinking the tank is going to be 125-200 range with a ? size sump, what water volume would be recommended for tanks 125-200? Any thoughts, build links, suggestions, insight would be appreciated and thanks!
Tank in Living room, sump in garage behind it, what pumps? pvc size? sump size?
- Thread starter napydred
- Start date
michaelkittrell
Member
Not sure on the size of pipe you need, but I'd do beanAnimal/herbie silent drains.
I had regular overflows feeding a 2" drain and I didn't like the noise at all in my living room, but it also meant only 1 large hole in my wall.
I'd think for the return... you'd want whatever size the outlet on your pump is designed for. changing pipe sizes to larger or smaller would create more head pressure, reducing flow and working your pump harder, depending on exactly what you're doing.
I had regular overflows feeding a 2" drain and I didn't like the noise at all in my living room, but it also meant only 1 large hole in my wall.
I'd think for the return... you'd want whatever size the outlet on your pump is designed for. changing pipe sizes to larger or smaller would create more head pressure, reducing flow and working your pump harder, depending on exactly what you're doing.
Epicreefer
New member
If your not doing a custom tank then a 180g tank is probably the way to go, a 125 is nice but short front to back and the 180 will be better for aquascaping. For a sump I would just go with a rubermaid trough, I think they make one 100g or so about 4' by 2', made of polyethylene it's indestructible and out of sight so looks isn't a huge deal. Typicaly youll see sumps in the 30-50% of the tank size, and only about 50% full. The bigger your tank is the less important sump size is because you have the stability in the tank, but bigger is always better if money isn't an issue. For your pump you want to be pushing 10x tank volume max more like 6-8, it will be reduced to around half after head loss, plumbing and bio buildup in the first 6 months. PVC should match pump or be bigger. For a skimmer you have a unique opportunity by not having a height limit so get the tallest skimmer you can find that makes sence. Another thing you could do is place second cryptic sump or simple resivoir under the display that flows to the main sump basicaly just additional water volume to increase stability.
Normally I'd suggest a sump at least one third the volume of your main tank, perhaps even one half. If you are putting the sump in the garage though, how significant are the winter/summer temperature swings. My garage, for example, is over 95 F in the hottest summer days and 40 F in the winter. If yours is similar you might want to minimize the volume of water that sits in those conditions. All things equal, basements are better than garages for things like sumps, pumps, etc.
hmm good to know, garage temps will flucuate a bit but i have a chiller already and can drop a heater in the sump if i must in the winter. I'll probably go for a tank that has overflows plumbed in already like an aqueon or something, can't wait to get it set up! 180 sounds like a winner to me, I may just plumb into my sump room (garage) and have a big skimmer working from a rubbermaid sump and sending water back, easy sounding...
acesq
Premium Member
I would suggest two 1 1/2 inch drains, set up as a Herbie so one is full siphon ( Bean Animal adds an additional layer of protection with the third pipe so if you are incredibly risk adverse, run another pipe, I'm not) with a 1 inch return hooked to a pump pushing 1500 gal per hour that will end up closer to 1000-1200 by the time it gets to the tank. Control the siphon drain to match the flow of the return with a gate valve. If you have enough drop from the top of the drain pipe to the sump, you will be pulling more than the pump will push. Try to limit the number of 90 degree fittings in the drain line.
mr.maroonsalty
New member
^^^ one can't very well advise a pump without knowing details. The critical factor is the drain capacity, then friction and gravity losses, and I factor in a pumps watts as well. You will likely have two overflows to drain in the tank you've described, though I'm not always the closest reader; if you're considering a syphon drain, you will want to draw water from both so one doesn't become stagnet. Good luck
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