Plumbing Help

[Kshack]

I have a 250 gal tank with the sump in the basement. Bought a new house and want to set up the tank in the lower floor (not looking forward to that move). I have grown fond of the sump not under the tank..more room to work on things and makes the display room quieter. There is a storage room about 6 feet from the tank, and I have access under the floor.

Has anyone used or seen a lateral display/ sump? The drain would go through the floor, under the floor laterally about 6 feet, up through the floor in the storage room, and into a sump placed on the floor.

Any comments?

 

Thanks,

Ken

[siskiou]

I wish I had the space to have the sump in another room! A fish-room is a dream for the future!

 

One thing I wonder is how the drained water is getting up into the sump. With a pump? And then another to pump the water from the sump back to the tank?

It could be problematic getting the two pumps dialed in, without potentially flooding the tank or the sump.

 

Or maybe I'm seeing this totally wrong?

[impur]

Ahren has his plumbed like that. Everything is under the house. Great as long as there are no leaks or you don't have to change anything.

[JManrow]

I would not attempt to use two pumps. A gravity return would equalize the water levels between the tank and sump. Use a larger diameter pipe for return. Using more than than one return pipe would be more practical. Utilizing a "T" in the way a durso-type standpipe has, will be useful with the returns where needed. The "sump" in the storage room would be divided with an overflow to an area containing the return pump. An alternative method would be to locate the stage room setup slightly higher and have a gravity return to the main tank from the "overflow" section. This method would also allow walled area to be a refugium. Sorry. I don't have a scanner to show a diagram.

[siskiou]

A gravity return would equalize the water levels between the tank and sump.

 

How do you do a gravity return or drain, when the pipes go down under the floor and then up again both ways? (just wanting to know for the future, if I ever find a place for a sump away from the main tank)

[JManrow]

This should be obvious if you have used siphons much. The water will overflow from one tank being filled, seeking a lower level, clear up to a another tank of the same level.

 

It works the same way if you hold a length of hose filled with water. The water will go down the hose and back up the other high end to find the same level. It works the same way with PVC.

 

The water levels and holes drilled in tank and sump for overflow and gravity return need to be at the same level (near top of tanks). The water level will go down the pipe and find the same level at the other side of the "U". (I promise:D)

[siskiou]

Will have to give this a try. Whenever I use a siphon, it's straight down into the bucket, not back up a couple of feet.

And regular overflows aren't really siphons, or are they? I always thought there is quite a bit of air mixed in.

I'm afraid I'm not much of a plumber!

[JManrow]

Will have to give this a try. Whenever I use a siphon, it's straight down into the bucket, not back up a couple of feet.

And regular overflows aren't really siphons, or are they? I always thought there is quite a bit of air mixed in.

I'm afraid I'm not much of a plumber!

 

It's all gravity. The overflows and (gravity)returns will work, even better in this case, with vented bulkhead fittings with "T's" used rather than 90 degree elbows. Any pumped water, of course, must be through closed tubing or PVC.

[andy]

Maybe this will help:

 

 

A fluid will naturally level itself.

[JManrow]

Thanks Andy.

[siskiou]

Perfect! Thanks Andy and JManrow! And sorry for hijacking this thread!

[Kshack]

I know the water will seek it's own level, but the question is...will there be friction/ back pressure on the system which would prevent it from draining the 1,000+gph return pump? OR, would it drain like a direct discharge standard sump?

 

Thanks,

Ken

[andy]

That's going to depend on the plumbing. The head loss isn't significantly different though. RC's head loss calculator would help...