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Starting to plumb my tank - any suggestions on my plan?


thakki

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I am about to plumb my 80 gallon reef tank. Have taken suggestions from few threads and some of the members in regards to plumbing the tank…here is what I came up with…idea is to plumb it in such a way to avoid manual saltwater mixing and water changes using buckets. Planning to go with herbie drain system…check it out and provide any suggestions or comments. Thanks a lot for looking.

 
Here is the typical operation of each of the valves and pumps:
 
A - remains closed. Opened at the time of water changes to drain the water from the DT.
B - remains opened. Closed at the time of water changes.
C - remains opened. Closed at the time of water changes to pump the fresh saltwater into the DT.
D - remains closed. Opened at the time of water changes.
E - remains closed. Opened at the time of refilling the ATO container with RODI water.
F - remains closed. Opened at the time of mixing saltwater.
G - pump to mix salt and RODI water.
H - pump to pump the saltwater into the DT via valve D.
J - check valve to avoid accidental siphoning of water back in to the sump.
 

Tank Plumbing Plan 1

 

 

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(edited)

So I really like the idea of plumbing all this, but I will be honest I really love being able to schedule water changes on apex without turning knobs. Hopefully you will have same flexibility.

 

Nathan

Edited by n8n
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If you get a reef genesis system or a Liter Meter3 you can do all of that without the need for lots of plumbing runs.

 

I work on 2 systems with built in water change solutions similar to what you have designed. My main complaint with them is that are slow. I can do a typical pump and 25g brute water change in 1/3 the time.

 

You can automate your system with power actuated ball valves and an Apex so this could all be done while youre awy.

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I can't view the picture...I can only see the thumbnail.

 

Not sure why! I am able to view it from a computer but you are right its a thumbnail from a smart phone. Here is a better resolution picture.

 

Tank Plumbing Plan

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So I really like the idea of plumbing all this, but I will be honest I really love being able to schedule water changes on apex without turning knobs. Hopefully you will have same flexibility.

 

Nathan

 

I like the idea...need to dig up more on this option.

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If you get a reef genesis system or a Liter Meter3 you can do all of that without the need for lots of plumbing runs.

 

I work on 2 systems with built in water change solutions similar to what you have designed. My main complaint with them is that are slow. I can do a typical pump and 25g brute water change in 1/3 the time.

 

You can automate your system with power actuated ball valves and an Apex so this could all be done while youre awy.

 

Thanks Rob. I had the same doubt about the timing...but thought with the right pump this shouldnt be a problem...just googled about the systems you suggested...they are expensive! but looks like good options though. 

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Not sure why! I am able to view it from a computer but you are right its a thumbnail from a smart phone. Here is a better resolution picture.

 

 

No luck. For some reason, the image still shows up as a thumbnail...try it from a computer. Its clear.

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http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php

 

This is a good read. Basically mathematically two half size water changes are almost as efficient as infinitly small water changes where the water is going in and out at the same time. The big jump is when you go from one large change to two smaller. After that the ratios really become small. I think the general thing most quoted is a 30% water change of infinitly small amounts ( even a gallon a day being added / removed at same time ) is equal to a single 26.5% water change.

 

Yeh I know it's old but math doesn't change.

 

The trick is being able to add and remove same quantity with worry of flood or too much. Many people end up using dosing pumps that allow them to measure what they are doing although it's slow. I use DOS. It's about 1 gal per hour. I have 93g cube with about 15g in the sump minus rock. I'm doing currently 3G per night automatic but might drop it to 2 g a night. Runs around 2 am autopilot.

 

All I really do is check water line of mixing station and make more saltwater when it's low.

 

I also have a relay setup on my ATO and spent $20 on an extra Tunzi ato pump. With a flip of a switch my ato goes from rodi to saltwater. It's really nice to switch to saltwater top off if I know I'm doing something taking water out of tank or if I want salinity to slowly increase.

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The other thing to think about is even if you setup fast pumps how much do you really expect to get out? My sump is 30g with about 15g in it normally and 20g in feed mode. The sump is 3 compartments so I can probably get 5 to 10g out of it if I let return pump empty it's compartment. Unless you plan on having hose up in display you need to think about benefit unless you plan to do continuos ( add and remove at same time ).

 

I do regular small changes and use ato to top off if I want to syphon sand or something.

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The other thing to think about is even if you setup fast pumps how much do you really expect to get out? My sump is 30g with about 15g in it normally and 20g in feed mode. The sump is 3 compartments so I can probably get 5 to 10g out of it if I let return pump empty it's compartment. Unless you plan on having hose up in display you need to think about benefit unless you plan to do continuos ( add and remove at same time ).

 

I do regular small changes and use ato to top off if I want to syphon sand or something.

 

All good suggestions. I will spend some time reading that article on Reef Keeping. 

 

I am not planning on pumping the water out of sump instead from the main drain from the DT itself by closing valve B and opening valve A. It seems like it will work...but again I never tried. So people who have this kind of setup probably have a better idea.

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All good suggestions. I will spend some time reading that article on Reef Keeping. 

 

I am not planning on pumping the water out of sump instead from the main drain from the DT itself by closing valve B and opening valve A. It seems like it will work...but again I never tried. So people who have this kind of setup probably have a better idea.

So depending on how tank is setup, usually drain will only remove top inch of water from display. On my system it's about 5 gallons. Keep in mind if the power goes out most tanks are designed to only let a minimum quantity goto sump.

 

 

Nathan

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(edited)

So depending on how tank is setup, usually drain will only remove top inch of water from display. On my system it's about 5 gallons. Keep in mind if the power goes out most tanks are designed to only let a minimum quantity goto sump.

 

 

Nathan

 

 

Thats a good point. The reason this will not be an issue is because both the drains are inside a corner overflow...so basically in case of power outage, only the water in this overflow and what ever that overflows  from the DT into this overflow gets siphoned into the sump. I dont see a problem here. 

 

But when I want to drain it for water changes...I can lower the flood gate through which more water can get into the overflow. Hope this works.

Edited by thakki
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Thats a good point. The reason this will not be an issue is because both the drains are inside a corner overflow...so basically in case of power outage, only the water in this overflow and what ever that overflows  from the DT into this overflow gets siphoned into the sump. I dont see a problem here. 

 

But when I want to drain it for water changes...I can lower the flood gate through which more water can get into the overflow. Hope this works.

On my tank the overflow is not adjustable. I have a marine land corner flow. The plate comes off for cleaning but the overflow still works the same way. Hopefully that isn't a limitation for your water changing plans.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am almost done with the plumbing. I pretty much went with the above plan except for these two deviations.

 

- I read that we can't Tee off a herbie drain. So gate valve 'A' is gone. That means, drainage of water at the time of water changes is a manual step.

- I haven't plumbed RODI water connection for ATO. So gate valve 'E' is not present at this time. I plan to do it...but not sure when.

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So I really like the idea of plumbing all this, but I will be honest I really love being able to schedule water changes on apex without turning knobs. Hopefully you will have same flexibility.

 

Nathan

This is a good idea!

 

the gate/ball valves would have to be shifted with stainless steel solenoids. 

 

Solenoid sizes:

1/2 in : http://www.amazon.com/Baco-Engineering-Stainless-Electric-Solenoid/dp/B00R4CSI2E/ref=sr_1_sc_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1439563515&sr=8-6-spell&keywords=stainless+steel+solonoid

3/4 in: http://www.amazon.com/110v-Normally-Closed-Stainless-Solenoid/dp/B005F1NOFC/ref=sr_1_sc_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1439563515&sr=8-8-spell&keywords=stainless+steel+solonoid

 

1 in: http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Electric-Solenoid-Valve/dp/B00DQ28R6S/ref=sr_1_sc_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1439563515&sr=8-5-spell&keywords=stainless+steel+solonoid

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