Suggestions and help with plumbing my tank please?

sharuq1 · #1 03-06-2008, 07:53 PM

Ok so we are getting pretty close to the time where we are going to have to plumb this tank to my sump. I admittedly don't know what I am doing. Can you help me figure out how to do this, oh gurus?

If you could show me as well as tell me that would be nice as I am a picture person.

The tank looks approximately like this, although this graphic is not entirely to scale.

If I can get away with not building an overflow box it would be nice, I know there are ways to do it with just pvc (like Albert's frag tanks at Golds?) but not totally sure how or if I should go without it.

untamed · #2 03-06-2008, 07:57 PM

Does it have an overflow box? Are you trying to plumb this up to a sump? It looks like a tank with two holes in the back wall with no overflow box.

It could be that before you start plumbing, you need to do some overflow box construction!

sharuq1 · #3 03-06-2008, 07:58 PM

That is correct, there is no overflow, it looks like the graphic.

jvision · #4 03-06-2008, 08:40 PM

You don't need an overflow box. My 37 is drilled at the top (like the right hole), and I just have PVC draining right into the sump. Since I only have one hole, my return comes over the back of the tank (like a canister filter), but you could return thru the other hole... not sure if that's what I'd do with the 2nd hole.
I'll let other 'plumbers' chime in.

untamed · #5 03-06-2008, 09:15 PM

Sorry about that...I missed reading the text below the picture about the overflow box (or lack thereof).

OK...if the upper hole is a drain...then you can make the lower hole a return/input. With the low hole being an input, you would have to be very cautious about controlling backflow in a power failure as it would drain your entire tank back into the sump!

While a check valve works, you might just consider blocking that lower hole all together and running the return over the top edge of the tank. It's just safer.

Given you have only 1 hole to work with to feed your sump, I would run some form of the modded Herbie as discussed on this link.
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=39629

I am concerned that you won't get enough surface removal without some sort of overflow box...or you'll end up with a really noisy drain...

Jason McK · #6 03-06-2008, 09:36 PM

I think the best use of the lower hole would be for a closed loop. If you wanted to go that way. It could draw water through a pump then returned with plumbing over the top of the tank.

I would not recommend using it as a return. Power goes out and you'd have 120G on the floor.

I'm no expert in overflow design, typically I've always built a box. Untamed is the Herbie expert.

J

mark · #7 03-06-2008, 10:30 PM

Don't use the lower hole for the drain even with a check-valve, unless you say have a 90 then extending upward to some form of overflow. The overflow does not need to be a box going all the way down but could be a coast to coast style tying into the bulkhead or could also consider just a piece of horizontal PVC (pictures here).

Upper hole for return.