Very basic plumbing questions

Sambo · 11-12-2006, 09:45 PM

so....

The sump is now in operation and my fingernails are just about bitten down to the quick with the stress of possible floods/leaks etc! No leaks - yet - but I'm a bit worried about the weakest link in the chain. The sump is in the basement, with a 10 foot drop (roughly). 55 gallon tank, hang-on overflow box and mag 12 with scwd return (Geoff - I have gone with this for now - will change to a T1 I think with the next upgrade, just haven't got a sump with a drilled bulkhead yet). A couple of silly questions:

1) the HOT overflow has a 1.5" bulkhead and I have jury-rigged my step-down to 3/4" hose using a short length of PVC siliconed into the bulkhead and then an attachment designed for pond use (I think!) that steps down to my hose. Am I being really thick? I can't immediately find a part that will convert my bulkhead to a barbed fitting (I have a 3/4" FPT to barb fitting). Any hints?
2) How do I quieten the noise from the overflow box? For now I have a piece of sponge jammed in moderately tightly that turns the big gurgles into a diffuse (but loud) hissing. Better Ideas?
3) Another silly one - the scwd returns (over the top) - is there a trick for clipping/attaching the 3/4" elbows to the rim of the tank?

Sorry for the basicness of the questions. Planned future upgrades will be to convert as much of my hose into PVC as possible (flexibe) - should I go up to 1" diameter? And I am hooking up my JATO tomorrow to automate the sump top-off. Will try and post some pics....

sambo

Geoff · 11-13-2006, 09:27 AM

could you post some pics of the area you have questions about?

why do you need the barb fitting?

i have made small bracketts out of acrylic for attaching things to my tanks. i just Weld-On 16 them to the plastic rim of the tank.

G~

Sambo · 11-13-2006, 09:32 AM

Now why didn't I think of that? Will try and take some pics tonight of the area. barbed fittings for now because I only have 3/4" hose rather than PVC to go up/down through the floor...

sambo

Sambo · 11-13-2006, 08:14 PM

Here are pics of the area in question (completely jury-rigged)

The 1" pipe within the bulkhead is sealed in with silicone then taped on (I know, I know!) with waterproof pipe-sealing tape. Then the 3/4" diam hose is connected via a fitting designed to take varying-thickness hose (barbed fitting one end). Make any sense?

Have also posted a pic of the sump (Mark I) - I have just had to scale back the mag12 slightly - over the course of approx 23 hrs the waterlevel in the tank crept up about 1/2"...

sambo

Geoff · 11-14-2006, 10:30 AM

i would not put a lot of faith in that check valve you have there. if it was from HD or Lowes it will contain a steel spring in it. that will rust an fail in a very short time in the SW environment. there are all plastic flapper check valves available, but even they are risky. they can become encrusted in Ca build up and not work when needed. it is better to get a bigger sump. i use a 50g Rubbermaid feeding stock tank for my sump. i think it was around $60 at the local feed store.

as for the drain. do you have room to put in a Durso standpipe in the overflow? this will help significantly on the noise. do a search either on here or on the net for Durso standpipe, even a Stockman stovepipe might work for you. you can see if either of these will fit in your overflow.

not a big fan of the SCWD. robs to much flow. might not be that bad with the amount of head pressure that the Mag 12 already has though.

G~

Sambo · 11-14-2006, 12:56 PM

Geoff

thanks for the words of wisdom. The check valve is a vivid item - plastic valve but thanks for warning me. The returns are currently only just below the surface of the water so the water level shouldn't fall more than approx 1" in the main tank before cutting the siphon. Quick calculation (I can only do metric) - 1" drop in the 55 gall tank (48"x18" surface area) equates to about 14 L (nearly 4 gall?) I might drop the level in the sump a little - I have that much room but only just (30gal sump). I did try drilling holes in the locline, but found it produced a mass of bubbles?

As for the mag12, so far I'm keeping a close eye on it but I've had to cut the return flow back slightly even with the SCWD attached becos of the flow. The durso option I'm trying to think of a solution for - the space is really tight, and already flow via the overflow box is a slight issue. I'll see how creative I can get. Good thing this is all Mark I!

sam

Geoff · 11-14-2006, 07:28 PM

so far i am on something like Mark IX of my system.

G~

Sambo · 11-14-2006, 08:47 PM

Supermarine got up to Mk 24 with the spitfire!!

Geoff · 11-15-2006, 09:37 PM

so you are saying i still have some time.

G~