Elaborate Plumbing Project

Earth is 1 insulator. You would need to go down that far based on where the sump room would be. The earth is equal in height to that of the ceiling of the basement. No use in pumping water 4-5' above the height of the display. It would be like pumping water through your attic to a display in the living room.

Flex watt would be in a depth of 1-2'. Insulation could be accomplished using any number of different products.
 
Fish Scales2;593409 wrote: Earth is 1 insulator. You would need to go down that far based on where the sump room would be. The earth is equal in height to that of the ceiling of the basement. No use in pumping water 4-5' above the height of the display. It would be like pumping water through your attic to a display in the living room.

Flex watt would be in a depth of 1-2'. Insulation could be accomplished using any number of different products.
Click to expand...

So is air.
 
I still don't understand how going through the wall and burying pipe and insulating and heating would be easier and less to maintain than building a soffit of crown molding and keeping it inside.
Chris pleas let us in on the two pump solution. I know there is a way but I can't figure out how to keep the flow continuous on both pumps
 
Fish Scales2;593402 wrote: And what happens if you take that 1" pipe inside the 4" and wrap the 1" pipe with flex watt heat tape and then insulate with great foam completely. What I imagine would be less than 1 degree fluctuation between sump and display.
Click to expand...
I think it's a really good idea but flex watt heat tape is not designed to go in runs that far is it?
 
Whether you go outside or inside the house, you will only need one pump as long as there is an elevation difference in the two tanks. The higher tank will gravity drain to the lower tank. Even if the drain pipe goes under the floor or over the roof.
Tank1 is higher than Tank2. Tank1 will drain to Tank2. If you go up and then back down, you have to make sure that you can burp the air bubble out of the system. Its an oversized overflow box design that uses suction to create the drain situation. If you go down and then back up to the display, then gravity and water pressure cause it to drain/flow from the high tank to the low tank. Think P-trap on a toilet, same principle.

One pump to get the water from the low tank to the high tank.

Stay away from a dual pump design as you are adding more and more failure points into it when you start adding more pumps.

Edit: Naturally, the down and back up drain situation is a preferred way to go since it doesn't rely on suction to cause the drain to work.
 
I would be worried about a power failure and all the water in the lines draining back into the main tank and overflowing it. I am sure there is a pretty good amount of water in lines that big and long. And then when the pump does restart what gonna happen then. Just my .02
 
i think i would just put it all in the room next to the tank or build a cabinet under the tank big enough to accomodate and then just run the plumbing from room for the RO and the top off
 
fncracing;593434 wrote: I would be worried about a power failure and all the water in the lines draining back into the main tank and overflowing it. I am sure there is a pretty good amount of water in lines that big and long. And then when the pump does restart what gonna happen then. Just my .02
Click to expand...

I think a check valve on both ends would easily solve that issue. I also plan on having the water level lower than usual in the DT to allow the Vortech's to make some waves. (From the viewing portal all you will see is water. No air space.) Any water in the return pipe even if drained into the tank shouldn't be enough to overflow it.
 
fncracing;593436 wrote: or build a cabinet under the tank big enough to accomodate and then just run the plumbing from room for the RO and the top off
Click to expand...

That was the original plan. I have .5" pipe already behind the crown designed for RO and WC. But space is at a premium under the DT, and, if I really want to maximize the performance of the tank I've got to do a remote sump. I could do an extremely cramped 40g sump underneath with very little room for return pumps, CA Reactor, and UV sterilizer. To adjust any equipment will be a major undertaking. I would then not have space to add additional equipment later if I so desired. Like a Denitrifier or Carbon Reactor. With a 120g remote sump there won't be a fish or coral off limits down the road. I could do deep sand beds, refugiums, etc.
I guess the moral of the story is my priorities put doing it right over doing it easy.
 
Just used a nifty Head Loss Calculator to see how my pump would do if I did the piping inside. Looks like I would be able to pump right about 820 gph using 1.5" pipe and a Blueline 55 HD. That takes into account all 90 degree turns, total vertical length, and total horizontal length. I think that flow rate would work perfectly. (Correct me if I'm wrong)
If piped outside it would be closer to 717 gph. That might be a major factor in which way I go.
 
? Seth could you exit to the right of the dt with both lines and then put the larger pipe /soffit in the play room. It would be a straight shot.
The pump/pumps has me baffled as to how that is going to work.
A pump on each end would need a high and low limit float switch on each end that would shutdown the pump until the reservoirs were full. The high low limit switches should lessen the frequency of the cycle. The system would have to shutdown at least once a day to allow the ATO to activate.
 
grouper therapy;593488 wrote: Are you absolutely stuck with that tank location?
Click to expand...

Yes for all intensive purposes. Down the road I will do a monster build in an adjacent room that's side by side with the fish room. That will be a piece of cake. If this can't be pulled off I will have to just settle with an undersized sump directly underneath the tank.
 
You know I am biased Seth,
But my build has shown me numerous times the "do it once - do it right" principle.
There is no such thing as a temporary setup, my temporary setup now exists for many months, haha.
Instead of putting any effort in an interim solution - I would put everything to make that conversion to the wetroom/sumproom ASAP.
Nothing worse than dropping time and money into something that will only be used for a few weeks/months only to realize that that will be used as an excuse why NOT to upgrade and do the dreambuild...

Robb
 
grouper therapy;593486 wrote: ? Seth could you exit to the right of the dt with both lines and then put the larger pipe /soffit in the play room. It would be a straight shot.
Click to expand...

I could do this. (See illustration) I have the flexibility to elevate the sump higher than the DT or vise versa. I hope that allows a single pump option. All arrows point to trouble and complexity using two pumps.
 
Tell us a little about the space underneath your DT. Is it framed already? What are the dimensions? what is the max height you want the dt ? Is it the 4 feet version 120?
 
grouper therapy;593507 wrote: Is it the load bearing walls for the fireplace above ?
Click to expand...

Yes exactly. Go here to my photo album. It has some specs and photos.
album.php
 
The flex watt would not need to be ran the entire length and would be sealed from the elements as well. A heat exchanger would also be a great way of ensuring that water entering the display is proper temp. Never the less I believe there is no worries of losing heat from running the plumbing exterior if the pvc is done properly and sealed from the elements.

My concern with running in soffit (unless done properly) is vibration and noise.

I would use a Blueline 70 so that you are not running the pump at it's full capabilities all the time. The pressure pump is built and designed to be throttled back. When doing this you will actually decrease the power consumption and heat. Whereas a flow pump SHOULD NOT be throttled back as it will create excess heat and WILL cause premature failure.

My 120 has a mag 7 with 5'6" of head height and I throttle back. I figure I get around 350-400 gph through my display. I personally think that you will do best having a flow to the display of well under 800 gph.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mumra
Leveling a tank
Replies
2
Views
130
mumra
mumra
chemaholic
Encrusting coral issues
Replies
4
Views
366
chemaholic
chemaholic
F
Drain help !
Replies
3
Views
164
Fishy_Mcfish
F
shanepike
Add a second drain input to sump?
Replies
8
Views
418
Shakey Gizzard
Shakey Gizzard
C
New Home Setup - Advice on Mixing Station Plumbing/Pump
Replies
5
Views
270
Reef Altitude
R
Back
Top