Plumming my sump

[Mussin]

I am in the process of plumming my sump and made a quick crude drawing. What do you guys think?

Any issues? ball valve or gate valve?



Jeremy

[Entropy]

I don't think I have ever restricted the flow of my pump, so I wouldn't put either type of valve where you have it pictured. I like to size my pump so it can flow max and I don't have to pay for power I am wasting. Otherwise is looks good to me.

[jon99]

Agree with above. Run the pump wide open, if it's too much for your drain get a smaller pump, or drill a larger/another one. Valves and unions are more important on external pumps. If you remove the pump for service you can simply close the valve rather than drianing the sump. With your internal pump that won't be a problem.

Speaking of the pump, the mag 9.5 flows a max 950gph. How much head will you have on it? According to the overflow calculator your 1" drain is undersized for 950gph. I would not cut it too close and maybe bump that up to a 1.5" drain. And while your at it do 2 X 1.5" drains. You never know when a snail, some algae, dead fish (hopefully not), etc will clog that drain and you overflow your tank. Best to double up on the drains and have a back up.

I would reconsider the mag. They are cheap up front, but they are inefficient energy hogs, not to mention loud and run hot. I'd much rather buy a quality used pump like an Eheim. Water blaster pumps are super efficeint too and seem to be getting good reviews. Lots of other options too, do a search.

What size is the sump? 950gph is quiet a bit of flow. Unless it's a lage sump with baffles you may run into microbubble problems.

Lastly, looks like the 3/4" return will be plumbed into the side of the tank. Will it be below the water level in the tank? If so, make sure that your sump has plenty of extra space for the back flow from the tank down the return during a power outage so the sump doesn't overflow. If that's not possible consider the return coming up and ver the top of the tank instead and being positioned above the tank's water level. Check valves are another option, but personally I don't trust them.

[Mussin]

Its a 35 gal sump with a buble trap and space for rock rubble. This is a 90G RR bottom drilled tank. I dont think there is room for 2 drains. I bought this set-up off of a friend who didnt have any isseus with this pump. Not sure what size sump he used though.

Here is a pic of my sump.

[Mussin]

Can I just put one of these inline with my return to limit my flow?

http://www.marinedepot.com/Two_Littl...FTVLBV-vi.html

[thor109]

The reef central drain size calculator says max gph on 1" drain is 600. I would go 1.5 for sure. If not you are limited to 600 witch is 6 times water volume. That would work but I would get a smaller pump if I stuck with 1".

[jon99]

Originally Posted by Mussin

Can I just put one of these inline with my return to limit my flow?

http://www.marinedepot.com/Two_Littl...FTVLBV-vi.html

You can, but as stated below the 1" drain is likely not enough for that mag pump (this depends on the how much head your putting on it). Ofcourse you can close the valve to slow the flow, but it's a bit risky IMO. If it somehow accidentally opens you can flood your tank, drain your sump, burn up the pump and heaters... etc. I know chances of that valve mysteriously opening by itself are slim to none, but I've had stranger things happen and I'm also the guy who suggested two drains incase one gets clogged... I guess I always err on the side of caution. Not to mention it's inefficient to run an oversized pump only to slow the flow with a valve. Better to sell it, buy a smaller one, and get a few bucks back in the deal.

[Reverend Reefer]

if you want to have a ball valve on the return you will want to tee off the return pipe back into your sump so that you can control the up flow while minimizing back pressure onto your return pump.

[albano]

Originally Posted by jon99

Not to mention it's inefficient to run an oversized pump only to slow the flow with a valve. Better to sell it, buy a smaller one, and get a few bucks back in the deal.

does this statement on a Reefflo site surprise you?...
"Valving down" our pumps lowers the wattage and extends the life of the pump.

[Mussin]

What size pump would you guys reccomend for my 90?

[jon99]

Originally Posted by albano

does this statement on a Reefflo site surprise you?...
"Valving down" our pumps lowers the wattage and extends the life of the pump.

Yeah that's a new one to me. Is it just the reefflo pumps or can we assume this is true of any pump?

[jon99]

Originally Posted by Mussin

What size pump would you guys reccomend for my 90?

With the 1" drain you can do a max of 600gph flow, not that u necessarily need that much flow through your sump. I'll let someone else chime in on which pump, but from what I hear eheim are great internal pumps that last forever.