Basement sump and equipment room questions

[TonyB]

I would like to start a discussion concerning are the complications associated with having a sump in the basement.

Pump recommendations?

Plumbing- keeping it quiet?

How to neatly route the pipes through the floor or wall?

Potential problems and nuissances?

If you have a basement sump and were to redo it, what would you do different?

 

[RBursek]

Humidity can be a problem so air ventilation/dehumidifiing sometimes needs to be addressed. Also if dry walled green board may need to be used do to the humidity with some special paint.

 

[Curtie44]

If I were to redo my fishroom I would try to make it a little bigger. I was surprised just how quickly I ran out of room. I would also re-think the number and placement of outlets. What I thought I calculated as enough was quickly used and now I have power strips plugged into 4 gang outlet boxes to accomodate all the devices. A sink is a MUST. I love having a deep sink inside my fishroom. I used a Reeflo Barracuda as my return pump which I am completely happy with. Something I need to add is a ball valve connected to a drain pipe coming off the return pump to make water changes a snap.

 

[johnanddawn]

Humidity can be a problem so air ventilation/dehumidifiing sometimes needs to be addressed. Also if dry walled green board may need to be used do to the humidity with some special paint.

this is the biggest prob i ran into as well
tank sweating and humidity is def an issue in the summer months here in WI - i ran a fan out a window all summer long to keep everything from dripping. its not an issue in the winter though as the extra humidity helps throughout the house

 

[Curtie44]

this is the biggest prob i ran into as well
tank sweating and humidity is def an issue in the summer months here in WI - i ran a fan out a window all summer long to keep everything from dripping. its not an issue in the winter though as the extra humidity helps throughout the house

I use a portable dehumidifier in my fishroom during the summer. It's amazing how much of a difference it made in the entire basement.

 

[Fishcrazy06]

John is your basement finished or no? If so do you run your Central Air then? Do you have vents in your basement? Reason I ask is basically a CA unit takes the humidity out of the house! I am in the process of doing a sump/frag tank setup in the basement. Eventually it will be finished off and I know there will end up being a CA vent into the fishroom. Paint the floor or do one of them nice epoxy floors to help with cleanup!!!

 

[Harry_Y]

Take a look at my Tank Tread (link in my sig line) to get a few ideas.

in the return pump you need to figure your requirements, I used a Panworld 150 PS since
I'm more concerned with Pressure than Flow, for Flow I use Tunze Powerheads in the tank.

As far as a sump I used a Rubbermaid stock tank since it wont break as easy as glass,
and is a better insulated than Glass (less heat loss).

Spa-Flex (or Flex PVC) is almost a must, it is quieter, easier to route and I would
believe less restrictive since the bends are far more sweeping.

I evaporate between 1.5 and 3 gallons a day depending on season, I have
central air so it does help in summer and in Winter it keeps the house nice.

Though depending on were you live the humidity could be an issue.

Hope this helps

 

[DML08]

Humidity can be a problem so air ventilation/dehumidifiing sometimes needs to be addressed. Also if dry walled green board may need to be used do to the humidity with some special paint.

Green board wont do it IMO since it still has a paper face, with High humidity "Black mold" will grow which is a health hazard to you and your family, I suggest anybody that is building a dedicated fish room to look into this drywall, it's a tile backer but can be finished like regular board..
Georgia-Pacific DensGuard Tile Backer

 

[TonyB]

Thanks guys, keep the advice coming!

I plan on using an exhaust fan vented outdoors.

I'm trying to pick out a pump now. The tank has two 1" drains and sump turnover is going to be 700-800 gph and I'm looking at around 10' of head.

 

[TonyB]

Oh as for the walls, they wont be covered. The floor is coated with epoxy paint and the walls are painted with waterproof paint.

 

[gilmour01]

following along as i'm preparing to do a similar build. i was looking at a reeflo hammerhead as a return pump. i want to make sure i have enough flow for a manifold and frag tank as well as 12 ft of head to a pair of 3/4" sea swirls in the main tank. looking at either a 120g or 150g display.

 

[shapermike]

following along as i'm preparing to do a similar build. i was looking at a reeflo hammerhead as a return pump. i want to make sure i have enough flow for a manifold and frag tank as well as 12 ft of head to a pair of 3/4" sea swirls in the main tank. looking at either a 120g or 150g display.

I am running a hammer head and I have plenty of flow but the one thing I did was run 1 1/2 in to all most where I needed to reduce. I am running one pump for 3 frag tanks and my 300 gal display tank. I have good head pressure but I am not going from a basement I a going from my garage t my living room through a wall but the way my sump is designed I have about 15 feet of pvc. I hope this helps

 

[RBursek]

Someone make a simular produck called Denshield, I thought it was GP also, it is gray not blue, I have used it for tile remodeling on showers and bath tub alcoves. Maybe it is made by American Gypsum, HD and Lowes carries it here in the Midwest.

 

[six-line]

Hey Tony,
Have you looked at my build thread on CMAS? I'm running a barracuda pump that's pushing 16' vertical head pressure and about 25' horizontal, with no problem. If i was to do it over I would make the fishroom even larger, its about 9'x12'. yes, you can fill that much space up quickly when you start adding sumps frag systems and the like.

 

[TonyB]

Thanks guys for the input. Still looking for layout ideas. I've gone with a Panworld 200ps return pump and a Panworld 50px-x to supply reactors, frag tank, etc. Still not sure what I'm going to use for a sump. Custom acrylic is pricey. I'm thinking about plumbing two tanks together.

 

[Fishcrazy06]

Tony what size tank you running upstairs? I run a panworld 200ps and have it throttled way back. I am eventually tying in a 90 gallon frag tank plus going to run a manifold to feed my reactors. I believe you will be surprised with the amount of flow you will get out of the pump. ON the flip side my pump is pumping straight up a max of about 12' no bends or turns or anything.

I vote for a stock tank for a sump. Also in the process of setting one of these up for shear water volume and ease of adding rock and skimmer and reactors right inside of the sump!

 

[TonyB]

The display will be a 220 with two 1.5" drains. I ran my setup through the head loss calculator here on RC and it said this pump would be right at 1000gph. Total head loss after figuring vertical and horizontal runs, ball valves, unions and elbows was 20' of loss.