Boom Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Hey all, I thought I would post this here even though my application is a freshwater setup, but you guys are definitely the go to guys when it comes to this stuff. So your help would be appreciated. I hope my questions make sense and that I have the correct vocabulary talking about this stuff. It's all new to me and what I do know so far I've learned in the past 2 days. I'll be setting up a 180 gallon (72"x24"x24") tank. It isn't drilled yet, but I made sure the bottom isn't tempered. I want to set up a sump system for the filtration. What I know so far is that I need to drill 2 holes in the bottom of the tank. This will be done at the back middle (due to how my stand and under cabinet setup) and an overflow needs to be built around this. Bulkheads need to go through the 2 holes, one of which is for the drain from the tank into the sump, the other is the return line from the sump back to the tank. I intend to use a Durso standpipe, so that will be attached to the one bulkhead. The actual sump will likely be a homemade acrylic tank (about 30 gallons) with acrylic baffles offset so the water flows under one, over the next, under the next and to the "pump chamber" where the pump will return the now filtered water back to the tank. The return line will be 1" flex tubing (to reduce elbows and limiting factors as such.) Now my questions: 1. What size bulkheads should I be using? My goal is for about 1000 to 1500 gph filtering thru the sump. What size pipes and return line, will 1" be good for the return (flex tubing)? 2. Does the rating of the return pump have to match the flow capacity of the bulkhead? i.e. If I buy a pump capable of 3000 gph to pump the water out of the sump and back into the tank, and the bulkhead is 1" which can only do 600 gph (I'm told), will I be emptying the sump and overflowing the tank before the drain can keep up? Or will the flow (gph) of the pump be limited by the size of the flex tubing used in the return line anyway (1" tubing)? 3. I don't like the idea of only filtering the water at the top of the tank. With a normal overflow, that seems to be the case as the only water going over the ovrflow is the top water. Is there any reason I can't make the overflow out of acrylic and drill holes or cut slots in it near the bottom of the tank (say 2" off the substrate)? This seems to me like it would then also pull water from near the bottom off the tank, and more effectively collect fish poo that settles on the bottom? Is this possible? Will it work the way I theorize? Acrylic can be siliconed to glass right? 4. I would like to have 2 outputs into the tank (returning from the sump) each with a spraybar on it. I intend on a single line from the pump and once it hits the top of the overflow box, a y connector will split it into 2 where a spraybar will be attached to each line. I would like the spray bars pointed from the middle of the tank and down and to the outsides of the tank. This will give me flow in a circular motion from the middle top of the tank, out towards both sides, down and around, hopefully pushing debris (poo) towards the bottom of the overflow box (where I've drilled holes or slots). Does this sound o.k? Will 1 pump (3000gph) give me enough flow coming out of each spraybar? 5. How crucial is it for me to have a larger sump. I'm fairly restricted as it has to be less than 36" long (probably closer to 32")? 6. What am I missing, forgetting, not understanding? Thanks. Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2manytanks Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 (edited) 3. I don't like the idea of only filtering the water at the top of the tank. With a normal overflow, that seems to be the case as the only water going over the ovrflow is the top water. Is there any reason I can't make the overflow out of acrylic and drill holes or cut slots in it near the bottom of the tank (say 2" off the substrate)? This seems to me like it would then also pull water from near the bottom off the tank, and more effectively collect fish poo that settles on the bottom? Is this possible? Will it work the way I theorize? Acrylic can be siliconed to glass right? DO NOT attempt that. In the event of a power failure or your return pump failing you are going to drain the whole tank all over your floor. If you're going to do an overflow with the huge flowrate (for freshwater) that you've mentioned, you'd be better off to just try and get some of that flow at the bottom of the tank to keep the waste in suspension so that it can be drawn out of the overflow, or use additional powerheads to stir up the debris. Edited October 4, 2008 by 2manytanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boom Posted October 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 But I'll be using a durso standpipe, won't that prevent the tank from draining if the pump is shut off? Cause it'll only drain down to the level of the bend at the top of the durso, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2manytanks Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 But I'll be using a durso standpipe, won't that prevent the tank from draining if the pump is shut off? Cause it'll only drain down to the level of the bend at the top of the durso, right? Sorry, you mentioned you were going to use a standpipe, but I forgot. Yup, you'd be safe. But I'm not sure how effective it would be, I think you'd probably wind up with a bunch of debris building up in the bottom of the overflow where it may be harder to vaccum up than in the tank. On the other hand, if you're building the Durso standpipe yourself and build it so that it can be easily pulled straight up out of the bulkhead, you'd be able to just pull it out and flush away all the debris REALLY fast. Then just stick the standpipe back in. Might work really nice. I'm still learning all the plumbing myself, in fact I just built a Durso standpipe for myself today. Boy it's sweet, tank is dead quite now. It can be a pain trying to find all the plumbing you need, especially bulkheads that will work easily with the other parts you get. So I'd suggest since you're lucky enough to be starting right from scratch, to get all your plumbing in advance before drilling your tank, that way you can drill to the size of the bulkhead you are going to use instead of trying to find the right bulkhead for your plumbing in the size you need for the hole you've drilled. I'd go for a 1 1/2 bulkhead, maybe 2 - but I'm sure 1 1/2 would handle what you want to do. If you haven't seen it yet, check out Durso's website, great info not only on standpipes but bulkheads and sizing too : Durso Standpipes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boom Posted October 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 Thanks 2manytanks. I will be definitely getting all my plumbing before drilling. If I go with a 1 1/2" bulkhead, what size of return should I go with? Would 1" suffice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 I think 1" would be plenty. I'm doing 2 x 3/4" and like that, but my returns come in thru the top corners, drilled in the back glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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