Rlaken's 120 build with remote sump

[Rlaken]

Here is my 120 build. I got a used Aqueon 120 48x24x24 from Craigslist, and picked up a 55 gallon for the sump from a buddy at work. The stand is made of 2 layers of 3/4 inch plywood. The inner layer is pine and the outer layer is birch. The base has been sanded, and my wife put 5 coats of varnish on it. The cabinet holes are not perfectly square, but once the doors and trim are finished, it should look pretty good.

 

[Rlaken]

The return line is 1 1/2 inch and feeds a 3/4 inch manifold mounted under the cabinet. The manifold has 4 ball valves, with unions for flow adjustments. In each overflow I merged the 1 inch and 3/4 inch and tied them into a 2 inch line. I have two 2 inch drain lines running to my sump which is about 25 feet from the tank. I oversized the drains so they could handle the Laguna max-flo pump, which is rated 4280 gph.

 

[hung]

Do you plan on painting the plumbing?

 

[Rlaken]

Here is a pic of the drain lines inside the overflows. I only had one overflow, so I homemade the other ones. Here are the some of the pvc running under the house, and the sump manifold. I will be running gfo and carbon reactors with return manifold. One ball valve will be used for a fast drain for my water changes, and the other one is just for possible future add ons. I made a "stand" for the 55 gallon sump, out of some railroad ties I had lying around and some 3/4 inch plywood.

No plans to paint the pvc yet, hopefully it will all be hidden when i am finished.

 

[Rlaken]

Here is the T5 light fixture that I got when I bought the 55 gallon from a friend. I cut up the fixture and mounted the ballasts and ends in the hood which I made from 3/4 birch plywood. The interior of the hood is painted white, and the exterior is not trimmed or varnished yet. I also mounted a 175 watt 14k MH in the center of the hood.

 

[Rlaken]

I did not want to put any cabinets in the hood, but taking the hood on and off got old fast! So yesterday I hinged the hood, so I can open the top solo. The two boards stuck under the hood is a temporary prop open solution... it works, but I am looking for a better way to prop the top open. if anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them! These gate hinges are secured into the wall and into a header with 8 three inch lag bolts.

Also, here are a couple of shots of the sump set up. It's a 55 gallon with a filter sock for each drain line, a bubble magus curve 7, a hydor ATO, the return pump, and two 300 watt heaters. The top cover still needs some work, and I am going to put up a shelf under the house for supplies, and add some more plywood to the walls. I have the return and drain lines temporarily insulated with some fiberglass roll that I had around the house. I would like to insulate the pipes with some nice foam, and will eventually insulate the tank with some styrofoam board from Home Depot.

I have a one inch drain line coming from the return manifold, which is piped to the outside for draining for water changes.
The temp stays pretty constant in the crawlspace, and the insulation on the pipes made a huge difference. My heaters actually turn off now, lol. I have drainage and underground sump pumps in case the sump ever overflows. That is all I have so far...

 

[Rlaken]

Oh yeah, the drains in the overflows were so loud from the suction... length of drain line and size... I had to modify them. I have two ball valves on one overflow to throttle back the flow to make the overflows silent, and have the other two drains wide open still, just in case a snail or something blocks a drain line.

Also, the vibration from the pump was coming through the wall. I tried insulating the lines with some rubber mats, and tried to insulate the pump resting on the glass with no luck at all. I picked up a short piece of spa flex hose and now I have zero noise from under the house.