Anyone plumbed their tank into the basement thru a joist?

[davidabrown66]

I'm planning on relocating my sump on the first floor to the garage on the same floor, and I need some advice on how to run the plumbing into the sub-floor.

I plan on running both 1.5" overflows into either a 1.5" or 2" tee so they form one pipe which would then go into the wall behind the tank. I would then run the pipe down the interior of the wall and into the sub-floor at the base of the wall. I have to plumb into the wall, b/c we have new carpet.

Any ideas on how to do this?

I know I'll need to find the studs, and probably cut out a large piece of sheet rock where the plumbing will enter the wall and turn down 90 degrees towards the sub-floor where the holes will be, but now sure how to cut a 2" hole that deep into the flooring with a hole saw.

Thanks everyone,

-David

 

[class clown]

may want to reach out to a guy named "Slickdonkey" on here. he (Brian is his real name) and Mattseattle (Matt) did what you're talking about and could probably offer some advice.

 

[saltwater newbe]

what you need to use is a frostner bit
this bit will drill a hole through the floor
like a hole sawthe size you need for 2"pipe is
a 2 5/16 this is the same kind of bit that
a plumber would use to plumb a house
you can find these at lowes or home depot

 

[davidabrown66]

what you need to use is a frostner bit
this bit will drill a hole through the floor
like a hole sawthe size you need for 2"pipe is
a 2 5/16 this is the same kind of bit that
a plumber would use to plumb a house
you can find these at lowes or home depot

may want to reach out to a guy named "Slickdonkey" on here. he (Brian is his real name) and Mattseattle (Matt) did what you're talking about and could probably offer some advice.

Thanks guys! I'm wondering if the frostner bit has an extension so I can drill 12 inches down into the sub-floor. I'll try and pm Mattseattle and slickdonkey as well.

 

[saltwater newbe]

Thanks guys! I'm wondering if the frostner bit has an extension so I can drill 12 inches down into the sub-floor.

yes there is an extension for these bits . they come in 12 and 18 inch i think
you can get them at the same place you buy the bits

 

[trido]

You will not be able to drill a hole that size with a regular drill. At work today I was using my 2 1/8" forstner bit in my hole hawg http://www.milwaukeeconnect.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_27_40028_-1_684305_192164_192137 and in high gear it stopped a time or two so I put it in low and it nearly broke my wrist. Good luck

 

[Milah]

Thanks guys! I'm wondering if the frostner bit has an extension so I can drill 12 inches down into the sub-floor. I'll try and pm Mattseattle and slickdonkey as well.

I'm not sure if I'm following what you are doing exactly, but I don't understand why you need to drill 12" into the subfloor. You should only be drilling through an 1 1/2" bottom plate and 3/4" sheathing to get into a floor joist bay in your basement. You would not need a Forstner bit (correct spelling) to drill that deep, a cheaper hole saw will do (< $20 at HD).

 

[cindyf]

You want to be careful when you cut out your sheetrock just in case there are any wires behind it. Try to cut into the wood on the stud or keep you blade very flat.

 

[davidabrown66]

Thanks everyone, my plans have changed, b/c my wife doesn't care about the carpet under the tank, so I'll be drilling directly into the floor from the inside/bottom of my cabinet into the sub-flooring...so much easier!

Thanks again everyone for your advice!

-David

 

[dragoneggs]

Thanks everyone, my plans have changed, b/c my wife doesn't care about the carpet under the tank, so I'll be drilling directly into the floor from the inside/bottom of my cabinet into the sub-flooring...so much easier!

Thanks again everyone for your advice!

-David

Okay then be careful drilling through the carpet. Especially if it is berber type or a kind that will run. I drilled about 10 holes through the bottom of my tank stand and the carpet to route all of my pumps in the crawlspace.

The drill bit may not be sharp enough to cleanly cut and will likely burn or catch the carpet and tear it. You may want to try this on a scrap if you can first.

 

[davidabrown66]

Excellent, I'll look at that as well as the pad under the carpet.

Okay then be careful drilling through the carpet. Especially if it is berber type or a kind that will run. I drilled about 10 holes through the bottom of my tank stand and the carpet to route all of my pumps in the crawlspace.

The drill bit may not be sharp enough to cleanly cut and will likely burn or catch the carpet and tear it. You may want to try this on a scrap if you can first.

 

[jsmkmavity]

the best thing to do is cut a rectangular patch out of the carpet where you want to drill. if you use a sharp razor knife it will cut cleanly and if you ever move the tank that piece could be put back if you save it.

 

[dragoneggs]

the best thing to do is cut a rectangular patch out of the carpet where you want to drill. if you use a sharp razor knife it will cut cleanly and if you ever move the tank that piece could be put back if you save it.

I totally agree... if you can. I had to drill my plumbing routes with stand in place. The weight of the stand/tank helped. I used a hole saw that cut through the plywood base, berber carpet, pad, and plywood subfloor. It was not an easy job. I had to keep cleaning the teeth of the saw as it gummed up from the carpet and pad.

 

[davidabrown66]

Ya, I was wondering about that...how to cleanly cut out part of the bottom of the stand to get to the carpet, and then cut out the carpet/pad with a utility knife, and then use a hole saw to get thru the plywood. Oh ya, and move my current plumbing out of the way so I can remove my sump...

I'll have to drill a pilot hole first just to make sure I'm not hitting any joists, b/c I doubled them up before I even bought the tank...that was not fun.

I have an Octopus DNW-200 external skimmer coming on Monday, and I'll have to set that up temporarily with existing plumbing, and I'm hoping to have at least one used tank purchased for my new sump for the following weekend.

Once I have a good idea where in the stand the new plumbing will be drilled, I'm going to start from the garage and plumb towards the tank until I have to remove my current sump so I'm not without for long.

I also may have to build a stand out of plywood and 2x4's in the garage to hold both tanks (one on top of the other with space for lighting etc), lighting, chiller, skimmer, reactor, return pump, etc.

My primary concern is that the water level entering the top tank (sump) is lower than the display tank overflows.

Any other advice?

Thanks!

I totally agree... if you can. I had to drill my plumbing routes with stand in place. The weight of the stand/tank helped. I used a hole saw that cut through the plywood base, berber carpet, pad, and plywood subfloor. It was not an easy job. I had to keep cleaning the teeth of the saw as it gummed up from the carpet and pad.

 

[SamStone]

Did you ever do this?
And what kind of pump did you use to get water back?
Most aren't rated for that kind of height.

 

[plack]

Hi SamStone,


Welcome to reef frontiers

High Pressure pumps people have used in a basement are iwaki's they can go up to 39 feet . Some dolphin/amp masters will pump over 3000 gph at 12 feet .



Paul

 

[davidabrown66]

Did you ever do this?
And what kind of pump did you use to get water back?
Most aren't rated for that kind of height.

Yep, finished that about 3 weeks later. There wasn't any loss of head due to heighth b/c the basement is slightly lower in elevation than the living rm where the tank is. The pump I use is a Blueline HD70 (1750 Gal/hr, which is the same as a Panworld 200PS or an Iwaki MD-70) in the garage where the sump is now, and it returns water back to the tank under the subfloor of the house and up to through the stand and then to the back of the tank for the return. My total run for the return is about 70 feet, and I have about 500/gal per hr loss due to head pressure.