Protein skimmer

[Lindsay1718]

OK, so if i drill my tank at the top I do not need an over flow box, but do need a screen type thing to keep other stuff out, correct? How far down should I drill? Where should my enterence and return holes be placed? What size should the hole/bulkhead be? What gph should my return pump be? I am sorry again for this not being in correct place but this thread is getting more responses than the one in DIY. Thanks.

Lindsay

 

[crister13]

Common drain size is 1". I would put the hole as far up as possible. The return should push 5-10x the tank volume through your sump in an hour. After head loss.

 

[Lindsay1718]

Should they be on opposite ends of each other? Is just putting screen on bulkhead OK or should I use an overflow? I know a ball valve should be on return but should one of the lever ones be on too so i can cut it on and off? Should a lever one be inlet pipe? Sorry I can't remember correct term for the lever thing that goes on pipe.

Lindsay

 

[RickkyBobby]

heres a photo of mine i just finished.. this may help you have a better idea of how to plumb it

 

[Lindsay1718]

that's what I needed to see. Makes perfect since. One question, why is there a tube going from inlet to return? Thanks.

Lindsay

 

[RickkyBobby]

The return pump is a mag 9.5.. Its probably just a little bigger than i needed but bigger is usually better when it comes to this hobby!!..So ,with the red gate valve u see there i can precisely adjust how much water i return back up to the tank, and the rest of the water will just go back into the sump ..I got the 9.5 just in case i get a bigger tank in the future.. It was very easy to do a little extra plumbing to have a bigger return pump

Heres a photo of the overflow i used also

oh ya .. i started this project back in july.. After all my research and having the money to put it all together, Im almost ready to put water in it..lol

Take your time, dont rush it..

 

[Lindsay1718]

Yeah I've been working on tank alone for a month. I'm hoping to get sump done this weekend. Then get hubby to start plumbing. I was wondering why did you decide to skip the middle part of sump? The turn valve you talked about do you leave it fully open, how would you know when to cut it down? Why would you cut flow down? Did you use ball check valves? Thanks again. Sorry to bombard you with questions.

Lindsay

 

[RickkyBobby]

the middle part of the sump is where i will throw in some live rock and live sand to help with biological filtration (Called a refugium)and im also going to put both my heaters in there instead of having them in the display tank. Im not sure exactly where to adjust the gate valve yet until i get water into the tank.. Basically , you dont want to return more water up to the tank than your overflow can drain back down to the tank (or you would have water all over the floor..lol). I will adjust when water is in there.. Yes i put a check valve on the return line, it is that round fitting you see in the photo just about in the middle of the tank

 

[Lindsay1718]

OK, so the pipe running on top of sump, I thought you were skipping the middle part. All thicks I've seen just show the water floeing through the refugium to the return compartment, I guess my question is if it traveling through the sump normal what is the pipe running across top for? Sorry again if this is self explanatory but I've never done anything plumbing related before.

Lindsay

 

[RickkyBobby]

the water will still flow thru the whole sump, from the drain section > refug > return.. Just a little bit of the water from that return pump will be returned to the drain section because that red gate valve will be only slightly open, most of it will end up back in the display tank

so basically that pipe on the top is so i can adjust exactly how much water i have returning back up into the tank.. The return pump i have may push to much water back up to my display tank.. So, to avoid this, i can just divert a little of that water right back into the sump

I may not have to even open that valve at all.. the return pump may pump the right amount of water up to my display tank without having to open that valve, i just put it in there just in case

heres another photo of the design

 

[Lindsay1718]

Why would it pump to much, I thought you were supposed get an overflow box that had a higher gph as your return pump. I thought I had it, now I'm confused again. My biggest fear is that I will mess up and come home to a flooded house!

 

[Dreamsound1]

Yes you will need a power head that puts in the same amount of water as the water going in to the sump but with the check valve you can slow down the flow of water

 

[crister13]

Because he got an oversized pump. Since he did his overflow can't handle it so he has to dial it down.

 

[Dreamsound1]

That's correct

 

[RickkyBobby]

yup thats fine..i just bought a larger return pump , so im right on the edge.. if your overflow is rated higher than your return pump you should be fine.... with my bigger return pump , i can really dial in the flow back up to my display tank.. NOt to much, not to little..Just perfect..

The problem i was facing is, when you plumb your return line back up to your display tank, you lose pressure do to using elbows and how ever long your return pipe is.. Its called head loss.. I would rather have a larger pump and return what ever water i dont need back into the sump then buying a smaller pump that might just be a little to small and not pump all the water back up to the display tank that i need..

 

[RickkyBobby]

lol.. ty dream and crister.. im bad at explaining things

 

[Dreamsound1]

Well with mine I just used a silicone hose on my power head for the return back to my tank from my sump

 

[Dreamsound1]

It's cool I have the same problem sometimes

 

[RickkyBobby]

Well with mine I just used a silicone hose on my power head for the return back to my tank from my sump

Minimul head loss that way, no fittings at all...

 

[Dreamsound1]

No fittings none at all