55 Gal FOWLR - seeking criticism

[Mike-fish]

The single pump should be fine. I prefer to have a bit of redundancy in my tanks but my tanks are also much larger so I have the room and with the flow rates I run a single pump becomes far less practical. I'll be sending you a pm shortly. I would defiantly change your plumbing such that both drain lines drop separately to the sump that way should there ever be a problem with one tube being restricted chances are that the other will be enafected and be able to take most of the flow. The vinyl lines should be fine for years to come on my 175g that I've had for about 5?years now has used them from day one I just can't remember if when we got it off a friend we put new lines on to it or not if not there close to 10 years old by now.

[turbo]

Thanks to everyone for the replies so far! I'm going to continue posting here until my sump is operational, so please bear with me!!! Don't worry, I am an avid internetter and am not relying solely on you good people for all of my answers.

One little bit of wisdom I've picked up working in construction is that if something looks stupid: it is stupid. It doesn't take a plumber to know that I did it wrong haahaw D'OH!. My whole life is one mistake after another so why should I complain if my aquarium follows the same pattern? C'est la vie. The worst part about DUMPING money into an aquarium is that half the time it's the wrong decision! AHHthe other bad part about dumping money into an aquarium is that our coins are made of copper.

OK down to business:

So far most of the advice I've received highlights the following issues in my setup:

1. I teed two drains down into one and cut the radius down by 50%. This will increase the output pressure of the drain (fourfold) but drastically reduces the flow rate. Most of the recommendations I've received suggest that I keep the box operating as TWO drains. Run one to the skimmer and one to the sump.

2. It's way more complicated than it needs to be.


I've come up with two solutions of my own and so my NEXT question to post in this thread is as follows: WHICH SOLUTION IS BEST FOR MY SETUP?

Solution 1: Keep one of the drains in my overflow box as an emergency, or ancillary drain, which only kicks in after the first one fails or backs up. This is easily accomplished by cutting one of the PVC standpipes or installing a larger one on one side. The e-drain will go directly to the sump while the main drain will go directly to the skimmer. This way I am only using one drain 99% of the time. I think this will be OK because it is 1" PVC and it should drain at near-capacity if I'm pumping 300gph into the tank.

Solution 2: Remove (and sell) the $125 overflow box that is rated to drain over 1000gph. It vastly exceeds the pump, and the skimmer, and will NEVER operate at capacity on this tank. It will gurgle 24/7 for as long as I insist on using it. It relies on two U-tube siphons. Construct a basic PVC overflow which pipes to the skimmer, and tees to the sump (although I am still skeptical about this it seems like the right thing to do).

Last thing: if door #2 is the winner ... is there a type of valve I can install that will direct all flow to the skimmer until there is an emergency situation, at which time it will re-direct the flow into the sump?

[Aquattro]

Personally, I like the LFS advice. I would run the skimmer in the sump on it's own pump. I would drain the overflow with 2 lines directly into the sump. One day something is going to go down that tube, either fish, snail, or something. I wouldn't want it going into my skimmer But hey, I like pumps, I run 5 in my sump -lol
Not knowing what type of skimmer it is, it might not even work without a pump. is it airstone driven? If not, gravity probably won't have enough pressure to work a venturi well.
Most overflows are noisy, so you need to modify the intake with a durso or stockman type fitting to get it quiet. You may not have room judging by the pics.

[turbo]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Personally, I like the LFS advice. I would run the skimmer in the sump on it's own pump. I would drain the overflow with 2 lines directly into the sump. One day something is going to go down that tube, either fish, snail, or something. I wouldn't want it going into my skimmer But hey, I like pumps, I run 5 in my sump -lol
Not knowing what type of skimmer it is, it might not even work without a pump. is it airstone driven? If not, gravity probably won't have enough pressure to work a venturi well.
Most overflows are noisy, so you need to modify the intake with a durso or stockman type fitting to get it quiet. You may not have room judging by the pics.

Hi. That is good advice. Sometimes it's one of those things where we (as people) would rather ignore the truth than face it head-on. The skimmer is presently broken at the inlet (as shown in the pics). After discussing the issue with my girlfriend we've decided to keep the overflow box, because we bought it and stuff. She absolutely does not approve of removing the overflow box and trying to sell it, and building a simple PVC overflow in its place.

I really was just planning on having the gravity drain make the skimmer work, but what the heck is the point of using a skimmer if it's not operating properly?

I bet I could talk her out of the Weipro skimmer, and cut our losses. Maybe I can sell it in its broken condition for half price or something.

Maybe it would be best to plumb both drains right to the sump and then invest in a good brand name skimmer and pump. Can you recommend one that would still sit externally (as there isn't much room in the sump). I guess if leaking was an issue I could put the skimmer in a 5 gal pail but the sump is only 10 gal and I want to keep some rock in there. There's room in the cabinet for equipment to sit beside the sump (i.e. external skimmer).

I guess the last thing I need to ask then, is: since the overflow is much too large for the tank, can I use only one of the drains, and keep the second one as backup (in case of a water level increase in the overflow)? I realize two drains operating in parallel will double the flow out of the tank, but I am not sure that's what I want here. One 1" drain should probably do the trick.

[Aquattro]

If possible, I'd get a bigger sump. More (cheaper) skimmers available for in-sump use.
As for drains, yes, 1 would be fine, I use 2 x 1" on my 180 and I'm happy with that, so half that on almost 1/4 of the tank would be fine.
I'd look for a used euroreef or other needle wheel skimmer, they're for sale here all the time.

[turbo]

Alright tyvm to everyone who helped out. The final decision is to plumb 2x 1" drains directly into my sump (one dedicated drain for the tank and a second as an emergency in case of a plug). Then I'll get the water pumping and all the new plumbing tested. Then I'll add a skimmer to the system.

Part of the urgency is that I have more LR to add to my system, which is going in the sump, and I have fish in QT that are about to start hyposalinity. So my tank has to sit fallow for 8 weeks but I need the LR in there first. I also want to add a few more crabs.

I'll post again when it's built. Might have to wait for the weekend.

[turbo]

Hello all, again.

More than a week has passed but I've finally decided what I'm going to do for this sump and tank drain system.

For anyone who's still subscribed to this thread, recall that I had attempted to tee the two main drainpipes into a single 1" vinyl tube, which I was going to pump 100% of the volume through an old, partially broken skimmer, before having it drain into a 10 gal sump and get pumped back up to my tank.

Not such a hot idea right.....?

Anyways, after more hours and hours of reading, and consulting some members on this site, I've designed a sump for my cabinet. Since the dimensions of my cabinet are already specified, I had to get a custom tank built or else I could go no larger than 10gal due to the width restriction.

This tank I have designed holds close to 30gal, which I believe is a much better fit for a 55gal FOWLR. I've also opted to run both drains from the overflow to the sump, and not tie them together ...

This custom tank is already bought and paid for and it's being built. So it's a little late for me to change anything!! But I would love to get some feedback (from a variety of people) on this.

N.B. flow rates are approximate!! the skimmer and pump have not been purchased yet





here's the cabinet i built

[gregzz4]

Nice lookin cab

I think it was Brad who suggested before that you don't restrict either of your drains. If one gets plugged you may have a bad experience

I'd suggest you run both your drains wide open and use a small pump to feed the 'fuge

[turbo]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Nice lookin cab

I think it was Brad who suggested before that you don't restrict either of your drains. If one gets plugged you may have a bad experience

I'd suggest you run both your drains wide open and use a small pump to feed the 'fuge

yeah i concur about both drains wide open. i don't understand the need for yet another pump for the refuge though, if it's receiving overflow water on a steady basis and draining into the skimmer dept., shouldn't that be ok???

[gregzz4]

It'll all depend on the design of your sump