-
Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.
sump in basement Help
- Thread starter mott768
- Start date
Tom, conceptually it looks good but I think you may be a bit undersized across the board.
First off, I'm not sure if a Mag18 is going to give you enough flow in your display tank. I know what they're "rated" to do, but in reality, I haven't seen it especially pushing water up that high. Are there 1 or 2 overflow boxes in the tank? If it's 2, you're really going to be wanting a true 1200gph getting to the tank. Too much less and it's going to be too loud for you.
Next, Id' go at least the next size bigger on all of your pipes. 2" manifold (min), 1.5" feed lines, etc. Carry the larger size right up to the tank and then step down to 1" (or 3/4") at the return line port for the tank.
This is just my opinion. I may have gone overkill in my system but honestly I don't see it. I'm very happy with the way it works. This is just one of those things, it sticks because it's makes the project more expensive but in my experience it's the right way to go.
Good luck.
First off, I'm not sure if a Mag18 is going to give you enough flow in your display tank. I know what they're "rated" to do, but in reality, I haven't seen it especially pushing water up that high. Are there 1 or 2 overflow boxes in the tank? If it's 2, you're really going to be wanting a true 1200gph getting to the tank. Too much less and it's going to be too loud for you.
Next, Id' go at least the next size bigger on all of your pipes. 2" manifold (min), 1.5" feed lines, etc. Carry the larger size right up to the tank and then step down to 1" (or 3/4") at the return line port for the tank.
This is just my opinion. I may have gone overkill in my system but honestly I don't see it. I'm very happy with the way it works. This is just one of those things, it sticks because it's makes the project more expensive but in my experience it's the right way to go.
Good luck.
Thanks John,
do you think I'll need that much flow? The display tank will be a 80 gallon bow with 1 corner overflow, 2) 1/2" outlets and 1) 1 1/2" drain the bulkheads are 1 1/4" drain and 1" return. I used the chart on reef central and it said the mag 18 would give me a 750 gph flow rate at 13' head.... is that calculator accurate? Also can I use 1 1/4" flex for the drain so there is no restriction?
do you think I'll need that much flow? The display tank will be a 80 gallon bow with 1 corner overflow, 2) 1/2" outlets and 1) 1 1/2" drain the bulkheads are 1 1/4" drain and 1" return. I used the chart on reef central and it said the mag 18 would give me a 750 gph flow rate at 13' head.... is that calculator accurate? Also can I use 1 1/4" flex for the drain so there is no restriction?
If all you need upstairs is 600g (1 overflow) then theoretically that pump will be enough... depending on the number of Ts and angles actually needed for implementation. If you have the 18 already then you're not losing anything by trying.
I don't know how I feel about the "main" display feeding the frag tank. If the outputs aren't matched well enough there's going to be water on the floor... and you can't "direct" that flow in the frag tank as that would lead to restriction, not to mention the bubbles that will be in the frag tank. Our main dumps TONS of bubbles into our sump. Enough that it would probably irritate corals and make looking at them (or photography) practically impossible.
That would lead to the need for a bigger pump so that the one pump could feed the frag display as well as the main tank. Look towards a pressure rated pump though. The mags are seriously poor candidates for what we did with our system.
The pipe sizes were recommended based on the head loss on the friction through the narrower pipes getting up to the display, hence the larger pipe size.
Keep working through the design. We got tons of advice when we were designing ours that led to where we ended up. Each iteration through design/question/answer helped perfect the implementation.
I don't know how I feel about the "main" display feeding the frag tank. If the outputs aren't matched well enough there's going to be water on the floor... and you can't "direct" that flow in the frag tank as that would lead to restriction, not to mention the bubbles that will be in the frag tank. Our main dumps TONS of bubbles into our sump. Enough that it would probably irritate corals and make looking at them (or photography) practically impossible.
That would lead to the need for a bigger pump so that the one pump could feed the frag display as well as the main tank. Look towards a pressure rated pump though. The mags are seriously poor candidates for what we did with our system.
The pipe sizes were recommended based on the head loss on the friction through the narrower pipes getting up to the display, hence the larger pipe size.
Keep working through the design. We got tons of advice when we were designing ours that led to where we ended up. Each iteration through design/question/answer helped perfect the implementation.
Phyl, forgive my poor drawing skills, I should have used a different color for the drain, I want to use 1 1/4" flex from the display tank to the sump not the frag tank, the frag tank has it's own drain and return pump. Do you think I'll be ok with the plan? I can always change out the pump at a later time, I figured since I already have a mag 18 I could use that based on the calculator on RC. Eventually I will want to use the extra connection to feed a skimmer so a bigger pump will be need when I save up some extra cash.
Oh, that drain line looks like it goes into the frag tank. What's your thinking on having the frag tank on a second pump? I wonder if there's a potential downside to the system using 2 pumps (other than the obvious cost of electricity)...
Anyone have any thoughts on feeding the skimmer off of the system pump? That's one thing we haven't done. Our skimmer uses its own feed pump (and based on the 1200gph need of it, I doubt we have enough excess from our current pump to feed it anyway).
Anyone have any thoughts on feeding the skimmer through the drain (1200gph) from the main? I'd love to be able to cut out another pump.
Anyone have any thoughts on feeding the skimmer off of the system pump? That's one thing we haven't done. Our skimmer uses its own feed pump (and based on the 1200gph need of it, I doubt we have enough excess from our current pump to feed it anyway).
Anyone have any thoughts on feeding the skimmer through the drain (1200gph) from the main? I'd love to be able to cut out another pump.
Phyl said:
Are you telling me you need to feed your skimmer with 1200gph? With most people saying a feed rate of 1.5-2 times you volume that puts you guys into 600-800 gallons! I must have missed a tank or five last time I was there.
Presuming I read that all wrong, and you were talking about your pump pushing 1200 up to the tank, feeding the skimmer directly from the drain is an excellent idea. Split the drain down in the basement and control the flow through the skimmer with a ball/gate valve. The only thing you may have to be careful about would be the turbulence you might have from the 13 foot drop.
Marcelo -
What size return pump would I need to feed the display tank and a MR1 skimmer? I would like to get the design finalized by the end of this week, my friend who is a plumber is comming Sat. to do all the plumbing for the tank.
John, Is the sizing going to be ok for this setup 1 overflow rated at 700gph? This is the biggest size tank I can put in this location so it wont be made bigger in the future.
Also is it ok to use flex for the drain?
John, Is the sizing going to be ok for this setup 1 overflow rated at 700gph? This is the biggest size tank I can put in this location so it wont be made bigger in the future.
Also is it ok to use flex for the drain?
I think they recommend 900-1200 gph with the MR1. I would stay away from the Mag pumps for this and get a decent pressure rated pump. (Your beckett will work much better with a pressure pump) MRC says you can use a Mag 12, but I would really worry about the performance of it.
You can use flex pipe for your drains. Although I think it might be a good idea to use rigid pvc for as much of the run as you can. Is it possible for you to open up the teeth a little more on the overflow so you can get a higher volume of water through it?
You can use flex pipe for your drains. Although I think it might be a good idea to use rigid pvc for as much of the run as you can. Is it possible for you to open up the teeth a little more on the overflow so you can get a higher volume of water through it?
Tom, there should be no problem using flex hose for your drain line.
As far as the sizes, it's hard for me to tell. Honestly, I never tried anything other than what I have so it's hard for me to say what results you'd get with other equipment/sizes.
Sorry, maybe someone else who's gone with those sizes can chime in.
As far as the sizes, it's hard for me to tell. Honestly, I never tried anything other than what I have so it's hard for me to say what results you'd get with other equipment/sizes.
Sorry, maybe someone else who's gone with those sizes can chime in.