Plumbing question

[capdippe]

Hi I've been bothered by the amount of detritus build up in my sump, and by the continue need for filter floss; so I've decided to try and fix the problem.

Here's the first part of the sump (pic1). I want to remove the filter box by removing the "T" valve and lifting the box out of the sump (pic2). Then I want to add a flex tubing from the remaining pipe down to a hang on filter sock. This would allow me to funnel all the water through a sock whenever I want to polish the water, and it will allow me to clean the sump free of debris.

I have some concerns though. When I bought the tank (used) I wanted to clean out the sump, so I disconnected the sump from the tank and removed the sump. Once it was all clean I went to put it back. I couldn't get the drain pipe to reconnect to the "T" valve. It seemed that the pipe was 1/2" to 1" lower than the connection fitting. I tried to force it in place, but couldn't get it. I also rearranged the sump and still couldn't get it in place. So I drained 50% of the water and removed most of the rock from the DT. Once I did this the two pieces joined up perfectly. I replaced the water and rock, and moved on (pic3). Why did this happen? Is the tank under stress by having the sump connected this way? Would it be bad to undo it due to structural fatigue? The stand has no signs of water damage or warping, and is level. Any input form you guys/gals would be appreciated, thanks Matt.

 

[capdippe]

sorry pic2 is wrong it should be this.

 

[ac7av]

I don’t know this for sure but aren’t acrylic tanks supposed to be fully or mostly supported on the bottom? I’m guessing this is acrylic and the sump is holding it up and when you remove it, then it starts sagging and you have to release some weight in the tank to raise the bottom back up to reconnect the sump.

 

[capdippe]

I don't know? I want make the change, but don't quite know if i will damage the tank in the process.

 

[thatguy559]

+1 to erik accrylic tanks need to be fully supported on the bottom

 

[capdippe]

Well hold up. You mean to tell me that a 60X20X18 tank is bowing from a 5 1/2"X 5 1/2" sqare?

 

[mcoomer]

What am I missing here? Looking at the pics, it appears that you have a hole cut in the corner of your stand and the drain pipe passes through that to the top of your drip tray. You have a wood top on your stand, right? Am I seeing it wrong? In my experience the difficulty that you had getting your fittings threaded back together is somewhat due to the nature of PVC. Threaded PVC fitting tend to bind if the alignment is off even a little bit.

When I first got my 125 back in '98 I had a wet dry filter with a drip tray setup just like you do. I pulled that out and ran my drain directly to that section and put my skimmer in there too. I went from a rigid piece of PVC to spaflex tubing too. It worked really well but I still had detritus on the bottom of the sump that I had to stir up occasionally. In my new 180 I'm running tons of flow through my sump and still see stuff building up in the bottom of the sump so I'm not sure that there's a way to prevent this other than running a mechanical filter, like a filter sock, all the time. I don't want to add the maintenance of cleaning that sock so I periodically put a sock over the inlet to my return pump and stir everything up in the sump with a turkey baster. Once the storm clears I pull the sock out, clean it, and repeat in 6 months, a year, whenever.

Mike

 

[thatguy559]

What type of wood is your stand made out of

 

[ac7av]

My monitor just wasn’t showing the wood well, it all looks black but I see now that you pointed it out.

Two thoughts on it then.
1 its just the angle of the plumbing connections that is making it difficult to put it back together. I have a angled connections like that and had to use a rubber coupler to connect it. its not that it didn’t line up but you cant get a screw on connector to connect because of the clearance when putting the two pieced together.

2 The wood is not able to support the tank and is more cosmetic then functional in this aspect.

 

[thatguy559]

I don't think the angle is an issue he clearly Stated when he took out some water and rocks it hooked right up the issue here is the Stand is not holding up to the weight. Particle board is known to flex a bit causing uneven loads accross the tank seams.

What kind of wood is the stand made out of

 

[Krish]

I don't think the angle is an issue he clearly Stated when he took out some water and rocks it hooked right up the issue here is the Stand is not holding up to the weight. Particle board is known to flex a bit causing uneven loads accross the tank seams.

What kind of wood is the stand made out of

I agree...Seems like it is the stand sagging more than anything. Might need to support the tank a bit better

 

[capdippe]

Hi, sorry I'm getting back to the thread so late! So I took out the trickle box, and hooked up the flex tubing to the remaining pipe (pic1). I then noticed that the system is now 4X louder than before, and the hose barb now has a slow leak (pic2). I think I'll just run a bead of silicone around the out side of it, cause I don't trust the 1 1/2" bulk head that the entire assembly attaches to due to it's 11 year old age. I may have another leak, but am still looking into it. I had to use dental floss to hold up the filter sock, which is reducing noise. The guys at Barrier have been great with me over the phone, but I tell you what this is why I try to buy new stuff. (I bought the tank off of Craig list not at Barrier, they're just helping me fix it, and you guys :lol. I got a 48" level form lows to check the tank. The top of the stand is 100% level (measured from the inside), the top of the tank is level, however the tank leans back towards the wall by about a 1/2" or so. Does this look safe enough to use or should I figure something else out? here are a few more pics to. Thank you for your help. I can't deal with flooding the place, that's my main concern, damaging the home , Matt.

 

[Krish]

Nice! As for your noise, take a look at the plumbing coming down in one of my old sumps in the picture below. I put a Tee on the end of the plumbing in this one and on my other tank I had an elbow which worked as well. I was having a noise issue and by me re-directing the sumps in-coming water from the pipe itself, it got rid of it totally. I guess what was happening was the exiting water was coliding with the incoming water. Not sure if that was the case, but it was the only logical thing I came up with and it worked LOL!!




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[ntswift]

I have a 260 acrylic that i thought the same thing, that it was plenty level and didnt need anything else. I supported the heck out of the bottom of the stand however i was told to ALSO put 1/2 styrofoam insulation to help out with the imperfections in the stand. I agree with the rest that you need more support under the stand. That is the only reason I can think how your tank raised up could have happened. It sucks I know, trust me I had to re-due my tank several times, but like you said you don't want it to damage your home or loose all your hard work and livestock that has been put into that tank. Good luck!

Matt

 

[mcoomer]

Pull that threaded adapter out of the coupler and put some teflon thread sealant on there. Much more effective than tape on threads. As for the noise, run a length of hose that long enough that the end is just under the surface of the water in the sump. That will cut down on the splashing noise.

Mike