Basement sump plumbing

dutch27 · Feb 5, 2019

Any thoughts on plumbing a basement sump inside of an exterior wall? Whenever I toss around the idea of a tank with a basement sump, the idea of drilling multiple holes in my hardwoods doesn't sit well with me. The best location for a tank however would be against an exterior wall, so I'd be plumbing inside of that. Shouldn't be an issue assuming the wall is insulated (I'm pretty sure it is), otherwise I'd be concerned about cold air in the winter. Drains + returns is 3-5 pipes, that's quite a few holes in the floor.

Does a basement sump in the NE make for higher demands on the heaters in the winter than having it in a heated living space?

RamsReef · Feb 5, 2019

Some Tips,

First I live in northern Canada so take my heating for what you will.

My basement is usually 2c colder than main floor unless I'm down there and I tell my house to heat the basement.

I insulate my sump with 1" foam, it does a good job, I also keep tanks in my garage (QT) this way, it is currently -42c which is near -40f (But for more than one day (week(s)))

As for your floor, I recommend cutting a nice square with a good saw. You can pluck that square out and save it. Through your supfloor you can drill your holes.

When you go to sell your house you can remove the pipe and put the square back in place, some wood filler and a little wood coloring should match it up quite nicely.

Esp if it is against the wall it should not be a big deal, you can even put a plant over it.

Ram

Erica-Renee · Feb 5, 2019

There is no reason why you cant drill the holes out for the plumbing to go down thru the wall instead of drilling into your floors. You can use rigid foam insulation between the pipes and outer wall in that cavity ,Use spray foam around and between the pipes and the outside walls. I also recommend getting a plumbing access cover in advance of cutting the holes and use it as a template . Once your pipes are ran up and out of the access panel opening Cut holes to match them in the cover and snap it into place . This will make a VERY NICE Clean Professional Job.. Remember you will be cutting thru Sub floor and wall plate so get a good hole saw bit deep enough to reach.... The wall cover plate should be positioned just above the baseboards .

As far as the plumbing.. I have plumbing from back of my tank 3=1 1/2 inch Drain lines from rear over flow box going into a 2 1/2 inch single drain down into my sump.1 Single Return line from my reeflo hammer head pump that is in the basement up and over the top of the tank... There are some pics in my build thread about my plumbing if you want to take a look.

Hope this helps... Plumbing Aquariums is not my Trade But Renovating homes is my Passion that i make a living doing everyday..

Good Luck and show us LOTS and Lots of Pictures .. We live pictures

Erica-Renee · Feb 5, 2019

Erica-Renee said:
There is no reason why you cant drill the holes out for the plumbing to go down thru the wall instead of drilling into your floors. You can use rigid foam insulation between the pipes and outer wall in that cavity ,Use spray foam around and between the pipes and the outside walls. I also recommend getting a plumbing access cover in advance of cutting the holes and use it as a template . Once your pipes are ran up and out of the access panel opening Cut holes to match them in the cover and snap it into place . This will make a VERY NICE Clean Professional Job.. Remember you will be cutting thru Sub floor and wall plate so get a good hole saw bit deep enough to reach.... The wall cover plate should be positioned just above the baseboards .

As far as the plumbing.. I have plumbing from back of my tank 3=1 1/2 inch Drain lines from rear over flow box going into a 2 1/2 inch single drain down into my sump.1 Single Return line from my reeflo hammer head pump that is in the basement up and over the top of the tank... There are some pics in my build thread about my plumbing if you want to take a look.

Hope this helps... Plumbing Aquariums is not my Trade But Renovating homes is my Passion that i make a living doing everyday..

Good Luck and show us LOTS and Lots of Pictures .. We live pictures

OHH Yes i do have to run addition heat in the winter time . But wrapping your sump with insulation board, build a closet in the basement for it to sit in. and cover the top helps a great deal to hold the heat in..

Its well worth the extra heaters to having the space for the sump in basement.. noise water mess during water changes and so on..

Engloid · Feb 7, 2019

Keep in mind that you may need a dehumidifier....which will then add heat in the hot months, and create another problem. I'm not saying it can't be done....because my sumps are in the basement. I'm just stating that there will likely be issues with moisture and temperature.

KSReef · Feb 7, 2019

I run 35 ft. into my garage. The biggest bonus is no noise from the pumps. I run reeflo pumps that stay about 82 degrees so fortunately I don't have to run a heater in the winter... at all.

dutch27 · Feb 8, 2019

Good feedback, thanks everyone.

I already have a dehumidifier in the basement, as it takes a little water on very heavy rains, and is just humid in general during the summer. The impact on temp down there seems negligible. Worst case I may need a bigger one, but this one (from previous owner) may be on the outs anyway. The humid-stat it has reads 10% higher than the one hanging on the wall, and it wasn't doing a great job last summer.

The basement was finished back in the 60's, so there is some baseboard heat in it tied into the main zone for the house. The valve for it is closed so I haven't run it. I'm afraid to turn the valve as it looks like it hasn't been opened in 30 years. Probably cheap to run since its just incidental to another zone, but the boiler by itself seems to keep the basement pretty consistently 45-50 so far this winter.

Engloid · Feb 8, 2019

Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on what you're going to need to do. In my case, the dehumidifier add so little more heat to the room then I would like in the warmer months, but I just put a 20 inch box fan next to the song and Trigger it off and on like a chiller with my Apex. I use the fan in the summer and heaters in the winter and things will stage the temperatures I want them.