Now that the stand is all glued together and settling (and is holding water), its time to start focusing on the plumbing. I will start the staining process this weekend, hopefully will have the last coat of poly on by midweek. I will then give it 3 weeks to ensure that the polyurethane is 100% cured so my tank does not stick to it.
Water changes:
Now that my tank has 40 gallons of water in it that I need to get out before I can stain it, lets start with water changes. Unfortunately, being in an apartment, I cannot easily plumb the tank into a water line for automatic water changes. To add water the obvious option is to go buy a 20ft length of 3/4"ID tubing and hook it up to my sink faucet and run it into my sump. Since the tank is on carpet, I do not want to be carrying several 5 gallon buckets. I even add a fixed plumbing connection to the sump to ensure that someone doesn't kick the hose or it falls out.
To drain water, I was originally hoping to just use the pump to pump out water, but then I realized that I would only be able to pump out a few gallons since then the water level in the tank would drop to the standpipe and the pump chamber in the sump would be dry. Maybe someone else has a better design, but I am not seeing an easy way to do this without a lot of valves between the sump chambers or lowering the stand pipes considerably. I like the idea of minimal water movement if the electricity goes out. So the best option seems to be to siphon the display tank. I am thinking of making a pvc tube that hangs over the side so that it only removes 20 gallons of water so I can set it and forget it without worrying about draining my tank. Now the question is, what size tube to use? Obviously, faster water changes are better, but I don't want to be pulling so much water through that a curious small fish is sucked onto the strainer. Maybe this isn't a concern, I am not sure... Thinking 1/2" ID tubing.
Sump design:
I have my 10g tank that I can keep as a hospital tank since I don't see the reason to medicate the entire tank for 1 fish. I may even just keep it going with a few tetra to ensure that the water quality is always acceptable. If I end up with fry, I can also put them in the 10g or get one of those mesh nurseries. With that in mind, I think I stand to gain the most by using the extra 14" of my sump in line with the filter system with plants to help balance water parameters in the off photocycle of the display. I will leave the drains from the tank in their own compartment in case I decide to change out the foam block for filter socks. Design 2
Overflows:
Left overflow: Herbie
Right overflow: Durso/return. Is it ok to use a ball valve for the durso style drain or does it work better with a gate as the Herbie?
Return line:
The last think I am really unsure about is the return line. To reduce vibrations, I am going to run a short segment of flexible tubing from the pump to the PVC. There will be a ball valve beneath the bulkhead. At some point I want to add a UV sterilizer and CO2 system. The CO2 system has to be plumbed into the return. The UV system, could in theory be run on its own pump, just keeping my options open. Can you think of any other future additions I may find myself wanting? Any advice on how to keep the system a simple as possible, while making it as easy as possible to do a future upgrade?
The actual return will be a 1" pvc spanning between the 2 overflows. I am debating between just drilling a bunch of holes, or spending the money for some locline components. Any thoughts?
Overall notes:
Everything will be 1" PVC as that is the largest bulkhead I can find for my 1.75" holes. I don't think I will be getting flow rates over 1100gph so it should not limit anything anyways.
Water changes:
Now that my tank has 40 gallons of water in it that I need to get out before I can stain it, lets start with water changes. Unfortunately, being in an apartment, I cannot easily plumb the tank into a water line for automatic water changes. To add water the obvious option is to go buy a 20ft length of 3/4"ID tubing and hook it up to my sink faucet and run it into my sump. Since the tank is on carpet, I do not want to be carrying several 5 gallon buckets. I even add a fixed plumbing connection to the sump to ensure that someone doesn't kick the hose or it falls out.
To drain water, I was originally hoping to just use the pump to pump out water, but then I realized that I would only be able to pump out a few gallons since then the water level in the tank would drop to the standpipe and the pump chamber in the sump would be dry. Maybe someone else has a better design, but I am not seeing an easy way to do this without a lot of valves between the sump chambers or lowering the stand pipes considerably. I like the idea of minimal water movement if the electricity goes out. So the best option seems to be to siphon the display tank. I am thinking of making a pvc tube that hangs over the side so that it only removes 20 gallons of water so I can set it and forget it without worrying about draining my tank. Now the question is, what size tube to use? Obviously, faster water changes are better, but I don't want to be pulling so much water through that a curious small fish is sucked onto the strainer. Maybe this isn't a concern, I am not sure... Thinking 1/2" ID tubing.
Sump design:
I have my 10g tank that I can keep as a hospital tank since I don't see the reason to medicate the entire tank for 1 fish. I may even just keep it going with a few tetra to ensure that the water quality is always acceptable. If I end up with fry, I can also put them in the 10g or get one of those mesh nurseries. With that in mind, I think I stand to gain the most by using the extra 14" of my sump in line with the filter system with plants to help balance water parameters in the off photocycle of the display. I will leave the drains from the tank in their own compartment in case I decide to change out the foam block for filter socks. Design 2
Overflows:
Left overflow: Herbie
Right overflow: Durso/return. Is it ok to use a ball valve for the durso style drain or does it work better with a gate as the Herbie?
Return line:
The last think I am really unsure about is the return line. To reduce vibrations, I am going to run a short segment of flexible tubing from the pump to the PVC. There will be a ball valve beneath the bulkhead. At some point I want to add a UV sterilizer and CO2 system. The CO2 system has to be plumbed into the return. The UV system, could in theory be run on its own pump, just keeping my options open. Can you think of any other future additions I may find myself wanting? Any advice on how to keep the system a simple as possible, while making it as easy as possible to do a future upgrade?
The actual return will be a 1" pvc spanning between the 2 overflows. I am debating between just drilling a bunch of holes, or spending the money for some locline components. Any thoughts?
Overall notes:
Everything will be 1" PVC as that is the largest bulkhead I can find for my 1.75" holes. I don't think I will be getting flow rates over 1100gph so it should not limit anything anyways.
