What Counts as DIY?

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texhorns98

New member
I posted a thread about trying to make my own sump and have had no luck getting any help. Granted, I'm not actually fabricating the sump (just using a standard glass aquarium) but I am trying to get creative with my plumbing. I had the thread moved from the New to Hobby forum in hopes of getting some good advice. I know it's not as "cool" as some of the other projects on here, but I still need some advice on things. Can anyone help a newb out? :)
 
what do you want to accomplish as far as creative plumbing?
what are your plans so far maybe draw a picture and post it so we can give you ideas...
 
Would love to hear what you have in mind. I will follow this thread as well and see if there is anything I can add. Sometimes you just have to catch the right mix of viewers in the right frame of mind.
 
i would avoid using a check valve as a fail safe....you can have it as a back to a fail safe but given time in saltwater conditions those things fail sooner then not...

is there already bulkheads in the tank?

if there is and you can plumb off the back of them you can build a simple stockman standpipe in your tank to keep the noise down..depending on the size of the plumbing you could get a 3 or 4" PVC drill a hole through the centre of it push you stand pipe through it and the put the stockman on top..that way you would create a surface skimmer, using the inverted cap as an overflow box...if you can go a cuople days with low water then it might be better to get a couple pieces of glass cut and silicone them into teh corner to creat a little wier style overflow box....no need for teeth just set it a 1/4" lower then you want your water surface to be...

as for the return...if the tank is drilled low then you would be best to plumb it to the surface inside the tank, and use a lock line or something to direct the flow out the top, that way you wont have to worry about a siphon when the power shuts down and you wont have to worry about a crappy 5$ check valve draining your whole tank either....

as for a return pump...how big is your tank? how big is the sump...do you want the return to be internal or external?
 
Well, the idea is to NOT have an external overflow. I have to stand pipes now in the tank. Both are connected (through the bottom) to a canister filter. I planned on switching the plumbing around so that the current return line will act as my new drain. It's high enough in the water column so that a power loss would only mean about 3/4-1" in drainage before it stopped. The current drain pipe would be used as a return line and I would have to install a check valve on there to make certain the water wouldn't back up during a power loss. Does that make any sense? :)
 
You can avoid the use of a check valve is to cap off the short pipe that you're showing as a return and return over the back edge of the display with an appropriate siphon break drilled. This avoids the risk of draining down your tank in the event of a power and check valve failure.

You could also install some kind of a modified reducer fitting at the top of your drain side (the tall pipe) that could act as a surface skimmer.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13815287#post13815287 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by texhorns98
Well, the idea is to NOT have an external overflow. I have to stand pipes now in the tank. Both are connected (through the bottom) to a canister filter. I planned on switching the plumbing around so that the current return line will act as my new drain. It's high enough in the water column so that a power loss would only mean about 3/4-1" in drainage before it stopped. The current drain pipe would be used as a return line and I would have to install a check valve on there to make certain the water wouldn't back up during a power loss. Does that make any sense? :)
Click to expand...

No, take a picture...your return should be at the top of the tank...your drain can be plumbed from anywhere if it is in an overflow box...

take two pics...one from the end of the tank and one from the front or back...

then we can help...upload them to photobucket and use the IMG image tags to paste them here..
 
well if the tank is drilled with a drain and return. have one drain into the sump and the other as your return and run your canister filter off of your sump..
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13815368#post13815368 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by justilorah
well if the tank is drilled with a drain and return. have one drain into the sump and the other as your return and run your canister filter off of your sump..
Click to expand...

The tank is drilled with bulkheads in there now. Since it's full of water and critters, however, I am forced to keep the existing bulkheads and the 3/4" barbed fittings that are there. There were some plugs that came with it so I can plug up the pipes and perform whatever plumbing switcharoo I needed to.

What if I were to have my drain AND my return plumbed high up in the water column? That way if the power goes out, I would only have 5 gallons or so to worry about. I thought of having a straight drain to the sump and then having my canister pull from the sump and push back to the tank. I'm just not sure a Fluval 305 can pull that kind of water AND move it back up without the benefit of gravity feeding it as well.

I can fit a 15G high in the cabinet right now (max) unless someone tells me I can remove part or all of the center divider in the cabinet.

As for the pictures, I'll have to take them when I get home. It's a Fluval Vicenza if anyone has ever seen those in their LFS.
 
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This shows the plan. The two stand pipes you see in the tank are what I have in there now.
 
the canister filter is not ment as a return pump like that and will more than likely over flow. what i would do is have your straight drain into sump and then run your canister filters intake in the section where the tank drains and then returns either in the refuge or return section and have a seperate pump to return water to the tank much easier and safer.. also i would put ball valves on both drain and return to adjust your flow..
 
justilorah,

That's along the lines of what I was thinking. What about this though...

Have the tank drain straight into the canister and then the canister empty into the sump. Then have a return pump connected to the other stand pipe which I modify to sit high in the tank in case of a power outage? I'm going to have to put ball valves on both sides, I'm sure, to be able to tweak and balance flow. I need a return pump to push it back up though. I would prefer submersible, but I think I'm going to be battling heat enough with 2X250 MHs. I hear Eheims run "cool" and quiet, but I'm really unsure about the return pump as of now.
 
doing it that way will be very hard to find a return pump that will work for you.. and you still run the possiblity of a flood. and the return standpipe should be close to the top of water column so you dont have to much back flow.. I think the easiest and safest way is how i said to set it up... I have a canister that i use this way but only run it once a month with carbon to clean up the water.. And if you are planning to keep corals at all the canister filter is not the best thing anyway.. they can become nitrate factories.
 
Justin,

Right now I keep some corals and I clean the canister out every 10 days or so. Nitrates sit around 10-15 at most. Once my rock gets going a little more (a month or two maybe) I'll pull all but the carbon out of there. Out of curiosity, why would my way make it difficult to find a return pump or be more prone to flooding? I would THINK that if the tank drained into the canister and the canister pumped out into the sump, a loss of power would not be any different than having it drain straight into the sump. In fact, I would think that having no canister power to push the draining water up and over into the sump might help me avoid a flood.

Thanks for tagging along and giving the input. This is exactly the type of discussion I needed!
 
because running your canister like that you are only letting a certain amount of gph into the sump and if your return is to powerful it will empty the sump into your display and cause a flood and if the pump is to small it overflow the sump will overflow, where as gravity fed you can adjust more accuratly the flow. technically you can hook it up that way but i wouldn't. and as far as pump failure in the reurn you will still be pulling water out of your display with the canister pump and not returning any water to the display.. and run the risk of both pumps failing that way.. and as far as filteration the refuge. and the live rock are really all you need. as long as you have enough rock and some rubble and cheato in the fuge you are good to go and a good skimmer..
 
Well, I'm adding the sump so that I can run a skimmer, actually. I have none now. I hear what you're saying with the return pump outpacing the canister. My plan was to have a ball valve to slow the return pump down to the level of the canister. I think (if I'm hearing your plan correctly) I would still be relying on the canister to move water from the drain area to the return area. A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link, no? If the power fails, the canister won't be pulling water out or up and over into the sump. I plan on having the drain stand pipe high enough up so that even if there were a natural siphon, it would only drain about 1/2 to 3/4 inch. I would need to leave room in my sump for an extra 5G.

I'm certainly not trying to be argumentative here (I hope you don't see it that way). I'm just trying to figure things out for the best. By all means, if someone can punch a hole in my plan, I'd rather them do that than have a flooded living room and a divorce on my hands! :) In the same vein, I'd welcome the fact that people on here might have a much better design idea than me!
 
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