37 gal plumbing design

[reef-fisher]

hi all. working on setting up a 37 gallon tall aquarium. i have most of the equipment i need, and the rest is on order. mostly looking to keep lps and sps, with some zoos and shrooms. the question i have is this: i am trying to eliminate clutter and only use 1 external pump. i purchased a pcx 40 and have been trying to figure out how to plub it in. my idea is that since this pump will put out approximately 1200 gph, to divide this into a few different sources. the outflow from the pump will be branched off to feed a skimmer, a separate refugium(that drains back into the sump), a return line, and a partial closed loop. the intake will be partially fed from the sump that overflows from the display, and im trying to incorporate an intake from a closed loop type of strainer in the display. hard to explain, so please ask questions if you need to. any and all input is appreciated. once i figure this out and get the rest of my supplies, i should be able to start my build. ill keep you all posted. thanks.

[Chief]

In my opinion, you will need at least 2 pumps to make this work correctly. The reason I say this is the closed loop. Unless you draw and return from the same tank with one pump, it is not a closed loop. And any "open" loop, that connects to a sump or refugium is open to failure or at least a really big mess. Your tank could drain down to the lowest point of the "open" loop. If your sump/refugium could not handle the overflow, it could get messy.

 

I would dedicate one pump to a closed loop, and one pump for a return / skimmer pump. The drain from your tank could also be used to supply the skimmer, depending on the type of skimmer, and it could also be T'ed off to supply the refugium.

 

Don't get me wrong. I wasn't trying to put down your design. Just giving you a heads up. I was going to do the same thing with my tank until someone urged me to do it with 2 pumps.

 

Jay

[reef-fisher]

thanks Jay. i was thinking someone must have tried this before. i will definately take your advice into consideration. for some reason, i think ive got this nailed and will give the plumbing a try with fresh water and try to make it overflow. im guessing it is possible, but tricky. im thinking some check valves strategically located may help? when i get my stands built, ill let you know what i come up with and how miserably i fail...lol. thanks, Ben

[impur]

Be careful with check valves. They need to be cleaned frequently to avoid freezing in the open, or closed position.

[reef-fisher]

thanks for the input, Impur. have you had a check valve fail? i have one on my 72 that has been there for 1 1/2 years and worked fine a couple days ago. do they just get dirty? or does the diaphram get brittle? i think i would add a drain on the sump so that if the pump and check valves fail, it will at least save the floor!

[impur]

My parents own a plumbing, electrical, lighting store and i got customers with failed check valves in all the time. And that was on FW. Eventually the flap mechanism sticks.