Sump Plumbing

NaCi · 12/30/2014, 04:41 PM

Hello RC friends. I'm new to this forum and hobby

. I was looking for some answers on how to choose the pipe diameter size for my sumps plumbing. Also how do I know how to choose my return pump? I have a 70 gallon display tank and a 40 gallon sump tank and I am so far thinking about using the herbie method for my system. Please ask if you need anymore info to better help me with my questions.

The stand I have is a diy and I built it before I purchased a sump tank. After fitting the tank in im afraid of not having enough room to work with. I have about 6.5" gap to work with untop of the sump. Will that be good enough?

Thanks for the help guys.

FraggledRock · 12/30/2014, 04:52 PM

The plumbing sizes depend on your deired gph typically its a 3/4 return with 1" drain.

I would go with a bean animal setup. BeanAnimal.com

whosurcaddie · 12/30/2014, 05:02 PM

Plumbing is gonna be tight but it will work. Remember measure twice cut once. For your return pump you need to calculate head loss after that get a pump that has a flow rate 5-7X that of your total system volume at that head loss rating. So you want around a 600gph pump but you have to make sure that it will retain that flow rate after travel the distance to reach the tank.

Edit - Just wanted to add make good use of unions in your plumbing. Nothing is worse than having to tear down an entire plumbing job because one section isn't working right.

FraggledRock · 12/30/2014, 05:08 PM

Use 45 degree elbows both up and down

FraggledRock · 12/30/2014, 05:11 PM

And mark and measure where your bulkheads will be and where the tips of the turned elbows will be in regards to the inside bottom of your internal overflow box

NaCi · 12/30/2014, 06:15 PM

Thanks for the advice guys.

Fraggledrock I checked out that bean animal overflow that you are telling me about and it looks like a better option. I dont even know what my desired gph is :-/. Is faster better? Slower? Thanks for the tips.

Hey whosurcaddie. Idk how to calculate head loss but you are saying that I need atleast 600 gph pump? Im not home to check but I would say that I need to pump the water 3 ft vertically back to the display tank. And cool thanks for the tips. Do you know how I am supposed to choose the diameter of the pipes?

Also another question. Is it okay to just use regular pvc from a hardware store? The plumbing on brs is expensive. I might also use flex tubing to save some money and maybe later ad the rest of the hard tubing.

gone fishin · 12/30/2014, 06:21 PM

If you go to the home page, about half way down on the left is calculators look for the head loss one. It is pretty straight forward to fill out.

NaCi · 12/30/2014, 06:45 PM

Thanks gone_fishin. So while filling it out do I only put the parts from the return line or from the whoole system?

gone fishin · 12/30/2014, 07:09 PM

just the return. That will tell you what the pump will actually put out. Good luck

NaCi · 12/30/2014, 09:41 PM

so would an eheim compact 3000 be good for my 70 gallon?

I tried using the calculator but it doesnt have that pump to test it. I am just using the rule of thumb of getting a pump 10X my tank size.

Thunderfan · 12/31/2014, 08:03 AM

I have a 75 and was going to use the eheim 1262. I ended up getting a dc-6000, will probably end up with a dc-9000. They have a controller you can adjust the speed with.

I just set up a bean on mine and it is great. I used 1" for my drains and 3/4" for the returns. I drilled my tank and I think it is the way to go. Real quite and safe.

SGT_York · 12/31/2014, 12:05 PM

What does your tank look like now is it just a plain box without any holes? if so a Bean Animal is the way to go.

I like higher flow so I'd get something near 1000 GPH. There are great success stories with people as low as 4x turnover as well. (~400 GPH) A bean animal will need a bit more than 400 to work properly. The compact 3000 is a low head ~300 GPH at 6' so your flow will be on the lower end. I've seen the DC pumps in operation and have been highly impressed.

NaCi · 12/31/2014, 12:44 PM

Thanks thunderfan. I think I'm going to do the same with my drain and return.

Sgt_york. Yes I have it untouched so far. Heres a picture of it.

NaCi · 12/31/2014, 12:46 PM

I'm not going to use the canister filter, and the top is being removed. I made a screen for it already. The cabinet is almost done but there it is :-P. And I'm not going to have it next to the window. I just have it there right now because I havent started it yet

NaCi · 12/31/2014, 12:48 PM

Okay so I'm either going with the eheim 1262 or the dc 9000. Thanks for the help guys I feel a lot better about where I am going with this now

12/30/2014, 04:41 PM	#1
NaCi Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: San Diego Posts: 44	Sump Plumbing Hello RC friends. I'm new to this forum and hobby . I was looking for some answers on how to choose the pipe diameter size for my sumps plumbing. Also how do I know how to choose my return pump? I have a 70 gallon display tank and a 40 gallon sump tank and I am so far thinking about using the herbie method for my system. Please ask if you need anymore info to better help me with my questions. The stand I have is a diy and I built it before I purchased a sump tank. After fitting the tank in im afraid of not having enough room to work with. I have about 6.5" gap to work with untop of the sump. Will that be good enough? Thanks for the help guys.

12/30/2014, 04:52 PM	#2
FraggledRock Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: New York, New York Posts: 2,185	The plumbing sizes depend on your deired gph typically its a 3/4 return with 1" drain. I would go with a bean animal setup. BeanAnimal.com __________________ “For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it.”― Jacques-Yves Cousteau MarineBio.org Current Tank Info: 40 Gallon Breeder w/ Bean Animal Overflow 20G Sump, Mixed Reef.

12/30/2014, 05:08 PM	#4
FraggledRock Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: New York, New York Posts: 2,185	Use 45 degree elbows both up and down __________________ “For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it.”― Jacques-Yves Cousteau MarineBio.org Current Tank Info: 40 Gallon Breeder w/ Bean Animal Overflow 20G Sump, Mixed Reef.

12/30/2014, 05:11 PM	#5
FraggledRock Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: New York, New York Posts: 2,185	And mark and measure where your bulkheads will be and where the tips of the turned elbows will be in regards to the inside bottom of your internal overflow box __________________ “For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it.”― Jacques-Yves Cousteau MarineBio.org Current Tank Info: 40 Gallon Breeder w/ Bean Animal Overflow 20G Sump, Mixed Reef.

12/30/2014, 06:21 PM	#7
gone fishin Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Wyocena Wi Posts: 6,936	If you go to the home page, about half way down on the left is calculators look for the head loss one. It is pretty straight forward to fill out. __________________ Tony Current Tank Info: 180gal DT, BM NAC77 skimmer,3 Maxspect razors, Maxspect Gyre 150, 30g QT

12/30/2014, 05:02 PM	#3
whosurcaddie Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 2,354	Plumbing is gonna be tight but it will work. Remember measure twice cut once. For your return pump you need to calculate head loss after that get a pump that has a flow rate 5-7X that of your total system volume at that head loss rating. So you want around a 600gph pump but you have to make sure that it will retain that flow rate after travel the distance to reach the tank. Edit - Just wanted to add make good use of unions in your plumbing. Nothing is worse than having to tear down an entire plumbing job because one section isn't working right.

12/30/2014, 06:15 PM	#6
NaCi Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: San Diego Posts: 44	Thanks for the advice guys. Fraggledrock I checked out that bean animal overflow that you are telling me about and it looks like a better option. I dont even know what my desired gph is :-/. Is faster better? Slower? Thanks for the tips. Hey whosurcaddie. Idk how to calculate head loss but you are saying that I need atleast 600 gph pump? Im not home to check but I would say that I need to pump the water 3 ft vertically back to the display tank. And cool thanks for the tips. Do you know how I am supposed to choose the diameter of the pipes? Also another question. Is it okay to just use regular pvc from a hardware store? The plumbing on brs is expensive. I might also use flex tubing to save some money and maybe later ad the rest of the hard tubing.

12/30/2014, 06:45 PM	#8
NaCi Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: San Diego Posts: 44	Thanks gone_fishin. So while filling it out do I only put the parts from the return line or from the whoole system?

12/30/2014, 07:09 PM	#9
gone fishin Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Wyocena Wi Posts: 6,936	just the return. That will tell you what the pump will actually put out. Good luck __________________ Tony Current Tank Info: 180gal DT, BM NAC77 skimmer,3 Maxspect razors, Maxspect Gyre 150, 30g QT

12/30/2014, 09:41 PM	#10
NaCi Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: San Diego Posts: 44	so would an eheim compact 3000 be good for my 70 gallon? I tried using the calculator but it doesnt have that pump to test it. I am just using the rule of thumb of getting a pump 10X my tank size.

12/31/2014, 08:03 AM	#11
Thunderfan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Choctaw, Ok Posts: 92	I have a 75 and was going to use the eheim 1262. I ended up getting a dc-6000, will probably end up with a dc-9000. They have a controller you can adjust the speed with. I just set up a bean on mine and it is great. I used 1" for my drains and 3/4" for the returns. I drilled my tank and I think it is the way to go. Real quite and safe.

12/31/2014, 12:05 PM	#12
SGT_York Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Washington State Posts: 1,746	What does your tank look like now is it just a plain box without any holes? if so a Bean Animal is the way to go. I like higher flow so I'd get something near 1000 GPH. There are great success stories with people as low as 4x turnover as well. (~400 GPH) A bean animal will need a bit more than 400 to work properly. The compact 3000 is a low head ~300 GPH at 6' so your flow will be on the lower end. I've seen the DC pumps in operation and have been highly impressed.

12/31/2014, 12:44 PM	#13
NaCi Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: San Diego Posts: 44	Thanks thunderfan. I think I'm going to do the same with my drain and return. Sgt_york. Yes I have it untouched so far. Heres a picture of it.

12/31/2014, 12:46 PM	#14
NaCi Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: San Diego Posts: 44	I'm not going to use the canister filter, and the top is being removed. I made a screen for it already. The cabinet is almost done but there it is :-P. And I'm not going to have it next to the window. I just have it there right now because I havent started it yet

12/31/2014, 12:48 PM	#15
NaCi Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: San Diego Posts: 44	Okay so I'm either going with the eheim 1262 or the dc 9000. Thanks for the help guys I feel a lot better about where I am going with this now