Plumbing a 120 reef ready

coastkid · Dec 10, 2020

The siphons begin at 6" below the overflow water level. I also have ball valves on the overflow plumbing, but hope not to use them for flow.

will do. and thank you. This build has been crazy. I will post vids and pics when complete.

coastkid · Dec 10, 2020

Just a bit of cable management to go but the plumbing is complete. I may end up swapping out that black soft pipe as it is a bit hard. Maybe it will soften up a bit. Still need clamps there too.
I will let you know the results once water gets flowing.

coastkid · Dec 11, 2020

Well... no leaks! Only real issue is that the overflows won’t fill up all the way. I have to close one all the way and the other is about 3/4 closed. That will get me a decent flow with no noise, but the overflow is the same level as the display. I think I am having some balancing issues between the COR20 and the overflows.

coastkid · Dec 11, 2020

Well after some serious tinkering this thing is running smooth. Zero noise except the occasional water movement on the surface. Not sure I am a fan of having the ball valves on the drain lines tuned. I was hoping they could be full open unless doing maintenance. I will keep researching. For now successful 120 build. Gotta get the salt water in it now.

coastkid · Dec 13, 2020

Well I got everything balanced so far. I have tried using the COR20 at 100% but it can not keep up with the overflows wide open or maybe it will just take a loooong time to catch up? I have the COR set to 60% now and the ball valves closed a bit to keep things in balance. I dont like having them closed at all but it is the only way to balance. I have 9" strainers on the overflows so I dont thin I will have issues with them clogging or allowing anything through. I figure once a month give the ball valves a good open close open close and reset to get any build up. I dont know what else to do other than get a bigger pump but in my figuring the COR 20 would work just fine.

coastkid · Dec 20, 2020

Bump for any advise on the flow. I still don’t like having the ball valves slightly closed to keep the balance. Any suggestions?

GuppyHJD · Dec 21, 2020

xxkenny90xx said:
So your planing to have your return pump up into one of the Overflow boxes? I'm not crazy about that, why not make them all drains and do the return separately?

xxkenny90xx - why would using one of the returns via the overflow box be an issue?

GuppyHJD · Dec 21, 2020

Tcook said:
Why make it so complicated? I have a 120RR with the same drain holes. I've been running variations of the Durso standpipe for years. Recently set up this tank again and bought new standpipes with the strainers from Richard. Modified them with a 3/8 valve on top and they are silent. No slurping. Water level stays constant in the overflow boxes and each return is driven by a Cor20 throttled back.

Tcook,
I have the 120RR and it is NOT silent or even close. So, what do you mean standpipes with strainers? Where did you put a 3/8 valve? Pictures?

GuppyHJD · Dec 21, 2020

coastkid said:
ok so after doing a bunch of research I am going with the dual siphon and dual return. I will be using two sensors for water level in the tank that will kill the return pump if triggered. I wanted to get an opinion on the overflow plumbing. The pic is what I am doing. Please let me know.

Curious - how did you determine how low to put your siphons?

xxkenny90xx · Dec 21, 2020

GuppyHJD said:
xxkenny90xx - why would using one of the returns via the overflow box be an issue?

That's not necessarily an issue but more drains will equal a quieter and safer tank

coastkid · Dec 21, 2020

Siphons are 6” below the water line. That is from gmacreef guy. My overflows are working perfect. The whole system is completely silent.

coastkid · Dec 21, 2020

Completely silent. No sound above or below. I just can’t open the drain valves all the way because the COR20 cannot keep up.

Tcook · Dec 21, 2020

GuppyHJD said:
Tcook,
I have the 120RR and it is NOT silent or even close. So, what do you mean standpipes with strainers? Where did you put a 3/8 valve? Pictures?

See post #8