[seanj]

I'd like to stick with hard plumbing for the drains mostly because it looks better (to my eye), and considering that I want the drain plumbing to be secured to the stand, but the last vertical run I want to keep sort of free floating so none of the drains actually make contact with the sump so that there's one less place to vibrate. This way the sump (which is sitting on neoprene) only has one location that can transmit vibration to the stand which is the silicone junction on the return section.

I mostly am looking for something to hang down from the stand and support the weight of the drain plumbing.

 

[Japonicus]

I'd like to stick with hard plumbing for the drains mostly because it looks better (to my eye), and considering that I want the drain plumbing to be secured to the stand...

Then I would shorten the 1st down length and get the elbow
to allow your horizontal run to be snug against the bottom of the frame
under the top of the stand, all 3, and adjust the final down length to the level
that you're wanting it to enter the sump at and use 1" conduit clamps.

I'm thinking hangers would require a lot more precision to get the right resistance to negate the weight.
Don't forget some movement will occur with drain on each start up of the pump or flex, rumble, chatter, vibration or whatever.

 

[seanj]

That is already the plan for the final length of the drain pipes, the reason it isn't perfectly clearing the trim/frame on the stand already is because I still have to cut it to it's final length for the unions when I get them.

Just curious, what is the benefit to that compared to say a longer initial vertical run and shorter second vertical run? Either configuration would have the same amount of pipe both going vertical and horizontal, so is there a benefit to having the horizontal run higher up as you suggest? Even for the back up and emergency drains which will likely never see full flow?

 

[seanj]

Wait, are you saying so that I can more easily secure them to the stand?

That seems obvious now; I'm sorry I missed that.

 

[Japonicus]

Wait, are you saying so that I can more easily secure them to the stand?

That seems obvious now; I'm sorry I missed that.

Yup, and much more secure than hangers that require too much precision.
Bolt it down basically. You can still bump the plumbing and cause a bulkhead leak over time more easily than with vinyl, but you're right, the PVC looks better.
I like that blue and gray

 

[seanj]

Sweet, love the suggestion. I'm going to jack in the box but I'll post a photo of what I have done with the return so far when I get back; I made a small error and forgot to put the caps for the ball valve union over the pipe before welding (like a newb) but I've got it fixed.

 

[CRP Tnk Bldr]

At my lowes the only barbed fittings I could find that worked were in the diy home sprinkler section... Also before you glue make sure you use the primer. I was able to primer and used PVC segment into the bulkhead and it worked fine. Not sure what type of bulkhead it was though.

 

[seanj]

Just about done. Still need to connect bottom of return wye to the soft tubing.





So yeah, I just need to fit those unions tomorrow, attach the pump to the return split, and secure the plumbing. Then I can water test.

 

[CRP Tnk Bldr]

That looks nice

 

[pmarkj]

Alright fancy shmancy...what are you up to today? Ooooohh, pretty blue piping. Ya gonna hook it up today?

Word of wisdom learned from personal experience...let the water test run for several days all the while checking for leaks. Hope ya have none!

 

[seanj]

I'll be installing the unions on the drains, and finishing the last little bit of the return below the wye. Water testing should commence tomorrow

 

[seanj]

Glad you guys like the look

 

[Shane the Reef Geek]

Just about done. Still need to connect bottom of return wye to the soft tubing.





So yeah, I just need to fit those unions tomorrow, attach the pump to the return split, and secure the plumbing. Then I can water test.

Paul, this looks familiar.. Like Hello Kitty 2.0

Hi Seanj, I'm gonna sub to your thread. It's schmancy. :beer:

 

[seanj]

Lol is hello kitty the code name of someone's past build or something?

Glad to have you here!

 

[pmarkj]

I'd say your build is most like that of someone else's prior to the or around the time Bean Animal was created...you know like Biff the dog in Unix that retrieves your mail...or maybe it just looks like two paws in the air

 

[PAWrangler08]

What happened to this thread Sean?! It's blew up!!! Gotta catch up. Give me a minute lol. Btw I somewhat finished my 90g stand.

-Blair.

 

[PAWrangler08]

I have everything held together with magnets. Makes cleaning and taking things off very easy. First pick is every panel off, second pick is every panel on. Takes about 15 seconds to put all panels on or take them off. with the glass tops and AC infinity in the stand I only go through about 3/4 a gallon of water a week from my ATO

I really wish I would have bought about this for my 90g build. This is epic.

By the way if anybody is interested I tried test fitting the overflow on the side panel because I was curious what it would be like as an overflow for a peninsular build and it fits pretty much perfectly. If anybody wants to do a 75 gallon peninsula build this overflow would work perfectly as a coast to coast overflow. Just putting the idea out there.

I really like this overflow (looks not so much how it turned out for you, sorry). That would be a great idea, since I've been planning on doing a C2C overflow, but not sure if I'm going to follow through now.

So on an unrelated note I figured out a way to keep my salt water mixing tank a lot cleaner.

After mixing a batch of salt water and emptying the tank I usually give it a quick wipe down (if that) and call it a day, but lately I've been immediately refilling the tank with RODI after making a salt batch, and then I simply let the tank hang out filled with RODI until I need to make water next.

This way the residual salt water in the mixing tank doesn't evaporate and leave salt creep everywhere that may or may not redissolve completely.

Seems obvious but I feel like this is going to save me a fair amount of time cleaning the mixing tank.

So far I've gone through 3 batches of salt water mixed and the tank still looks shiny and clean, which is nice since it usually isn't very pretty.

I leave my brute can full. When ever I do water changes, it automatically adds RO/DI water (float valve) and I just add salt as needed and keep a pump submerged and running. So I always have about 30g on hand.

Meaning you always have some salt water mixing kind of thing?

I imagine that would work just as well.

That's what I do

K so here is the plumbing as it currently sits (the pipe isn't welded into the bulkheads):



Check out this clearance:



Entering the sump:



Right drain is the main, it goes lowest into the sump so that the end is submerged in water. This drain runs a full siphon and is controlled with the gate valve to be silent. Middle is the stability or backup which handles mild fluctuations in flow; these two together are a herbie style drain. The left one is an emergency one which will be set up with no air vent so that it runs full siphon and then flushes if the water level in the rear box ever gets beyond a certain point because something has happened to the main, and stability/back up drain. The stability drain will end about an inch above the water so it makes just a little bit of noise to aid in tuning the main drain, and the emergency is set up so the water falls a good 6 inches so as to alert whoever is around (hopefully me) that there is a problem with the main and backup drain.





That last photo is more or less the view you'll have (minus the return plumbing which isn't really started yet) when you walk past the tank into the room. Pretty clean.

Two things I need advice on:

First, how do I secure the plumbing into the bulkheads? I've used teflon tape and just jammed it in with good success in the past but I'm sure somebody has better advice for me. Is there a specific type of solvent you can get that will weld ABS to PVC, or do the dissimilar plastics not like to bond?

Second, does anybody have suggestions on how to secure the plumbing so the bulkheads aren't supporting the weight of the plumbing? I'm sure there's a good way to do it that won't hinder removing the plumbing in the future if needed? Some sort of hangers or something?

Edit: Just for clarity sake, I plan on putting the unions on the vertical run of the drains, right above the plastic trim of the tank, so basically they'll all sit just lower than that gate valve on the main. If anybody thinks I need more unions I can add regular white ones after the pipe runs under the tank so that it looks pretty outside. I'll be able to get away with install and maintenance with just the single union on each though I'm pretty sure.

Just about done. Still need to connect bottom of return wye to the soft tubing.





So yeah, I just need to fit those unions tomorrow, attach the pump to the return split, and secure the plumbing. Then I can water test.

Wow this looks great!!! I may be stealing some ideas from you lol. For starters, painting the back.

 

[seanj]

I'd say your build is most like that of someone else's prior to the or around the time Bean Animal was created...you know like Biff the dog in Unix that retrieves your mail...or maybe it just looks like two paws in the air

Lol what? Please explain.

 

[seanj]

You know so far I still really like the overflow; it just sort of feels like I got one that was made on a Monday in a British automotive factory.

In other news, I rinsed the marine pure media block and placed it in my rock cooking bin along with a squirt of blender mush. I was pretty shocked at how much heavier it got when it was exposed to the water, it sure absorbed a lot.

 

[CRP Tnk Bldr]

How is the water test coming? What's the purpose of the marine pure?