Building a manifold to feed various devices.

[Intheflesh]

hey guys, i want you to critique my design.

in an effort to be more effecient (read cost less) and use less pumps, I am thinking of building a manifold to feed my skimmer, Phosphate reactor, and calcium reactor. Is this typically done from the pump or from the drain pipes?

everything will be contained under my tank in the stand. i have two 1-1/4" drains and two 3/4" returns.

The sump is a 30 gallon tank, the fuge is 15 gallon tank. it will be plumbed with a 1 1/4 drain to drain into the sump.

heres a rough sketch (via MS paint) of what i was thinking.

 

[MisFit]

On the return side I would add two valves and a line returning to the sump (see the red on the drawing). On the drain side I would make sure one of the drains has NO restrictions on it at all and that the drains are not plumbed together. The reactors should either be powered by a powerhead or tapped of the return pump not the drain.

 

[jayman10134]

is there anything powering the skimmer or are you just hoping for some speedy flow down the drain?

 

[Intheflesh]

thanks for the advice, much appreciated. ive been giving it some more thought. I think I may just buy one pump to feed the skimmer, Ca reactor, phosphate reactor. would this be a better idea?

 

[Intheflesh]

is there anything powering the skimmer or are you just hoping for some speedy flow down the drain?

yea pretty much just hoping for good flow. my tank isnt set up right now. im just dowing a little planning right now.

just got a new skimmer, a Euroreef RC,and i tore my system down and am rebuilding to accomidate it

 

[MisFit]

Heres what I mean

 

[jayman10134]

you need 2 pumps i am pretty sure no matter how you do it. i would do 1 to the protein skimmer and one return that also pumps through the reactors. you need 2 due to the amount of flow you need going to your protein skimmer. if you want to save money don't set up the tank.

 

[Intheflesh]

you need 2 due to the amount of flow you need going to your protein skimmer.

the skimmer is a recirculating skimmer, i just need something to feed it, not power it

 

[cujo6984]

make sure the drain is consistent or you will have a really tough time tuning the skimmer

 

[stevenp]

You can run a lot of equipment on one pump, depending on the pump of course.

At one point I was running my skimmer, CA reactor, RDSB, carbon reactor, GFO reactor and UV off of one Mak-4 which was also pumping 10' vertical and 14' horizontal head back to the display. I just t'd off of the return line and made a manifold out of PVC ball valves. Simple yet effective.

 

[stevenp]

On the drain side I would make sure one of the drains has NO restrictions on it at all and that the drains are not plumbed together. The reactors should either be powered by a powerhead or tapped of the return pump not the drain.

+1. I would go a step further and say not to run ANY equipment off the drain side, but that's just me .

 

[stevenp]

Here's a picture of my manifold. I made it so that all the ball valves were inside the sump with all nipples pointing downwards. That way if a valve leaks or a hose blows off, it won't be a big deal because it will (hopefully) be contained in the sump.

 

[Intheflesh]

steve thanks for the advice.