Drilling abs sump? Help needed!

[Denisk]

So I asked before but now that I have my sump. Due to my budget this was the best bang for the buck and couldn’t pass it nor go with anything more expensive.

So my two drains on the tank are 1.5 inches but the bulkhead drains are 1 inch on the sump. I was told I shouldn’t reduce the 1.5 inch pvc to 1 inch. Not sure if it matters if my flow will only be like 1000 gph.

My question is should I just stick 1.5 inch through the holes and do no bulkhead in the sump?

Any thoughts would be really helpful!

 

[Fin]

Nice sump! I thought Aqua Box had shut down. I always liked their stuff and would have ordered my sump from them, but couldn't get in touch with them.

I would put bulkheads, if you have the room to fit them. It will at least keep down the salt creep. BTW, my Reef Savvy Ghost overflow is plumbed with 1" drains. You could put a reducer bushing if you won't have that much flow anyway.

 

[Fudsey]

Sure why not??? You might want to put on a true union above it so you can remove them if necessary though.

 

[Swingline77]

There is a third alternative. You can put a grommet between the sump hole and the drainage pipe. If you go to the McMaster-Carr website and search "grommet", you can find any size you might need.

 

[Denisk]

Nice sump! I thought Aqua Box had shut down. I always liked their stuff and would have ordered my sump from them, but couldn't get in touch with them.

I would put bulkheads, if you have the room to fit them. It will at least keep down the salt creep. BTW, my Reef Savvy Ghost overflow is plumbed with 1" drains. You could put a reducer bushing if you won't have that much flow anyway.

Yeah they apparently don’t make them from what I was told. I actually got it used but cleaned it up real good to the point that it looks new. Haha. I wonder how much flow can go through if it was reduced to 1 inch.

 

[Denisk]

Sure why not??? You might want to put on a true union above it so you can remove them if necessary though.

Yeah I definitely will do a true union haha. Good call!

 

[Denisk]

There is a third alternative. You can put a grommet between the sump hole and the drainage pipe. If you go to the McMaster-Carr website and search "grommet", you can find any size you might need.

Good call. I will check that out. Is it kind of what people put on brute trash cans if they want to drill it?

 

[Swingline77]

Good call. I will check that out. Is it kind of what people put on brute trash cans if they want to drill it?

Sort of, but not quite. You're referring to a "uniseal", which would work. The difference between the uniseal and what I'm talking about is that the uniseal flairs on one side, whereas what I'm talking about flairs on both. I believe that the single-sided and double sided ones are both types of "grommets". I don't know if there would be an advantage to either over the other.

 

[lapin]

So my two drains on the tank are 1.5 inches but the bulkhead drains are 1 inch on the sump. I was told I shouldn’t reduce the 1.5 inch pvc to 1 inch. Not sure if it matters if my flow will only be like 1000 gph.
My question is should I just stick 1.5 inch through the holes and do no bulkhead in the sump?
Any thoughts would be really helpful!

Pipe flow
https://flexpvc.com/Reference/WaterFlowBasedOnPipeSize.shtml
I would stick the 1-1/2'"pipes into the holes. Use unions somewhere in the middle of the pipes. That way can be removed if you want to change it up. Try to seal any gap with a gasket or rubber "O" ring as stated above. You dont want splash or salt creep.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

Sweet looking sump! Putting the pvc below the water line would reduce splashing.

If you reduce to 1" it shouldn't be a big deal. A 1" gravity fed sch 40 pvc drain has a max of around 900 gph.

 

[Denisk]

Sort of, but not quite. You're referring to a "uniseal", which would work. The difference between the uniseal and what I'm talking about is that the uniseal flairs on one side, whereas what I'm talking about flairs on both. I believe that the single-sided and double sided ones are both types of "grommets". I don't know if there would be an advantage to either over the other.

Ahh ok. I’ll go check it out. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Denisk]

Pipe flow
https://flexpvc.com/Reference/WaterFlowBasedOnPipeSize.shtml
I would stick the 1-1/2'"pipes into the holes. Use unions somewhere in the middle of the pipes. That way can be removed if you want to change it up. Try to seal any gap with a gasket or rubber "O" ring as stated above. You dont want splash or salt creep.

Sounds good. I don’t even know if 1.5 inch pvc fits so I may have to at least sand it down a bit but that shouldn’t be too hard. Thank you!

 

[Denisk]

Sweet looking sump! Putting the pvc below the water line would reduce splashing.

If you reduce to 1" it shouldn't be a big deal. A 1" gravity fed sch 40 pvc drain has a max of around 900 gph.

Thank you! I appreciate the help!

 

[Swingline77]

Ahh ok. I’ll go check it out. Thanks for the idea!

No worries, best of luck!

 

[dugthefish]

Skip the bulkhead. Run the pipe naked through the hole.

 

[Denisk]

Skip the bulkhead. Run the pipe naked through the hole.

Pipe flow
https://flexpvc.com/Reference/WaterFlowBasedOnPipeSize.shtml
I would stick the 1-1/2'"pipes into the holes. Use unions somewhere in the middle of the pipes. That way can be removed if you want to change it up. Try to seal any gap with a gasket or rubber "O" ring as stated above. You dont want splash or salt creep.

Sort of, but not quite. You're referring to a "uniseal", which would work. The difference between the uniseal and what I'm talking about is that the uniseal flairs on one side, whereas what I'm talking about flairs on both. I believe that the single-sided and double sided ones are both types of "grommets". I don't know if there would be an advantage to either over the other.

Hey guys so I’ve finally started on the plumbing in my build. Nobody replied to the issue I came across on my build thread but it hasn’t been to long. Thought some of you could maybe help! Turns out the 1.5 inch pvc won’t even fit the the sump drain holes.

Do you think it safe just sanding it down? Don’t want to mess with the seams of the sump. Maybe use a dremel with a sanding wheel?

 

[dugthefish]

Ya, a dremel bit should work to file those openings big enough to slip the pipes in. That's what I'd do if I were me [emoji854]

 

[Denisk]

Ya, a dremel bit should work to file those openings big enough to slip the pipes in. That's what I'd do if I were me [emoji854]

I appreciate it.

 

[Denisk]

I appreciate it.

Thank you for that little reassurance. I was dremeling at 10:30 at night in my house but the job is done and it looks fantastic

 

[Swingline77]

I think it would be fine to remove some material. You'd be removing so little, I doubt there would be any structural consequences. Removing with a dremel or similar is NOT what I would do. You will not be able to make a nice hole. It's very hard to control how much you'd be removing with a rotary tool, unless you're an experienced dentist.

A fixed hole saw of the diameter you need, an adjustable hole saw, or a concave file would be better alternatives. If a hole saw is used, either do it with a drill press, or clamp a circular template in place so that the hole saw doesn't move around. If you don't have a drill press, it should cost about $10 to have a carpenter make one for you.