Water change drain question

[Ereefic]

I've got a bulkhead in my sump for a return pump. From that bulkhead, I would like to put a 'T'. One way will goto my return pump, the other will have a valve and a run to the basement sink.

The idea is when I wanna do a water change, turn off the pump, open the drain valve and drain out the water.

Will this set-up cause any problems with the return pump?

 

[Crooke]

Your diagram includes a valve on the pump side of the tee, use this to isolate the pump before opening the drain valve and you're good to go.

 

[Ereefic]

Excellent, thanks.

I'm going to have a SW container in a closet a few feet away, higher than the sump. I'm going to run a line from that down through the floor and bring it back up behind the tank and into the sump.

Drain the water from the sump into the basement sink. Open the valve in the closet container and fill the sump back up. Easy, no get wet, water change. More importantly, no lugging buckets of water up and down and back and forth.

 

[Crooke]

Definitely a good way to go.

I'm doing something similar with a basement sump setup. My w/c line is teed off the pressure side of the pump though. A valve, nipple and a length of vinyl hose and I've got tank water on tap

 

[perpetual98]

Eric, have you redone your basement? Last time I saw your setup was at the MARS meeting at your place last summer. I think a lot has changed at your place since then.

Eric

 

[Ereefic]

Yeah, things have changed quite a bit around here.

Tore down the 210/45 system with the sump in the basement and setting up a 140 cube with sump under the stand, smaller pumps, etc.

Trying to keep costs down a bit.

 

[perpetual98]

I hear ya. Just about every month I get my electric bill and I wonder if I really need TWO 120G tanks in the living room. lol

I just took my 20L down from the bedroom and am close to taking my frag tank down from the garage. That should save me about $7 a month.

Eric

 

[Ereefic]

We should be saving around $70 a month, so it's pretty signifacant.

It won't be the sweet 210/45 system would had, but should pretty sweet in it's own right.

 

[perpetual98]

Your 210 was amazing. After we left your place I wanted to get out of the hobby because there's no way I'd ever have a tank like yours. You ripped your 110 down too, didn't you? I think I saw that you were selling a bunch of stuff on the MARS site.

 

[Ereefic]

Yep, that's gone as well. Broke it down after some problems with plans of setting it back up, but after the elec. bill dropped, decided to sell it off and revamp the 210. Now, sold that and going 140gal., not much of adowngrade size wise, but equipement wise.

 

[Ereefic]

Here's the build thread for the new tank if you wanna check it out.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=899598&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

 

[Acipenser]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7893996#post7893996 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ereefic
Excellent, thanks.

I'm going to have a SW container in a closet a few feet away, higher than the sump. I'm going to run a line from that down through the floor and bring it back up behind the tank and into the sump.

One thing you might want to think about is the amount of stagnant SW water in the pipes after your water change. It sounds like you will be running the water down and back up behind the tank, creating a section of pipe that will constantly hold water. That water might get pretty foul between water changes, and that will be the first water that you flush into your tank each time. Might try to find a method where the entire pipe drains.

 

[Ereefic]

Good point. I was going to employ a drain to drain out that fresh SW pipe into the sink as well, to keep that stagnent water out of there.

 

[bassnman11]

sump drain

sump drain

It appears from your drawing that the sump will only drain as far as the bottom of the T. If you plumb a L with a piece of pipe inside the tank pointing down, it should act like a siphon and drain till the pipe is exposed.