Help with Sump

[YamahaF934]

Okay, So I am about to start the plumbing on my 140 gallon.

I have a 40 Gallon Breeder and this is the setup I was thinking of using.

Main questions:

1. Is 3/4 in drain enough for a 140 gallon.
2. Is this an easy setup to maintain. (Water changes, emergencies, etc) I ask because I am leaving for a month this summer, so my mom needs to take care of it.
3. Is a 1" return large enough?

Any changes I should make before I go buy all the piping?

Thanks

 

[user 26995]

I am thinking the overflow/siphon, sould be the 1" and the returns 3/4". I believe thats the way they are set up. Thats the way my 180 is plumbed.

Sent from my SCH-I405 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Zerc]

Agreed, 3/4" drains will not be able to keep up with a 3/4" return. I did some reading on this for my setup and it suggested 1" bulkheads with oversided (1 1/4") pipes.

GPM/GPH Flow based on PVC Pipe Size, ie, How much water can flow through Sch 40 Pvc Pipe Size 1/2" 3/4" 1" 1.5" 2" 2.5" 3" 4" 6"

There is a link to max waterflow on pvc depending on pressure. A 1" bulkhead will limit you to almost 1000 gph, and a return with 3/4" will max out (with medium pressure) at almost 1500 gph. This should be enough for a herbie using 1" bulkheads with 1 1/4" plumbing.

Google Image Result for http://epicaquarium.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/standpipe-close.jpg

something like that correct?

 

[TJL]

Good links from zerc ^above^ as an example for my 125g with dual 'Herbie' overflows it has 1-1/2" drains with gatevalve$ and 3/4" emergency drains. My return pump is a Pan World 100PX-X that with head loss is producing maybe 1050gph. Hope this helps.

Cheers, Todd

 

[dnjan]

Yes - the bigger the overflow lines the better.

Don't forget that after a few years they will "gunk-up" a bit. Which will reduce flow.

Also, you should seriously consider spaflex instead of rigid pipes for the overflow lines. Reduces plumbing elbos (headloss).

As far as being gone for a month - I would skip the waterchange rather than risking an inexperienced person doing it. It is amazing how many things an experienced person notices while doing a waterchange, that someone not familiar with the system would miss. To me, it is safer to have someone not familiar with the system do the minimum necessary to keep things running.

 

[YamahaF934]

Thanks for the input. The tank is only drilled with stock 3/4 and 1 inch holes. So I am limited there. Can i drill these out further?? (Although I alresdy pu my order in for bulkheads)

 

[Zerc]

I think the four holes you have seem to be the correct sizes. You have a 1" main drain, a 1" secondary drain, a 3/4" emergency drain, and a 3/4" return. The only one I would consider making bigger would be the emergency drain.

 

[YamahaF934]

No the way i have it set up now is a dual herbie overflow. So two 1inch syphon drains and two 3/4inch emergency straight pipe overflows. The return will go up the back of the tank and over the rim.

 

[dnjan]

I'm not quite understanding the T-off the return line for the refugium. Is that just to "wash" pods from the refugium back to the return pump? Not for chaeto, I assume.

 

[Webos]

I had my sump setup the same way with a ball valve to control flow into the fuge but after a couple of weeks i removed the ball valve and put one of my drains into the fuge and one to the skimmer camber.

 

[trido]

I agree with Webos on how to feed the fuge. The Mag 18 will probably be just about strong enough to max out your 1" primary drains with this set up and taking 4-500GPH away from your display might not be best for nutrient export. IMO, a fuge will thrive better with the dirty water. If you haven't built it already, you could just put the fuge in the middle so you don't have to split up any flow.
Also, just to reiterate. With a stock Aqueon/Marineland tank you want to use the 1" drain as the primary and the 3/4" drain as the back up for the Herbie method.

 

[Chichas01]

One thing that I'm seeing in your design is that with the size of your return section, you will be topping off very frequently. There isn't much wiggle room there for evaporation. What are your options for maybe having a remote/seperate fuge? Auto top-off system? Room for a bigger tank for the sump/fuge combo?

 

[YamahaF934]

No real room for another tank. This is a design I was given as a good option for a sump. I just got my 40 gallon breeder today, so I am going to start the process of getting the glass etc.

Is a sump better if it drains into skimmer chamber, then into the fuge and then into the return as a one way flow sump?

 

[dnjan]

If the tank drains into the fuge area (dirtiest water and suspended detritus to feed critters and macro), and then water flows over a baffle into an area with the skimmer pump, which then feeds the area with the return pump, you will be sending the cleanest water back up to the tank.

 

[YamahaF934]

I have drawn up two other layouts:

 

[blk822822]

I have always used your last design. But you should have a baffle befor the return pump too. Or some egg crate to keep the macros from going over into your return pump.

 

[Webos]

YamahaF934,

I would of go with your first drawing with each set of drains going to each chamber. Here is a video of my setup with my 2" drains going into each chamber of my sump.
One month after moving it into the houses - YouTube

 

[trido]

I had my 20 long sump on my 65 much like your last design. It tends to be my favorite design of fuge/sump combo. IMO, as long as you have a float switch type of ATO the return chamber size doesn't really matter.

Also, one thing I do with my sumps is to remove the third baffle on the fuge/skimmer side and raise the center one up. This forces the water down into the fuge rather than traveling right across the top of it. Unless you want to run a power head. Also, you definitely want another baffle and some sort of macro catch on the return pump chamber or your intake will constantly be plugged or you will have macro in the display.

 

[dnjan]

In general, macro grows better if there is more water movement.
It looks like the flow in the last drawing will be pretty mild in the fuge area.