Acrylic 240 help

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Egon you are my hero! Hopefully I will get some time tommorow to start working on this. By the way the tank is already fitted with bulkeads, 1", but they aren't threaded so I won't be able to screw in a strainer into them. The other thing is that on the underside of the bulkheads they have a slip PVC glued in them with a um not sure what it's called but you know the end so you can add flex/vinyl hose to it and tie it off with a clamp. Will I be able to run some flex hose off of that then transition to PVC to make the overflow portion?

Do you happen to have a picture of your plumbing that you could post so I could visualize this project a little easier. I'm just a tad confused when you said I should run all the pipes indiviually up and then connect them at the tee. I can't picture what you are meaning. I'm thinking that I will have 5 seperate pipes running up the back of my tank with 5 seperate tees for each pipe then when I throw the 90 on up there by the tee to come back down to the sump I will sort of connect them all at that point to a larger 3" pipe to finally end up in the sump? If I am completely wrong please help me out. Thanks.
 
Heres a pic I got off one of a thread by Loch Ness. Imagine the down pipe going into the sump, on your system have the down pipe go into a 3" line instead. Run that 3" line along the back of your tank and and every one of your down pipes goes into the 3" line. Then at one end or the other run the 3" line down to your sump. Easy Money :)

NEW 500 GAL PLUMBING.jpg
 
You are the man. That is what I thought you meant.

But about the vinyl/flex hose adapter fittings glued into my bulkheads can I use them and transition over to PVC. Or will I need to get new bulkheads and start fresh so I can run all PVC?
 
I would buy new ones.
Those transitions your talking about will cost head pressure and create possible leak areas for future frustrations taking away from beer/fish watching time.
New plumbing will flow better and save time in the long run. Time = Money

Cheers buddy
 
Ok I am going to be running 2 sumps on this thing. One the 1 sump I am going to just run 2 drains to it and the other I will run the other 3 drains. Doing it this way what size pipe should I run at the end when you said to run them all into a 3" pipe. Should I still run 3". Or can I just run 1" for the side with 2 drains and 2" for the other 3 pipes? Or can i run 1" and 2"?

I also got all new bulkheads and have installed them. How tight do I crank them down? I've just made them handtight, now do I just give them one nice turn with the channellocks or do they need to be tighter?
 
Okay, interesting decision but your the boss. If you go with two sumps you need to have them connected with a pipe below the waterline to keep the water level in the sumps the same level or one will overflow and one will run dry.

If you have two 1" lines going into a 1" line your going to restrict flow, no good. If you have the two 1" lines going into a 2" line you will not restrict flow what so ever, good.

I would say you could probably get away with the 2" pipe for both the drains, one with two pipes going to it and one with three pipes going to it.

Bulkheads: Tighten with channel locks about 1/4 turn past finger tight. When you fill with water if it leaks tighten more, easy.
 
Alrighty then back to the start. I will just run the single sump with the 3 " drain and add a canister filter or 2.
 
Yeah good call, redundancy is better anyway. Run 4 holes to your sump and the other two to a canister filter.
 
Ok if I run the 4 to the sump and the last 1 to the canister. What size pipe should I drain the 4 in to? I was looking for a tee that goes from 1" to 3" but they don't carry such a thing. Or do they and I just need to find the right place that sells such a tee fitting? Or is there a different way I should be going about this?
 
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