Plumbing question

[JohnS_323]

You may not want to hear this but in my opinion you really should step up to a bigger size right out of the pump and step back down just before the fitting in your display tank. If it were me, I would come out of the pump at 1" and immediately step up to 1.5". I'd carry the 1.5" all the way up to the tank and reduce it back down to 3/4" right at the bulk head for the returns. You may be able to get away with 1.25" but personally I'd go with 1.5". Just my 2 cents on it.

Sorry, I can't really speak to whether or not you have the right sized pump. It seems OK based on the charts but I swear those numbers are always higher on the charts than they are in real life. Plus after a system runs for a while it seems like there is a reduction in flow. It could be the pump breaking in or lines getting caked in grime or something but it just seems that they don't push the same amount over time.

HTH

 

[arvin]

The gap between the door jamb and the ceiling does not fit a 1.5. I guess I'll try 1.25. And I will do what you suggested. Increase right after the pump and reduce it near the bulkhead.

Thanks for being honest.!

 

[arvin]

Thanks to the long weekend, my project comes to a close (again). I changed the line return line to 1.5" as suggested. Behind the display tank, I temporarily glued the overflow line and the return line and did a water test. It is leaking in only two places, in the inlet and outlet of the pump. I hand tightened the thread of the pump and that is why perhaps it is leaking.

Should I use a wrench to tighten it all the way, or is there a glue or cement (right, it doesn't make sense) that I can apply?

John, you said the 1.5 return should go all the way the bulkheads in the tank. I noticed that return line is a 1" bulkhead with a 0.75" barb coming out of it. Now should I cut it down from 1.5 to 1" right on the bulk head or since there is a barb, should I cut it down to 0.75" at the barb?

The overflow is 1" which I am leaving as it is. Are there any other backups or hook ups that I have to do by the display tank which may be useful in future?

 

[Brian]

I would only hand tighten the fittings on to the pump,otherwise you may crack the pump housing. Did you use teflon tape on the threads? If not I would try that, I wrapped up the threads on my pumps pretty well.

 

[JohnS_323]

Yeah, go with a couple wraps of teflon tape. If that doesn't work, you could try pipe dope. That may work better. I wouldn't use a wrench, though.

I have the same return setup as you. I carried the 1.5 PVC right the return bulk head and ended it with a 3/4" barb. I then used a small piece of 3/4" vinly hose to connect the two barbs. The connection piece of vinyl hose is about 4" long.

I can't think of any other back-ups. It seems like you've got it covered. One thing we wish we could have done was plumb a closed loop system into the display but our tank is too close to the wall to allow for it. I'm not sure how much room you have but that may be something you want to tackle later on down the line.

Congrats on getting this far. Post some pics when it's all done!

 

[arvin]

My wife said, if I make one more hole in the floor she is going put one in my head.

That said, what is the closed loop you are talking about? I have seen one in Melev's reef and that is going to be one of my future projects. But that one as I understand, runs on a separate pump and recirculates the water and puts back into the tank. How can I do a similar thing in my current project where the pump is in the basement and pumping the water to first level?

TIA.

 

[Phyl]

Drop a line into the tank for the pump feed, pump in the stand, returns coming back to the tank split in various directions. No hole through the floor necessary, just enough space behind the tank for the pipe to run down the back of the tank and back up again.

 

[arvin]

Like this?:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/sept2003/short.htm

 

[JohnS_323]

My bad! I probably didn't phrase that properly and I'm sorry if I confused you, Arvin. The closed loop system I was talking about does not get plumbed into the basement. It runs on a separate pump sitting in the cabinet upstairs.

What I was envisioning is similar to the drawing you linked to. The only difference would be that there is no sump. The drain line would siphon/pull water from the tank and go directly into a different pump in the cabinet. The return line would be just like the one in the link. I'd probably put some drop lines off it with loc-line nozzles to direct flow at and behind rock work, but essentially it's the same thing.

Sorry again and tell your wife that you're quite happy with the current number of holes in your head!

 

[TNT_Tile]

Make sure your intake is well below water lever (3-4 inches). I built my first closed loop and on the first try I kept getting micrbubbles in the line. Re-Plumbed everything with the same effect. Nothing was leaking and I had no idea where air was getting in untill I just sat and watched. A vortex of air was being sucked into the intake once every few minutes. Easy solution to lower the intake, but it drove me nuts for two days.