Stephen Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 (edited) Could you guys take a look at my plumbing setup and let me know what you think? Sorry for the drawn picture, not to savvy with the 3d model software. Basically I have 3, 1" drains, 2 of which go to the sump and 1 to the refugium. Refugium drains into the return chamber of the sump through a 3/4" pipe. Edited September 24, 2012 by Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I've not had experience manifolding 2 sumps together via a pipe like that. What happens in the event that something from the fuge blocks that pipe? I would think that water would stop flowing into that overflow and instead go into the emergency overflow. Sorry, just typing through my thoughts there. Different, for sure, but I don't see anything wrong with it based off of this drawing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 What you described is easy enough to understand without a pictorial schematic. However, more detail is necessary. Is the sump and the refugium in parrellel with return chamber. I can not enlarge drawing enough to see required details. Is there any restriction of flow from the two 1" lines to the return chamber. It is unclear why you choose to supply refugium with 1" input and 3/4" output. I would focus some attention to that detail. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I don't see anything wrong with the basic layout. Depending on your desired flow rates like Victoly and Subsea mentioned the 3/4 plumping from the refugium to the sump may not drain as fast as it should and give you a higher water level in the refugium than in the sump. If it was my setup I would actually use two drian lines from the refugium to the sump, one higher than the other to reduce the odds of both clogging at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 I am contemplating drilling the sump and fuge for another line for safety purposes. I had drawn in 3/4" inch piping because I had some extra 3/4" bulkheads lying around and didn't want to spend extra cash on something with little importance. Such as emergency drain or connecting l, but I might have to end up buying some more 1" bulkheads anyway since I drilled the holes for a 1" bulkhead and I'm not sure if I can get away with a 3/4" bulkhead. I'll have to test it some time soon. Any other ideas for modifications? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 just curious, why not one container instead of two? More bulkheads = more failure points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Use a 3/4 drain from tank or install a 3/4" by 1" reducing bushing in your previous 1" drain line into refugium. A lot of water can flow thru a 3/4" line with 3' of head. From the point of view of operating a refugium, I think less flow would be better. You may want to reduce input into refugium down to 1/2". High flow rates with fine grain substrate can be a snow storm. Happy reefing, Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Use a 3/4 drain from tank or install a 3/4" by 1" reducing bushing in your previous 1" drain line into refugium. A lot of water can flow thru a 3/4" line with 3' of head. From the point of view of operating a refugium, I think less flow would be better. You may want to reduce input into refugium down to 1/2". High flow rates with fine grain substrate can be a snow storm. Happy reefing, Patrick a ball or gate valve might give a little more flexibility than a diameter reduction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 just curious, why not one container instead of two? More bulkheads = more failure points. just curious, why not one container instead of two? More bulkheads = more failure points. I had old 29 gallon lying around from an old project and since there was a lot of space left over in the stand; decided to build a small tank to fill the void and add more volume to the system. I may have complicated things to some degree, but in doing so saved some money in my opinion Use a 3/4 drain from tank or install a 3/4" by 1" reducing bushing in your previous 1" drain line into refugium. A lot of water can flow thru a 3/4" line with 3' of head. From the point of view of operating a refugium, I think less flow would be better. You may want to reduce input into refugium down to 1/2". High flow rates with fine grain substrate can be a snow storm. Happy reefing, Patrick Reducing to 3/4" doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. I wonder if it will effect the quietness of the overflow system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 I think I will also plumb in a gate valve on the return line for water changes to make things easier and possibly a line for a future reactor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 be jealous. this thread has my head spinning for plumbing. http://www.marsh-reef.org/marine-reef-general-discussion/32733-d2minis-new-reef-country-build-25.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Use a 3/4 drain from tank or install a 3/4" by 1" reducing bushing in your previous 1" drain line into refugium. A lot of water can flow thru a 3/4" line with 3' of head. From the point of view of operating a refugium, I think less flow would be better. You may want to reduce input into refugium down to 1/2". High flow rates with fine grain substrate can be a snow storm. Happy reefing, Patrick a ball or gate valve might give a little more flexibility than a diameter reduction. More flexibility but not more reliability. A ball or even a gate vale, when throttled will plug up easier. Pick your poison. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 I'll take a poison where i can control the dosage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 I'll take a poison where i can control the dosage I like your quip. Please tell me what it means in this context. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 My preference would be to use the method where you have a little bit of control over flow rate, as opposed to locking yourself in to a method of flow control that is a pain to change. If reefing has taught me anything, it's that nothing will go according to plan, and to be able to tweak parameters easily (in this case adjustment in flow rate) help keep more hair in your head and out of your hands in clumps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 I couldnt agree more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 be jealous. this thread has my head spinning for plumbing. http://www.marsh-ree...y-build-25.html There's several of those true union ball valves that could have had three way true union ball valves used instead to give more options on the water flow paths and I'm sure a couple more sumps or refugiums could have been added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 I like being able to easlily change things but having had to mess with clogged valves because worms and stuff grow inside them I'm inclined to agree with Pat and try to avoid using them. If you use valves true union valves are fairly easy to remove and clean out. Gunk and stuff will build up or grow inside of plumping anyway so I like to use larger diameter plumping when possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Rand across some old plumbing diagrams here: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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