One Cubic Meter of Ocean

[sphelps]

Got busted buying some plumbing parts yesterday during Brett's regular stalking routine so I figure I should probably post a little update.

Decided to rebuild my sumps since I pretty much have the equipment I want figured out and I was getting tired of how it was setup before. Always room for improvement and with the help of a friend I came up with a more efficient and simplistic way of setting things up. I've also been itching to build some acrylic sumps again

Here's what it looked like before I started:



Here's the new acrylic sumps to replace the old glass ones:

This one is basically a frag tank, the black boarder around the base will support my new custom frag racks that I still need to make.


This one will hold all the equipment.



Here's some midway pics from this morning





And here's my progress so far, plumbing pretty much all done.



Here's my basic plumbing layout

[Scythanith]

Looks good Steve! I can't wait to give the setup a try on my tank. Denny said he was going to send me some pictures of the tank soon.

Where is your overflow water draining into? I see a line that runs along the bottom of your top sump but can't tell where it connects to. The return from the lower sump is on the top right corner correct?

[lastlight]

What happens at rona stays at rona I was giving you a free pass

Did you build the sumps yourself? Those look sick! What thickness did you use?

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by lastlight

What happens at rona stays at rona I was giving you a free pass

Did you build the sumps yourself? Those look sick! What thickness did you use?

Sorry still learning the rules. Yeah I built them, sort of a past life for me. It's all 1/4" Cast.

Originally Posted by Madmak

Very nice Steve!

Thanks bud!

[Scythanith]

So you put the returns on opposite sides of the sump mostly due to space constraints on the left side of the upper sump correct?

I wonder if I should ask Denny to change my design to have the two returns on the sump side by side? The stacked design may give me similar issues. If we lower the sump then we take away the silent aspect of the overflow box to sump don't we?

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Scythanith

So you put the returns on opposite sides of the sump mostly due to space constraints on the left side of the upper sump correct?

I wonder if I should ask Denny to change my design to have the two returns on the sump side by side? The stacked design may give me similar issues. If we lower the sump then we take away the silent aspect of the overflow box to sump don't we?

Yeah space constraints mainly, couldn't fit two on one side that's for sure. Not sure if the frag tank will benefit more from opposing flow or single direction, ultimately it probably doesn't matter. I wouldn't change yours as that means you'll probably have to plumb underneath which I only did cause I had to.

Noise won't be an issue, you'll need standpipes in the overflow to maintain the water level in the overflow box but the drop will still be small enough to essentially maintain the lines full of water or at full siphon meaning no air and no noise. With your two inch pipes I'd aim for a 6" height difference between overflow water level and the frag tank water level. Worst case you stick a gate valve on one of the lines and go herbie but I don't see that being necessary. I'll get a plan drawn up for you next week

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Scythanith

Looks good Steve! I can't wait to give the setup a try on my tank. Denny said he was going to send me some pictures of the tank soon.

Where is your overflow water draining into? I see a line that runs along the bottom of your top sump but can't tell where it connects to. The return from the lower sump is on the top right corner correct?

Two 1.5" lines from the overflow tie directly into the frag tank. Here's some close up pics









Only issue is I don't have enough pressure drop to run both pumps full power, but I have 2 more holes in the overflow I can use. When you do yours make sure you use 2" lines and set the sump a little lower than we originally planned. We'll go over details closer to the time.

[zum14]

Originally Posted by sphelps

Here's my basic plumbing layout

Ok, so i see that it. wait. no. ok well, no thats not right either. ok wow if this is basic plumbing, wow. Im very impressed at the complexity and the way things seem to be well organized and thought out. maybe a simpler drawing if you ever get around to it might help (system broken apart view). might be one of those ones when you see it in action everything just seems to make sense. Im no engineer, just a mechanic. sweet shots of the fish as well. very impressive. Really like the bar layout too. Nice work.

[gregzz4]

Nice job on the sump room and rockwork

[Rice Reef]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Nice job on the sump room and rockwork

+1