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Plumbing a new Reef Tank

P

Pacmanc

Hello Everyone,
I have a newbie question about plumbing my 55 gallon saltwater reef tank. It is not able to be drilled because of the type of glass, so I am using piping that hangs over the rear of tank and goes into a DYI 10 gallon refugium, that I designed. I have read much about using pvc pipe and valves . I have a question first. Is this a good idea? and How do you get two return lines from return pump back into the main tank? I have seen many examples of the return lines but no examples of how to run these from the refugium section up into the tank. I plan to use braided tubing leading off the return pumps, but that doesn't tell me how to continue with 46" blue schedule 40 pipe connected up to the flow nozzles and back into the middle of the back of the tank, and into main tank? Any assistance from you experts would be much appreciated. thanks And happy reefing.
 
diana a

diana a

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
My opinion is ...One pump should only have one return back to main tank, not two returns on one pump.
HOB overflow boxes you have to be careful and keep it clean otherwise it could flood your floors

return pump with the braided tubing you are planning to use, you can use this type of return that goes over your tank

1586893264925.png
 
Goodair

Goodair

Could you post a pic of your sump? You should try to have your return pump separate from the refugium. You use a barbbed fitting to connect a hose to pvc and a hose clamp.
www.homedepot.com

1 in. PVC Poly Insert Male Barb x MPT Adapter 1436010RMC - The Home Depot

This 1 in. x 1 in. PVC 90-Degree Barb x MPT Elbow features a 100 psi maximum working pressure and is used to connect polyethylene pipes (sold separately). Ideal for use in cold water irrigation systems.
www.homedepot.com

Barbed to Slip/Threaded

You would need to brace your pvc onto the cabinet as to avoid vibration and noise.
 
Mark_C

Mark_C

Staff member
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
Wanted to try to point out a few things, and sorry if you know this stuff already, just writing as a response to your post.

If you can go for a bigger sump/fuge than 10g I'd highly recommend it. If you ever have a power outage, your overflow and return line in the main tank will act as a siphon back down to the sump/fuge. If that ever happens, a 10g sump/fuge will definitely overflow onto the floor.
Go for the largest sump/fuge you can fit under the tank and keep the water levels (determined by the dividers you put in) so that the sump/fuge is never more full than 50% under normal use.
I tend to hook my sump/fuge up, run the test flow, then turn off power and let the sump fill with the back-siphon from the main tank. If it gets too close to overflow, I either modify the sump or go bigger.
Always assume there will be a power outage when you're not home and make sure the sump can handle it. It's not only a place to hide things, its's a flood preventer.

To get the water down to the fuge you'll need a hang on back overflow box. Theres a few out there at varying price levels. None are overly reliable, but the Eshopps series is the best of the lot. I ran 2 previous hang on overflows and both were the Eshopps, never had a problem. The Eshopps work very well, are quiet, and are in the 'not insane' price range. You can snag a small one for under or around $100. I've run 2 tanks on these and never had a problem.

For the return to the tank, Diana is spot on, a U tube with directional return is fine. Just make sure the lines/tubes you use will fit the fittings from the return pump and the U tube (Look at the diameter of the fitting of the U-tube, make sure the return pump has a fitting that matches, buy the appropriate tube). Also, get plastic clamp's for that tube size or silicone these assemblies for the return together to assure they don't leak or blow out under pressure. Ask me how I know.

If you think your're going to get into the hobby seriously, save up a bit, or run the charge on a credit card, and grab a reef ready tank, or at least a tank that can be drilled and have an internal overflow box mounted. The advantage of a reef ready tank or a tank you can mount an overflow box to are that these units, unlike hang on backs, have secondary/emergency drains. You'll have no appreciation of how much you need that till after it happens.

No means to sound grim or demeaning, just offering some basic advice, which I'm sure can be expanded by members.
Hope some of this may have helped.

M
 
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H

horseplay

NJRC Member
If I were you I would ditch the 55 and get a drilled tank instead, or one with a build-in overflow. Used tank is cheap and is a very small part of the expense when it comes to reefing. It will save you all kinds of trouble down the road. Just my two cents.
 
DangerDave

DangerDave

NJRC Member
I used an over the rim overflow that I built from pvc for over 10 years. If you build it correctly, it will work. You will need to keep an aqualifter running 24x7 to be positive that the syphon will restart after a power outage. I was never comfortable with it. For me it was in my garage (now fish room), so if there was an issue it wouldn't of been in my house. If this is in your house, or anywhere that you are worried that an overflow could damage the area I'd advise against it.

Good luck!

Dave
 
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