Plumbing Questions

[Riddler05]

Hey,

So my sump is a mess and I have decided as part of my new years resolution is to keep my sump area cleaner. This will make it easier to work under the tank and give me more access to the small sump area I have. Right now all of my reactors are running off different pumps, however I have decided that I want to make a manifold off my return pump so that I do not have to have so many smaller secondary pumps in the sump.

While I am re-plumbing my sump I also thought about trying to convert my reef octopus biopellet reactor into a recirculating reactor. I have seen a few people do this with other biopellet reactors so I am hoping it can be done with my reef octopus.

Here is a current picture of my sump:



And here are the diagrams for how I want to re-plumb my sump:





Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Krull]

I always use ball valves at all input/output connections to allow for water flow adjustment. I like true union ball valves, though they are a little price, they are well worth it when a valve seizes up and needs to be replaced. You will also need a ball valve after you manifold coming from the pump in your second diagram to help redirect water pressure to the manifold; otherwise you may not get the desired pressure needed in your manifold. Other than that, you might want to consider finding an inexpensive sump thats more up to date with todays reef keeping. Though there is nothing wrong with what you have, and yes it will continue to work in the future, you'll find the over all esthetics and functionality of a newer design is much more appealing - imo.