Rev's 400+ Gallon Basement Inwall

revhtree · May 31, 2016

rayn said:
You could build a "deck" system in your fish room and put a pump/drain system underneath and have its pump to the outside.

Other option is as mentioned and cut a strip, then lay drain pipe.

This was something I was thinking about but I would also have to raise the tank correct?

foxt · Jun 1, 2016

A couple of questions back at you ...

1. What is the purpose of the drain yiu want to install? Is this an emergency drain, or will you beusing it regularly for ro/di wastewater, water changes, etc?

2. If you put in a floor drain (option 1), are you connecting that to your sewer discharge line? Where is that in relation to the tank room? Or are you just trying to run it to daylight?

3. By "gutter drain", do you mean a downspout pckup where your roof runoff is carried away from the house? Where does this direct the outflow to?

4. I don't recall seeing this info, do you experience routine hard freezes in the winter?

rayn · Jun 1, 2016

revhtree said:
This was something I was thinking about but I would also have to raise the tank correct?

That could be up to you. You could build the deck system around the stand, but then you would be taller by however high you build the deck.

BoneXriffic · Jun 1, 2016

The deck idea is a possiblity but the end game is thisnis a major build and never cut corners. I believe cutting in the drain would be safest. And in the end probally easier and cheaper then raising the floor and sealing the underside to hold water

rayn · Jun 1, 2016

Why does it need sealed? It just raised high enough to get plumbing under neath. Pump could even be outside the deck area. It's just used to pump water outside. So we're talking a 2*4 on its side plus decking.

143MPCo · Jun 1, 2016

revhtree said:
So I'm having a quandary.

There is no drain where the tank room will be or in that area at all. BUT where the tank room will be borders the outside wall and right outside that wall is a gutter drain that goes into the ground under a driveway and out down at the bottom of the hill.

So my questions are this.

1. Would you bust up about 6 feet of basement concrete floor to install a drain?

2. Is there another option? Is there a way to raise the floor of the tank room and install a drain under it and out the same way I mentioned earlier through the gutter drain?

My 2 cents....

As I don't know the full design of your home, some of this will be assumed in my recommendations.

Assuming the drain will be for RO/DI discharge and also water changes, yes, I would bust up the basement floor and install a drain, but I would connect it to a utility sink this will also require you to run either hard or soft supply lines to connect the faucet up.

If you do, then you will have the benefits of centralizing everything you need in one space. You can now drain whatever water you want right to the sink or hard plumb it in-line with the drain. I would also add a faucet sprayer to the sinks it will allow you to better use the water pressure in the lines to blast away the junk from what ever you deem necessary.

This recommendation allows for cleaning out the skimmer, socks, or cleaning whatever you need to in one central location, no more running outside to hose out the socks and skimmer.

If you don’t want to bust up the floor look into a Sink Sump Pump no “busting” required just some plumbing. This will also allow you to add the items listed above. As it’s a basement and if the walls are not finished you can either choose to drill in the drain line into the studs or run them along the wall supporting them with J-Hook or fastener of choice.

Example below:

basement-sink-pump-454-utility-sink-pump-drain-in-basement-639-x-480.jpg

A while back I was talking to a someone about the Reefing hobby at a motorcycle event, at the time I didn’t know that he worked for the CT fish and wildlife service, soon as I mentioned that I dumped my waste water he asked if I chlorinated it first; umm, I didn’t think I had to, but he said I should be. I kinda side stepped the conversation, but to this day I wonder if that is or is not a regulation for all state, after all I’m a “hobbyist” not a commercial entity. Point being, check with local authorities before dumping waste water down the drain.

Funny part about “chlorinating” the wastewater is that we work so hard and buy so much gear to get the chlorine out only to have to add it back. Again don’t know if this is or is not a state regulation but worth noting it either way. I know quite a few hobbits that don’t practice this and have never heard of it before, so please take it with a grain of salt.

dbrewsky · Jun 1, 2016

BoneXriffic said:
The deck idea is a possiblity but the end game is thisnis a major build and never cut corners. I believe cutting in the drain would be safest. And in the end probally easier and cheaper then raising the floor and sealing the underside to hold water

The work and infrastructure you complete now will directly reflect in the success and suitability of your new tank down to road. Cutting and chipping the cement for one or more drains is going to cost less than building a raised floor and more likely to actually work in an emergency. I would potentially put a couple drain lines in or at least position and configure one drain line so that it services a couple different areas. I would definitely put a drain near high activity areas in your fish room where there is a good chance of water being spilled. I would also look if there is a slope to the floor or any low spots where water would collect in a catastrophic failure and place an additional drain there as well.

@143MPCo also is dead on about the utility sink, its a simple way to route waste water and is darn handy to have for maintenance and any other tasks you may need to complete. It is also likely to be one of the least expensive additions you can make to your fish room. If it was me I would route your ro/di waste water line and your plumbing for the automated/semi automated water change system directly to the sink drain line. I would also position the sink in close proximity to the tank , your water storage, and work surface to increase efficiency and make it easy to run a flexible hose to the sink for misc tasks or maintenance.

Ultimately if you take the time and money to invest in infrastructure for the tank now (ie- running plenty of dedicated circuits which are well distributed through the fish room, a dedicated water supply, proper water drainage and disposal, and well designed facilities for maintenance/work-space) you will find it easy to be successful long term and protected as best you can from uncontrollable failures.

400 gallons is a whole different animal, and I am jealous

choff · Jun 1, 2016

Your slab is 6 feet of concrete? Feet, not inches? You don't trust banks and you put a vault down there too for all your money? Lol

Most basement slabs are 4" with footings of 8 to 18" around load bearing walls, support beams and staircases.

I do know a floor drain is a must in my next fish room. It doesn't need to handle high volume, but it would be nice to have. At minimum I want the floor drain to just handle spills. It would be awesome to have a the room built with a slight grade to the drain, but just being able to squeegee water into it would be fine too.

For water changes and high water volume, a pump like the one @143MPCo posted above does the job. I use a sump pump.

BoneXriffic · Jun 1, 2016

rayn said:
Why does it need sealed? It just raised high enough to get plumbing under neath. Pump could even be outside the deck area. It's just used to pump water outside. So we're talking a 2*4 on its side plus decking.

If not sealed or insulated the false floor will sweat rotting wood. Also if you just used decking a leak will get below the false floor causing problems...meaning the original floor needs to be treated as a shower pan in a sense. Best way is the right way, cut in a drain and spill way. Not to mention the cost of lumber and hardware will likeley exceed some jackhammering, pvc and concrete work. Especially when it rots.

I would plan for the worst...which is a 400gal dump.....

evolved · Jun 2, 2016

But the outside drain does not enter the sewer, right? It sounds like a storm drain that dumps on land, further away. In which case, I wouldn't consider that option.

Just bite the bullet at get a drain in the room, tied into the sewer line. But I'm on board with the idea of sink, as opposed to a floor drain.

butters417 · Jun 2, 2016

i went the utility sink and pump route (Liberty Pumps 404 1/3 HP, 115V Residential Drain Pump)

dbrewsky · Jun 2, 2016

I agree you should plumb your utility sink or any drain that will handle frequent use directly into your main sewage line. I would not see an issue if you were to run emergency floor drains directly outside to handle emergency drainage however.

revhtree · Jun 2, 2016

foxt said:
A couple of questions back at you ...

1. What is the purpose of the drain yiu want to install? Is this an emergency drain, or will you beusing it regularly for ro/di wastewater, water changes, etc?

2. If you put in a floor drain (option 1), are you connecting that to your sewer discharge line? Where is that in relation to the tank room? Or are you just trying to run it to daylight?

3. By "gutter drain", do you mean a downspout pckup where your roof runoff is carried away from the house? Where does this direct the outflow to?

4. I don't recall seeing this info, do you experience routine hard freezes in the winter?

1. Drain will be for emergency, sink, RO/DI unit, etc.
2. It will run about 6-8 feet to an outside wall and connect to a downspout line that empties at the bottom of the property.
3. Yes and see above!
4. No we do not. Southeast.

revhtree · Jun 2, 2016

dbrewsky said:
The work and infrastructure you complete now will directly reflect in the success and suitability of your new tank down to road. Cutting and chipping the cement for one or more drains is going to cost less than building a raised floor and more likely to actually work in an emergency. I would potentially put a couple drain lines in or at least position and configure one drain line so that it services a couple different areas. I would definitely put a drain near high activity areas in your fish room where there is a good chance of water being spilled. I would also look if there is a slope to the floor or any low spots where water would collect in a catastrophic failure and place an additional drain there as well.

@143MPCo also is dead on about the utility sink, its a simple way to route waste water and is darn handy to have for maintenance and any other tasks you may need to complete. It is also likely to be one of the least expensive additions you can make to your fish room. If it was me I would route your ro/di waste water line and your plumbing for the automated/semi automated water change system directly to the sink drain line. I would also position the sink in close proximity to the tank , your water storage, and work surface to increase efficiency and make it easy to run a flexible hose to the sink for misc tasks or maintenance.

Ultimately if you take the time and money to invest in infrastructure for the tank now (ie- running plenty of dedicated circuits which are well distributed through the fish room, a dedicated water supply, proper water drainage and disposal, and well designed facilities for maintenance/work-space) you will find it easy to be successful long term and protected as best you can from uncontrollable failures.

400 gallons is a whole different animal, and I am jealous

Thank you and yes I can't have a tank room without a utility sink! Been wanting one forever! HA! Great ideas as well about extra drains. I might as well put two in and have one connect to the main so I can spread the coverage.

revhtree · Jun 2, 2016

143MPCo said:
My 2 cents....

As I don't know the full design of your home, some of this will be assumed in my recommendations.

Assuming the drain will be for RO/DI discharge and also water changes, yes, I would bust up the basement floor and install a drain, but I would connect it to a utility sink this will also require you to run either hard or soft supply lines to connect the faucet up.

If you do, then you will have the benefits of centralizing everything you need in one space. You can now drain whatever water you want right to the sink or hard plumb it in-line with the drain. I would also add a faucet sprayer to the sinks it will allow you to better use the water pressure in the lines to blast away the junk from what ever you deem necessary.

This recommendation allows for cleaning out the skimmer, socks, or cleaning whatever you need to in one central location, no more running outside to hose out the socks and skimmer.

If you don’t want to bust up the floor look into a Sink Sump Pump no “busting” required just some plumbing. This will also allow you to add the items listed above. As it’s a basement and if the walls are not finished you can either choose to drill in the drain line into the studs or run them along the wall supporting them with J-Hook or fastener of choice.

Example below:

A while back I was talking to a someone about the Reefing hobby at a motorcycle event, at the time I didn’t know that he worked for the CT fish and wildlife service, soon as I mentioned that I dumped my waste water he asked if I chlorinated it first; umm, I didn’t think I had to, but he said I should be. I kinda side stepped the conversation, but to this day I wonder if that is or is not a regulation for all state, after all I’m a “hobbyist” not a commercial entity. Point being, check with local authorities before dumping waste water down the drain.

Funny part about “chlorinating” the wastewater is that we work so hard and buy so much gear to get the chlorine out only to have to add it back. Again don’t know if this is or is not a state regulation but worth noting it either way. I know quite a few hobbits that don’t practice this and have never heard of it before, so please take it with a grain of salt.

Tanks for the info and thinking material! I have never thought anout the waste water and never assumed it would be an issue!

revhtree · Jun 2, 2016

evolved said:
But the outside drain does not enter the sewer, right? It sounds like a storm drain that dumps on land, further away. In which case, I wouldn't consider that option.

Just bite the bullet at get a drain in the room, tied into the sewer line. But I'm on board with the idea of sink, as opposed to a floor drain.

We are not on sewer here we are on a septic and I can't dump the water there. It has to go outside!