Sooo close

[Malawi Freak]

I'm kicking myself so hard right now I'm ready to scream. I finally picked up the final plumbing parts today for my sump and I get home and realize the overflow is missing one of the bulkheads. This is going to be fun trying to find one the same size since they went from 1 3/8" OD threaded to 1" ID smooth wall. I ended up picking up some PVC that I'm gonna run down from the overflow then switch to flex pipe into the trays for filtration. Any ideas what's best at this stage. I was planning on setting the tubes open ended into a drip tray of filter floss and a large filter pad. There will be a lid covering this tray which I am planning to drill a hole for the tube to sit in.

Since I am using a Tupperware tub for the sump I have been thinking of running 2 tubs parallel with several 1" pieces of PVC drilled into each other to connect the water flow. The one would be for filtration and the next would be for my heaters and the return pump. I am also thinking of putting a baffle in that one around the pump and then filling the rest with plants. Not only will it give me more room doing it this way but I will also increase max capacity from 35 gallons to 65.

Any recommendations?

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Do you have any pictures? I made mine!

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Mine goes threw a overflow then hooks to a drip plate then goes threw filter floss then bioballs and into the rest of the tricklle filter. Then I drilled a hole and ran plumbing to the bottom 1 section i made in a 29 gallon then comes up threw sand and overflows into a heavily planted section. Then a canister filter full of bioballs sucks that water in and spits it out in the last section to be pumped back to display tank. The water will flow into the last section aswell withoutthe canister, I did this just cause I wasn't sure if the canister could keep up.
Needles to say I dont have one water problem

 

[Malawi Freak]

It's not all hooked up yet, but tonight I managed to plug the one hole and run it. It was slowly losing the speed needed to keep up with the pump but was expected.

As soon as everything is in place I'll start taking pics. It's tough to hold it all in place until I get all the right sizes cut up.

 

[Malawi Freak]

Leak test....check. I don't know how I feel just yet about the overflow. It's loud, granted everything is open right now and I plan to close off the top of the sump. I'm stumped where these 2 thin pieces of sponge go, they fit perfectly in the tubes for the siphon but I feel if I put them in there it's gonna slow the flow drastically. I imagine they will tremendously cut down on bubbles going through but for now they are sitting on my table. I also had a leak issue with the bulkheads for the overflow and ended up putting some silicone around all my joints/couplings. Seems to have fixed the issue.