[PLUMBING] Step inside guys and critique my plumbing

[Kevin McG]

As you all know I am pretty new to this hobby and the plumbing part of this project has been something I have not been looking forward to but it is time.

I am trying to keep it clean and simple yet I want it to function properly at the same time of course.

I am doing a simple straight into 45 degree 1 1/2"

Then after straight section back into another 45

More to come...

 

[Kevin McG]

not sure if these are going to be to low/high

finished the durso also

I also picked up 2 1 1/2" ball valves but I cannot see why I need to add them and where.

 

[~Flighty~]

If you are doing some type of a durso to quiet the noise of the overflow, those pipes might go too deep in the sump and put too much back pressure on the pipe. If you see a flushing effect when you get it all going, that might be the cause.

Edit: you posted while I was typing.

 

[RichConley]

Was gonna say the same thing as flighty.


Also, dursos work better if the pipe size is a lot bigger than the bulkhead, IE using 1.5" pvc on a 1" bulkhead, so that the durso is alwasy FULL of water....

When the bulkhead is hte choke point, theres no waterfall/gurgling effect inside the pipe. This will also keep air from going down into the sump, and keep everything quieter

 

[~Flighty~]

Try it out befoer you change anything. Dursos are strange and there are so many things that effect their performance.

 

[Kevin McG]

Do you think I need to add a ball valve anywhere?

 

[Kevin McG]

Basically with the durso's I duplicated them exactly the way the persome I bought the tank from had them, without the hole in the top cap. I will drill that out after I get water in the tank and start the system. I will start with a 1/16" hole.

 

[CamaroJWeed]

You might want to use the ball valves just outside the tank, that way if you have to do some work in the sump and you need the water level low you can isolate the tank and keep all the water in your overflows, otherwise it is going to drain...just my 2 cents...

what are you doing with the tank below? What purpose will it serve? if it going to be a fuge or if you plan on adding stuff in the future, you might want to plumb both drains to the same general area so if you add baffles etc to create different areas, you can have one section as an inlet, and subdivide it from there...

Now thats 4 cents...

 

[NeO]

Maybe on your return but not on your drain pipes.
Gustavo

 

[smcnally]

I would put a ball valve on bothe the drain and return. They are always good in an emergency, plus you can throttle flow a little with them.

 

[Kevin McG]

what are you doing with the tank below? What purpose will it serve? if it going to be a fuge or if you plan on adding stuff in the future, you might want to plumb both drains to the same general area so if you add baffles etc to create different areas, you can have one section as an inlet, and subdivide it from there...
Now thats 4 cents...

The tank below will act as a sump only. I will probaby add a seperate fuge at a later time.

 

[CamaroJWeed]

Think hard about that...make sure your plan now is for the future if you can help it, plumbing is one of those things that is hard to "rework" once it is up and running...

 

[Kevin McG]

Think hard about that...make sure your plan now is for the future if you can help it, plumbing is one of those things that is hard to "rework" once it is up and running...

You do have a point. It would take nothing to run a longer pipe on one side to the same side of the sump. I will sleep on this and redo one side to see how it looks.

 

[CamaroJWeed]

Good luck and keep the pictures coming as you progress, lots of work but you are going to love it!!!

 

[me2003]

You may want to put the drains on one side of the sump and allow enough
height to add pipes going straight down. Your drain creates a lot of air bubbles
and this allows for the furthest distance frorm your pump. Also if you need
to add further air removal later you can.It only takes another 45 to do this
ex.

 

[Kevin McG]

Maybe what I should do is come straight down from both bulkheads into a 90's
and connect with a long pipe. Then I can put a ball valve and a straight pipe going straight down to the sump(on the far left of right).

I always was told 45's were better than using 90's but in my case seems like I may have to go that way.

I guess the possibilities are endless when it comes to the plumbing and everybody has there way of doig things and in time I am sure things will get changed toms of times untill I get something that works for my setup.

 

[JohnK]

from the pic the duroso looks like it might be a bit high compared the the overflow wall. Personally I like to set mine up so that if the drain intake gets a bit clogged the water will rise up to the air intake and flood it creating more suction (preventing an overflow) and making a loud sucking noise (alerting me to a potential overflow). I use a small hole drilled in the PVC cap on top of the duroso and then drop a few zip ties into the hole to limit the air flow. It's easy to adjust the air flow this way, and again, if the water intake becomes clogged or partially obstructed then the rising water level in the overflow will cause the duroso to seal off (air) and still drain but make a lot of noise. (try your set up as is, if it seems too high it's easy to saw off an inch or two)

As for the drains into the sump, they may be a bit too low. If they are below water level you will likely see some gurguling on that end. If they are above water level you will see increased splashing and bubbles. I would suggest you try a "reverse duroso" or what I use (see attachment). Either way you want to break the suction and allow excess air to escape from the overflow

JK.

 

[JohnK]

Oh, I forgot to add,

If you don't have or aren't planning to add baffles to your sump you can eliminate most of the bubbles by using a "hang on filter sock" (marine depot calalog P9) or a homemade version of one. You will probablly need to use this in conjunction with the "reverse duroso" or my design, but if you do use one of those combo's you will be able to run a sump with little to no bubbles/microbubbles even without baffles. I can show you how to make a DIY filter sock using some matting from walmart ($2.50) and a CPVC frame ($2.00 HD)

That said, baffles are probablly better (unless you want an easy to wash out detritis collector, but one that needs to be washed out frequently). If your not sure I would just say that it is very easy to make baffles and silicone them into a glass sump and if your hesitant I would be happy to help you do it. Right now I'm running my 120 with a rubbermaid sump so baffles aren't really an option but I've been amazed by how well the giant filter sock I made works for reducing microbubbles.

Are you going to the next meeting? I might go, if I do I could bring examples of what I'm talking about.

 

[Kevin McG]

Ok made slight modification, think this will be a better plan?
The union is just holding up the pipe

 

[BigCrowd42]

when I set up my 125g i filled it with plain water and experimented with the plumbing for a few days to get it quiet.I also found rigid pipe makes more noise than flexible.