90G Tank Build

[govolsguy31]

Alright, here we go. Within a couple hours of being on this forum, I'd met some fellow Vol fans and bought a tank from @SandJ.

Leak Test: (A tank that holds water is always a plus!)

Acid Bath for old rock

Overflow drain holes

Question for you guys- as you can see from the last pic, this tank has two drain holes. What's the best way to configure this down into my sump? Should I just use both of them with two lines coming in and two filter socks? Any input here would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

judging by the cut out in the corner overflow and the differently sized bulkheads I'd say that the smaller of the two is intended for the return line and the larger is for the drain. If you wanted to you could plumb the return elsewhere and use the smaller bulkhead for an emergency drain

 

[Armydogracing]

The smaller one is for your return the bigger one is the drain. Unless your going to do a full syphon and plan on running the return over the back of the tank

 

[Armydogracing]

judging by the cut out in the corner overflow and the differently sized bulkheads I'd say that the smaller of the two is intended for the return line and the larger is for the drain. If you wanted to you could plumb the return elsewhere and use the smaller bulkhead for an emergency drain

Same time same thing lol

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

The smaller one is for your return the bigger one is the drain. Unless your going to do a full syphon and plan on running the return over the back of the tank

I didn't want to come right out and say it, I wanted to ease him into it lol

 

[R_C]

The smaller one is for your return the bigger one is the drain. Unless your going to do a full syphon and plan on running the return over the back of the tank

+1

 

[govolsguy31]

I didn't want to come right out and say it, I wanted to ease him into it lol

HAHA! Just shoot me straight Squirrel!

So as far as the smaller return hole then, do I need a bulkhead there? I'm assuming that's the way to prevent that from leaking.

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

HAHA! Just shoot me straight Squirrel!

So as far as the smaller return hole then, do I need a bulkhead there? I'm assuming that's the way to prevent that from leaking.

LOL

10-4 buddy.

Grab a bulkhead that's NPT threaded, they should be readily available

 

[govolsguy31]

LOL

10-4 buddy.

Grab a bulkhead that's NPT threaded, they should be readily available

Cool. This is my first build ever. I have a bazillion questions. Trying to just ask a couple a day so I don't drive everyone on here nuts.

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

Dude I spend more time on this forum then I do my actual job, Fire away, whatever I can't answer there are probably 25 guys/girls lurking this post that can. That's how everyone gets started, you gotta start somewhere!

 

[govolsguy31]

Dude I spend more time on this forum then I do my actual job, Fire away, whatever I can't answer there are probably 25 guys/girls lurking this post that can. That's how everyone gets started, you gotta start somewhere!

Alright then, I'm building my own sump. Glass baffles will ready to pick up today at 2pm.

From the drain bulkhead, I can basically go straight down with PVC into the first chamber. How far down into that chamber does the PVC need to stop? Close to the height of my first baffle? (first baffle, the tallest one, is 9-1/2") Or should it go lower (where it would be under the water line of the first chamber), or should it not go as far down as the water line?

Then the return pump. Its on the other end of the sump. Now that I realize I need get it back to the same corner of the tank as the drain, will I be ok with some bends in getting it there? I've read several places to use 2 45* elbows, not 90*, to make turns. I'll basically have to have it come up, turn to run back towards that corner, and then turn again to go up and out that second bulkhead.

 

[SandJ]

Woohoo! Glad to see you made it home ok and it is holding water. Hopefully you avoided the rain

It was great meeting y'all and happy to help if you have any questions. Can't wait to see how it progresses

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

Alright then, I'm building my own sump. Glass baffles will ready to pick up today at 2pm.

From the drain bulkhead, I can basically go straight down with PVC into the first chamber. How far down into that chamber does the PVC need to stop? Close to the height of my first baffle? (first baffle, the tallest one, is 9-1/2") Or should it go lower (where it would be under the water line of the first chamber), or should it not go as far down as the water line?

Then the return pump. Its on the other end of the sump. Now that I realize I need get it back to the same corner of the tank as the drain, will I be ok with some bends in getting it there? I've read several places to use 2 45* elbows, not 90*, to make turns. I'll basically have to have it come up, turn to run back towards that corner, and then turn again to go up and out that second bulkhead.

For the drain, I've never used hard plumbing. However on the drain (in my case hose) its better to have some turns in it to make it quieter. For drain/ water line IMHO it should be about 1-2 inches below the water line, can be more if you're running a filter sock as mechanical. however 1-2 inches seems to be a rule of thumb. This is one of those "thousand ways to skin a cat" type questions.... for your return line if you are concerned about the number of turns simply use the 45's or you can make the turns using a soft tubing like acrylic or rubber (again there will be a lot of different answers)

 

[SandJ]

Now that I realize I need get it back to the same corner of the tank as the drain, will I be ok with some bends in getting it there? I've read several places to use 2 45* elbows, not 90*, to make turns. I'll basically have to have it come up, turn to run back towards that corner, and then turn again to go up and out that second bulkhead.

I have seen some people using flexible water line.

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

FYI this stuff can be as complicated or as easy as you want it to be. It all works the same in the end.

Look at the left side of my refugium, this is before several equipment upgrades, but hey this setup works and was super cheap and simple. The drain hose sits about 2 inches below the water line and it took a few turns to get there. The return pump and line are on the right side and I just clamped on a simple acrylic hose for the return and guess what.... IT WORKED

 

[govolsguy31]

Woohoo! Glad to see you made it home ok and it is holding water. Hopefully you avoided the rain

It was great meeting y'all and happy to help if you have any questions. Can't wait to see how it progresses

It was nice meeting you guys too! We enjoyed it and seeing all your setups! And yep, we got sprinkled on a little bit, but nothing to bad.

 

[govolsguy31]

FYI this stuff can be as complicated or as easy as you want it to be. It all works the same in the end.

Look at the left side of my refugium, this is before several equipment upgrades, but hey this setup works and was super cheap and simple. The drain hose sits about 2 inches below the water line and it took a few turns to get there. The return pump and line are on the right side and I just clamped on a simple acrylic hose for the return and guess what.... IT WORKED

Sweet! Yep, that's exactly what I needed to see. That makes so much more sense. So you didn't have any hard plumbing in this setup the way it is.

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

Sweet! Yep, that's exactly what I needed to see. That makes so much more sense. So you didn't have any hard plumbing in this setup the way it is.

Negative no hard plubming, that being said, I am bringing a 75g tank back to life right now ( insert shameless plug here https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-grand-experiment.271045/) and for that tank I am going to soft plumb the drain and hard plumb the return, using tubing for the turns. With solid plumbing you also have to plan ahead for any future upgrades that you would want to run off the same pump ie reactors and such. you can always use a secondary pump but a lot of people run accessories off the main return pump. If you wanted to start off with soft plumbing on the return that would allow you to get up and running and then plan your future upgrades if you wanted to hard plumb later. the only downside is its hard to put a ball valve inline with soft plumbing so if you need to throttle back your pump you'd have to get a ball valve inline with the soft plumbing

 

[govolsguy31]

Negative no hard plubming, that being said, I am bringing a 75g tank back to life right now ( insert shameless plug here https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-grand-experiment.271045/) and for that tank I am going to soft plumb the drain and hard plumb the return, using tubing for the turns. With solid plumbing you also have to plan ahead for any future upgrades that you would want to run off the same pump ie reactors and such. you can always use a secondary pump but a lot of people run accessories off the main return pump. If you wanted to start off with soft plumbing on the return that would allow you to get up and running and then plan your future upgrades if you wanted to hard plumb later. the only downside is its hard to put a ball valve inline with soft plumbing so if you need to throttle back your pump you'd have to get a ball valve inline with the soft plumbing

Cool, makes sense. I was thinking this for my sump return. It's on a controller, so I would be able to adjust flow that way. The DCT-4000 model.
https://www.amazon.com/Jebao-Marine-Controllable-Water-Pump/dp/B00SQX5CEW

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

yea not a bad choice, keep in mind your return should rate should be 10-20 times your total volume so 90g tank + 20g sump =110g so 1100gph-2200gph return pump