Plumbing Guidance

[Sehr]

Howdy folks,
In for my first real adventure here, had a false start a couple years ago, but over the last month or two I have gathered gear, some used and some new. I have a 75 Gallon tank used tank (clean) that was already drilled. I have researched for the last month and this is the plumbingI have come up with based on what I have, researched, how it’s already drilled, etc.. Please fact check me and provide any recommendations. Pictures are not for scale, but should give a good idea of fitting type.

Sump will be a DIY 20 gallon long, or I might splurge and buy a kit.

2x 1” Drain Lines

• Drain line bulkheads are on the back plate, they are 1” and at the same level as each other
• Main Drain Line will have a downward facing elbow and a Gate Valve on it
• Backup Drain Line will have an upward facing elbow and no valve on it

1x ½” Return Line

• Double Pump Setup for redundancy
• Pump will have a braided vinyl pipe to a barb fitting, from there a check valve to deal with the two-pump system. Will feed into a manifold system, pardon the scale and 3d on drawings.
• From the Manifold returns to the system with a 90* elbow off the 4-Way straight to the top with loc-line for aiming

I put in unions all over the place, I know I’ll have to break down and move this in the next 1-2 years, but did I go overboard? While I want to do it right, I don’t want to waste money either 😃

Parts List:
Drain
2x 1" 90* Elbow
3x 1" Unions
4x 1" 45* Elbow

Return
2x 1/2" Barb
2x 1/2" Check Valve
3x 1/2" 90* Elbow
3x 1/2" T's
6x 1/2" Ball Valve's
11x 1/2" Unions

[obrien.david.j]

I've been doing my share of plumbing planning, and purchasing recently.   Couple of thoughts on your plans:

1. upside 1/2" plumbing
   • I don't like 1/2" for anything any more.  I'd upside to 3/4" min, but mostly I do my plumbing in 1". 
   • (BTW, I've had 1" lines closed to <1/2" sizing by calcium and calcium depositing snails)
2. no Check Valves
   •  Design your system so it doesn't need any check valves.  Mechanical stuff can always fail, and you're supposed to clean them regularly. (which I wouldn't)
3. True Union Ball Valves
   • I've stopped homedepot/lowes ball valves.  Just too hard to turn over time. 
   • Switch to true union ball valves, Ordered online Cheap. (see below)
4. Plan on Pump Removal
   • On the return side, make sure the system can run with one of the pumps removed for cleaning/maintenance.  
   • My solution is a dedicated ball valve per pump.  I can't see that in your picture
5.  No steel  hose clamps
   • I recently saw a return pump design where steel hose clamps were used in the sump to hold braided hose onto nipples.
   • Use Poly hose clamps
6. Clic Pipe Clamps 
   • I love these pipe clamps.  Holds pipes really crisply, and can open/close without having to remount the bracket
   • http://www.clic-original.com/en/products.html  
   • https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=clic+pipe+clamps
   • https://www.aquacave.com/aquarium-plumbing/clic-clamp-pipe-hangers.html
   • I use #25 for 3/4", #32 for 1", #40 for 1 1/4"

Thanks to @pdxmonkeyboy for pointing me to the cheapest valves.   Savings on 1" True Union, grey, valves.   

• supplyhouse.com:  $7.65   <-- Cheapest Valves I've found
• pvcfittingsonline.com  $11.53  <-- But Sch80/grey PVC fittings were cheaper here
• bulkreefsupply.com $26.99

My build, with plumbing layouts.

 

[Sehr]

Thanks for the detailed reply!!

1. This is what’s already predrilled. Is it possible to redrill the existing whole to a larger size? Or plumb it with the larger pipe then reduce somewhere else?
2. I was putting those in above each pump to prevent issues when I have a single pump failure since it only has one return pipe, are the checks needed? Or should I just go with a single return pump? Or if a drill another return how do I plumb that into the manifold, or do I make it a straight run?
3. I’d seen them but looked costly, with the prices in your thread I’ll take a look, I think it’ll help simplify the plumbing.
4. Very good point! I will add those in.
5. Noted
6. The cliq seem pretty nice, that price difference is insane.



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[obrien.david.j]

1. We're always stuck with something already pre-sized.  Don't try to re-drill.  But yes, plumb with 3/4" right up to the 1/2" bulk head before you step down.  Or, That's what I would do.

2. check valves are only needed if the volume of water wanting to back drain into the sump when the power goes off exceeds the capacity of the sump.  your return is near the top of the tank, put an anti siphon hole in it, and no check valve needed.  Nothing wrong with double pumps, just put a true union valve between each pump and when they tee together.

 

[GreenJeans]

1 - I agree, use the larger size right up to the end of the line, and use an adapter to step it down - you'll get more flow this way (less length is restricted)

I had an initial design very similar to yours, and due to a lot of Hard Choices™️ made during the build, it turned out much simpler - and I'm very happy for it.

7 - Maybe use one return pump instead of two?  I had planned on two return pumps like you, but ended up with one larger return pump.  The additional plumbing complexity was just not worth it. Adding check valves before each pump, additional ball valves to manage flow when changing out pumps (I didn't want to rely on the check valves alone), and trying to fit all of that plumbing into the space was barely going to work.  Also, trying to balance their flow output so that one pump wasn't overpowering the other...in your design, that pump behind the elbow has about an additional 1' of head pressure to deal with, and so it should be set faster to match the output of the other pump. Hard to do. If you had two returns drilled you could run two pumps on separate plumbing, but I wouldn't re-drill the tank....that scares me personally.

8 - I avoided using a check valve on my return by using a Siphon Stopper return instead https://www.customaquariums.com/siphon-stopperr-return-fitting.html So far I really like it, but it does intrude into the tank quite a lot.  It works as advertised, and prevents a siphon of water from the tank.

9 - Consider not plumbing a manifold to the return line.  I'm very glad I didn't!

1. Consider how often you'll be running multiple reactors, UV, etc - for the vast majority of the time, this plumbing will be unused, taking up space, and adding to the initial build cost.  This was a point BRS made in their BRS160 fails video recently -
2. If there's room in your sump, a cheap kit with a pump works great when you want to run a specific thing - https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-gfo-carbon-reactor-deluxe1.html
3. Every time you attach something, it will affect the return flow, which will affect the overflow, which will require you to re-tune the overflow's gate valve anytime something about the manifold is changed - sounds like a headache.

10 - Use silicone tubing instead of braided vinyl for the return pump connections - braided vinyl is pretty stiff and won't isolate the vibrations like you want, and is harder to bend when you want to work with the pumps.

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by GreenJeans