Tieing it all together

[Phyl]

I've got the 150g stock tank (frags), the 100g stock tank currently full of smelly rock (plans for fuge, skimmer & Ca Reactor) and my 120. The 2 stock tanks are in the basement and the 120 is right above them adjacent to a wet wall (what luck!). I'm trying to come up with a strategy for plumbing to tie them all together. Water needs to be pumped up out of the basement to the main which should fall into the 100g tank. Was planning on having the pump in the 150 which would pump up to the main and fall back to the 100 which would overflow to the 150, forming a loop.


Or should the 100g stock tank pump water to both the 150 & the 120 with both overflowing into the 100? Right now the 100 is raised up a few inches to get it higher than the 150, but I'm thinking (now that I have 250g, umpteen pounds of rock and a slew of frags in them) that they need to be reversed and the 150 should be higher to overflow into the 100.

What's the best way to do this?

Thoughts?

 

[concept3]

I say pump OUT of the 100 gallon (your future plans as fuge) into the Tank upstairs.
Upstairs tank to drain into the 150 gallon (frag tank).
150 gallon tank to overflow into the 100 gallon tank, and pumped back up again.

However, I would divide the 150 gallon tank so that water overflowing FROM the 150 gallon frag tank gets skimmed first, Calcified, and then fuge-ified and then pumped back up. bUt ThAt'S jUsT mE!

 

[Phyl]

So overflow out of the main into the 150 and not pump into it, huh? My thought on overflow was that it was uncontrollable flow so I won't be able to direct it like you could if you were pumping it. That would then force the frag tank to rely on powerheads for directed flow.

Thoughts?

 

[sharks]

I would just install a large closed loop on the frag tank then. Better 1 large pump them many power heads IMO. I just finished mine with an oceansmotions unit.
Here is a pic of the plumbing on my 120.

HIH and good luck.
Keep us updated.

 

[Phyl]

So overflow into the 150 and then use a pump to create flow for the frag tank?

Here's my only concern (LoL for the moment)...

If I feed to my main and have that feed the frag tank the frag tank will always be getting 2nd hand water. Never the stuff fresh out of the Ca reactor/skimmer. If I overflow from the main into the skimmer/ca reactor pot and pump out to the main and to the frag tank then it will be getting "fresher" water...?

Will probably be feeding a separate fuge system (55g tank) at some point (?) and a 200g display in the basement next year.

Keep up with the ideas. I really want this to be well thought out when I go to implement it!

Thanks gang!

 

[sharks]

I wouldn’t worry about the “dirty water”. All the water is the same for the most part. Use some pre-filter pads if you want to catch the particulate matter before it enters the frag tank. The only down side is if you are trying to chill the frag tank. By the time the water comes out of the display tank it will have warmed up. But this would really only matter if you are running a chiller and have temp issues in the 150.

 

[jimroth]

Hi Sharks--
Great tank!
Don't mean to butt in, but I need to ask you a couple questions about your plumbing.
Is that 1.5" or 2" going from the O/M to the bulkheads?
What size bulkheads are those, in what size hole? Are they threaded?
Who drilled your tank?
Is the Little Giant your return pump?
What pump is on the closed loop?
Did you consider putting outlets into the end panels?
Thanks.

 

[Phyl]

Started building the platform for the 150 (frag tank) last night. We're going to put it 14 off the ground and there will be enough space on it for me to stand on it as well. Once we finish that tonight we'll remove all of the frags from the stock tank, empty it out and then raise it up off the ground. We'll drill it so that it can overflow into the 100 and then create the closed loop for flow.

Could probably use some locline if Andy, I mean Anyone had any lying around ;D . Would you drill the 150 for the returns or just plumb them over the top? If I drill I'll be limited in the placement of the bulkhead to the front or back center of the tank where it is flat.

What size pump is that, Mark? And what size is the piping from it? The ID for the pump we have handy is 3/4". John was hesitant to step up any further than 1" coming out of there. Is an OM necessary for the frag tank?

Any other words of wisdom?

 

[sharks]

OK here goes
The Little Giant is what runs the sump/REF/AGA overflows.
The big pump is a Sequence Reflow Hammerhead. It has 1.5” in and out of the pump. Once into the OM unit it is split into 4 1” returns. I am using the OM drum that has 2 ports open at a time. Once the 1” lines go into the tank they are split again into 2 ¾” locline spouts.
All of the holes were drilled by my boss at the LFS. I had 6 1” holes in the back for the returns.
1 1.5” on the bottom for the pump intake. And 1 1” on the bottom for a quick water change/dump line. Makes water changing soooooo easy
I didn’t want returns on the side but there is no reason not to?
I just rather have them on the back.

Glad to see some progress Phyl. No you don’t have to have the OM. You could use sea swirls or a SCWD. I used the SCWD at the store and while it worked OK in less then three months it broke down. The OM was a great option for multiple returns and cheaper then a motorized ball valve and the controller for it. I am very happy with the OM unit.
I think that’s about it. Here is a pic of the design I drew a year ago…

 

[Phyl]

Thanks. The stage is built and the 150 is now sitting upon it. It was a good opportunity to clean out the tank, change some water and rearrange the frags . Carbon is now running through the phosban reactor I picked up at MACNA. Next order of business is to build the recirc loop. I'd say by the end of October we'll be drilling the hole through the floor shudders at the thought.

If I've learned anything since we setup the 120 almost a year ago it is that all the plumbing needs to have shutoff valves and quick disconnects on it so those will be factored in everywhere imaginable!

 

[JohnS_323]

Well, we finally finished Phase 1 (as we are affectionately calling it!). Attached is an exceedingly cheesebag picture of what we've got. Basically, it's 100 gallon sump feeding a 150 gallon frag tank. We draw out of the bottom of the 100 gallon sump and return to the 4 corners of the 150. There are 3 bulkhead fittings in the 150 that are used for drain lines to the sump.

The system circulates well, the only problem is that the air/water flowing in through the drain lines is really loud. I'm thinking about changing the current setup (which is just a screen attached to a 45 degree angle coming out of the bulkhead) to something more like the drain lines in a reef ready set up. I was going to create a U-tube that would allow the drain water to flow over the top of the tube, hopefully reducing the awful sucking sound we currently have. Another advantage to this, I think, is that there will always be water in the drain line. If there is a power outage, I won't have to worry about an air lock in the line (kind of experienced that when we first started the system up, but it worked itself out).

Anyway, here are the drawings, any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

TIA,

John

 

[JohnS_323]

Update: We changed the drain lines to the “U” shaped configuration and it seems to be working much better. We had to make a couple of minor mod’s for it to get really quiet, though. The first thing we did was drill about a dozen holes in the vertical drain. It was better but still not great. Then, on Phyl’s recommendation, I put a drinking straw into each pipe. That made it better still. Finally, I cut the straws down to be flush with the top of the pipe and that really did the trick. We topped each line with a 3/4” bulkhead screen. It’s now down to a very tolerable volume.

We’ll post some pics of the whole thing in a day or so.

John.

 

[Phyl]

We're throwing a Calcium Reactor Party on Saturday morning. Anyone who has any experience with setting one up is desparately needed Those who just want to watch are more than welcome!

PM me if you're able to come help set it up!

--p