Tricia's 90 gallon Build

[TrueTricia]

 

 

hmm probably had some salt/dirt etc still on it so you may have to clean/sand a little off and put some new killz on....the orignal coat was Killz orig (non water based)

 

im happy to write more if i confused or pm you if thats easier....just throwing out the thousands of options you have...... i had a 120 i never ended up setting up but had things ready to go.

 

first, take a 3/4 bulkehead off and measure , i bet a 1 in bulk head fits fine......(oceanic tanks do this) ...though be prepared to need a new bulkhead regardless if the hole is big enough or not...this just makes your options for plumbing a little more open.

 

if your happy with the overflows (corner or center) then no need bother with them....i would just think about using only 1 as a return pipe and the others you could do a herbie style overflow which would get pretty queit i bet (to me no real need to have more then 1 return line but im sure others have different opinions)

So here's my preliminary basic design.

I'll take out one over flow.

 

In the remaining over flow, I'll do a herbie style drain down into my sump, minimizing the horizontal piping as much as possible. On both the emergency drain and the main siphon, I'll install unions in case I need to disconnect. On the siphon, I'll add a gate valve. Ideally, these will both be 1" pvc. If the second hole in the overflow doesn't accommodate the 1" bulkhead, I'll use the 1" for the emergency and the 3/4" for the siphon.

 

For the return, I already have a check valve for 3/4" pvc. I'm debating whether to buy a 1" check valve and switch the return plumbing to 1". Thoughts?

[Der ABT]

LOOOK WAAAY TOO neat for a wamas hand draw...mess it up a bit with crossouts, crossing pipes and arrows please.

 

Thats a pretty good basic design (Keep it simple stupid).....i agree use the 3/4 full syphon...will be PLENTY of flow, and the 1in emergency.

 

3/4 return....

are you going 3/4 just for the check valve....

personally i do not use a check valve....i just accomidate the sump for any extra backfill and i keep my pvc just at the surface of the water so it breaks syphon quickly...or just put in a syphon break and run 1 in....if you feel better with the check valve the 3/4 wont hurt you much...maybe a couple GPH but nothign that significant id bet.

 

when i plugged my tank i used a bulkhead, interior and exterior plug for added piece of mind...but i also used threaded in case i ever wanted a closed loop.

 

otherwise get a dremel multi tool to cut that overflow out ( i think i detailed it in my build thread) its pretty easy but takes some elbow grease to get all of the remnants over the overflow off....and just be careful near the bottom seam....doesnt need to be to close as youll never see it.

[TrueTricia]

LOOOK WAAAY TOO neat for a wamas hand draw...mess it up a bit with crossouts, crossing pipes and arrows please.

 

Thats a pretty good basic design (Keep it simple stupid).....i agree use the 3/4 full syphon...will be PLENTY of flow, and the 1in emergency.

 

3/4 return....

are you going 3/4 just for the check valve....

personally i do not use a check valve....i just accomidate the sump for any extra backfill and i keep my pvc just at the surface of the water so it breaks syphon quickly...or just put in a syphon break and run 1 in....if you feel better with the check valve the 3/4 wont hurt you much...maybe a couple GPH but nothign that significant id bet.

 

when i plugged my tank i used a bulkhead, interior and exterior plug for added piece of mind...but i also used threaded in case i ever wanted a closed loop.

 

otherwise get a dremel multi tool to cut that overflow out ( i think i detailed it in my build thread) its pretty easy but takes some elbow grease to get all of the remnants over the overflow off....and just be careful near the bottom seam....doesnt need to be to close as youll never see it.

 

I definitely use the check valve for peace of mind. I live in an apartment building. Weight isn't an issue bc of concrete floors, but water damage certainly is. The check valve just keeps me from having to worry about any issues from the return pipe.

 

My DC6000 has a 1" opening. I know a lot of people don't like narrowing the pipes because of the pressure it puts on the pump. Do you think this will be an issue here and worth the $10 check valve I found on amazon?

 

I was thinking I was just going to use a scalpel, but I guess not lol.

 

Yeah, I'm trying to keep it basic (I don't need complicated). I love GMACReef's designs and build blog for this. http://gmacreef.com/herbie-overflow-reef-tank-plumbing-method-basics/

[TrueTricia]

And one other question...since I've never had a tank with buil-in overflows... How do you do return piping with an overflow? You bring it up through the hole in the bottom or around the back of the tank?

[Origami]

It depends. Many built in overflows have two holes at the bottom. Nominally, one is for a drain (the larger of the two) and one is for the return. Many times, there's a hole in the side of the cover to bring water from inside the overflow to the tank side of the wall. Some people will re-purpose the return side and use the second line as an emergency drain, and bring the return water over the side (or in via another path).

[Der ABT]

i just routed mine outside the tank, 90degree over the lip and then a 45 degree into the tank...you could route it up behind the overflow (outside the tank) and hide it back there...

[TrueTricia]

Btw, on a side note, my fish arehilarious. The one-spot fox face blows bubbles at the surface, and Polo the trigger chases them and pops them.

[TrueTricia]

So I got the tank over the weekend (thanks, Ben!). The 3/4" bulkheads are definitely 3/4" and do not fit the 1" bulkheads. Should I widen them to 1" (is this advisable in general)?

 

My current plan....

 

Overflow 1: Herbie Overflow design

• 3/4" bulkhead - full siphon
• 1" bulkhead - emergency drain

Overflow 2: Return

• 3/4" bulkhead - emergency drain
• 1" bulkhead - return line that splits into two 3/4 locline returns

[Shoelace]

Perhaps you could make one emergency an durso so you don't have to tune the siphon perfectly all the time. I'm also of the philosophy that emergency drains should always be the biggest diameter.

[TrueTricia]

Perhaps you could make one emergency an durso so you don't have to tune the siphon perfectly all the time. I'm also of the philosophy that emergency drains should always be the biggest diameter.

 

that's a thought. I was planning on making one of the emergency drains wet and the other dry. The dry one would be in the herbie system, and the wet one in the spare overflow, mainly to keep the water in that overflow moving at least a little bit.

[Shoelace]

Yup. You are basically making a bean overflow in two parts. A durso may prevent "slurping", like the other tank

[TrueTricia]

Yup. You are basically making a bean overflow in two parts. A durso may prevent "slurping", like the other tank

 

Huh. I hadn't thought of it like that. Maybe I should do some homework on the Bean overflow design... There's a great website for the Herbie. I'll have to look into the Bean Animal.

[DuffyGeos]

Huh. I hadn't thought of it like that. Maybe I should do some homework on the Bean overflow design... There's a great website for the Herbie. I'll have to look into the Bean Animal.

Which website for Herbie, that  is the way I am heading.

[TrueTricia]

Which website for Herbie, that  is the way I am heading.

 

http://gmacreef.com/

 

It's an awesome website that walks you through every aspect of the plumbing design, and has lots of do's and don'ts (which I greatly appreciate as someone who is plumb dumb (hahaha)).

[Shoelace]

The bean animal has a herbie incorporated into it but adds one more outflow. It is also much easier to tune.

 

http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

[wildcrazyjoker81]

The bean animal has a herbie incorporated into it but adds one more outflow. It is also much easier to tune.

http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

+1 on the bean animal setup. It is by far the best design I have used thus far and self tunes perfectly every startup with no intervention. I would add the full siphon and emergency overflow on one side and the secondary and return to the other. So if you tune the full to just be a little slower than the return the excess will flow through the secondary and create the extra water movement in the overflow that you are wanting.

[Shoelace]

Wouldn't it be necessary to have the full siphon and the secondary in the same overflow? That's how if the gate on the full siphon is a little off, the secondary can handle it?

[wildcrazyjoker81]

Wouldn't it be necessary to have the full siphon and the secondary in the same overflow? That's how if the gate on the full siphon is a little off, the secondary can handle it?

Water level should be the same entering both overflows, so it shouldn't matter. No if the tank/stand is uneven that could be an issue.

[Shoelace]

Hmm. Water level entering overflow should be the same, but water level IN each overflow might be different? Maybe I am overthinking it.

[wildcrazyjoker81]

Hmm. Water level entering overflow should be the same, but water level IN each overflow might be different? Maybe I am overthinking it.

Not to thread jack, but last post. You are overthinking it. So in simpler terms. Say the overflow (left) that contains the full and emergency. Is operating as normal with the full siphon tuned to not handle the amount of water from the return...what happens? Simple the water level in the entire aquarium rises. Where is that water going to go? To the next lowest drain which is the secondary. If that fails then the emergency picks up the rest. So yes it is a real simple approach actually.

[TrueTricia]

Not to thread jack, but last post. You are overthinking it. So in simpler terms. Say the overflow (left) that contains the full and emergency. Is operating as normal with the full siphon tuned to not handle the amount of water from the return...what happens? Simple the water level in the entire aquarium rises. Where is that water going to go? To the next lowest drain which is the secondary. If that fails then the emergency picks up the rest. So yes it is a real simple approach actually.

You're not thread jacking at all. These are all great considerations and things for me to think about and know before I plumb tomorrow (hopefully).

[Kallor]

 

So I got the tank over the weekend (thanks, Ben!). The 3/4" bulkheads are definitely 3/4" and do not fit the 1" bulkheads. Should I widen them to 1" (is this advisable in general)?

 

My current plan....

 

Overflow 1: Herbie Overflow design

• 3/4" bulkhead - full siphon
• 1" bulkhead - emergency drain

Overflow 2: Return

• 3/4" bulkhead - emergency drain
• 1" bulkhead - return line that splits into two 3/4 locline returns

 

 

When I ordered my tank it was supposed to be drilled for 1" schedule 80 bulkheads. It was drilled for 1" schedule 40 - so I used those. But they are quite a bit easier to break, and I ended up with leak issues. Eventually I switched to 3/4" schedule 80, which fit perfectly in the holes drilled for 1" schedule 40. I still have more than enough ... bandwidth .... to accommodate all the water output and return from my Eheim 1262, which is running unobstructed into the 3/4" bulkhead.

 

So the long and short of this is, based on my experience, don't futz around with widening holes and just use 3/4" schedule 80 bulkheads.

 

PS - Schedule 40 are of course technically fine and many people use them without issue. But the 'dry' side is much thinner and weaker, so some left/right wiggle style stress leads to small leaks much, much easier than the schedule 80s.