Check my plumbing please!

[Jivatma]

I'm getting really close to actually having water in a glass box! Wanted the experts' opinion on my first plumbing job. Everything is dry-fitted at the moment so changes can be made!

The badunk-a-dunk


The top down. Getting in some practice before I get the good stuff.



Under the hood.



This is my only questionable area - the return section. I only had some leftover 45° fittings, but should I give more space for a soft pipe by using 90°?

 

[PanhandleReef]

Recommend a ball valve on the return line closest to the pump so you can create back pressure and force water to the other return or you will end up with uneven flow through returns.

 

[BostonReefer300]

Looking good! You only need a couple inches of soft tubing between the pump and hard plumbing. That being said, I always put a ball valve on my return plumbing in case I need to control flow if I use a non-controllable return pump for whatever reason. I'm no plumbing expert so forgive this question, but why do you have two different heights for your two main drains? I see the lower drain has a gate valve. Is this all to control tank water level? I always control my tank water level by just adjusting my return pump power.

 

[SPS2020]

As others have mentioned...but I'd use a gate valve instead of a ball valve for more precise control of flow.

One gate valve on each return just in case you want to tailor the flow.

 

[Jivatma]

Looking good! You only need a couple inches of soft tubing between the pump and hard plumbing. That being said, I always put a ball valve on my return plumbing in case I need to control flow if I use a non-controllable return pump for whatever reason. I'm no plumbing expert so forgive this question, but why do you have two different heights for your two main drains? I see the lower drain has a gate valve. Is this all to control tank water level? I always control my tank water level by just adjusting my return pump power.

Look into BeanAnimal overflow for more detail explanations, but...

Lower return is primary siphon and it has a gate valve to match return pump to create near silent overflow. Secondary return (on the right) is essentially a primary back up in case primary siphon fails. It also acts as a secondary return to handle any extra flow. And then the stand pipe is the final emergency, and its return is above the sump water level to make a splashing noise for a more audible cue for me to investigate the problem.