educate me. setting up a sump

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Charney

Charney

The Fish Doctor
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Nov 15, 2005
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I need a little help putting this sump together. The last sump I had was a while ago and it came with everything I needed.
Now I have drilled 75 gallon. It has a 1 inch and 3/4 inch hole. I have bulk heads for each that are not threaded on the inside. The sump lid has a 1 inch elbow to connect to. What size tubing do I need? how to I hook it up to the sump? for the bulk head am I just buying a barb with a slip male fit? Should I just order a bulk head with a barb on it? Thanks for the help this is all newish to me
 
I assumed the second hole is for 3/4 inch bulk head. The hole is 1.5 inches diameter. Is this for a 3/4 or 1/2 inch bulk head? Thanks


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Charney said:
I need a little help putting this sump together. The last sump I had was a while ago and it came with everything I needed.
Now I have drilled 75 gallon. It has a 1 inch and 3/4 inch hole. I have bulk heads for each that are not threaded on the inside. The sump lid has a 1 inch elbow to connect to. What size tubing do I need? how to I hook it up to the sump? for the bulk head am I just buying a barb with a slip male fit? Should I just order a bulk head with a barb on it? Thanks for the help this is all newish to me
Click to expand...

I usually try to hard plumb everything if I can since usually barbed fittings for hose really bottleneck the inner diameter of the plumbing down. You could just buy some 1" hose barbs and run it down to the sump, that will be your easiest route.

If the bulkheads are slip fit only then all you have to do is stick a chunk of pipe in there with a female pipe thread to slip coupler and get some hose barbs and tubing.

1.25" vinyl tubing slips nice over 1" schedule 40 pvc. 1" vinyl tubing slips nice over 3/4" schedule 40 pvc. I've done this alot before. Just double up on hose clamps and it's good. This saves parts and keeps your inner diameter as large as possible since you can only flow as much as your narrowest point.

Are you planning on running both holes I the 75 as drains? If you're only planning on running one hole as a drain and one as the return then I'd aim to keep your GPH around 350-400 at head height just to be safe.

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Charney seems like we are in the same boat. I'm very knowledgable with the hobby and canisters. I got my first tank and need to set up a sump, everyone says "it's so easy" but when you've never dealt with sumps or setting them up it can become very intimidating. I searched endlessly on YouTube and mfk for anything about setting up a sump for a newbie but the info I need isn't there. There should be a sticky for setting up your first sump with info on bulkheads, PVC piping and sizing, pumps and how to put everything together. Right now I'm running 4 fx5s on my 450 until I can find someone I can pay to come out set up my sump and explain it to me like I'm in kindergarten lol. Good luck with your thread.
 
mudbuttjones said:
I usually try to hard plumb everything if I can since usually barbed fittings for hose really bottleneck the inner diameter of the plumbing down. You could just buy some 1" hose barbs and run it down to the sump, that will be your easiest route.

If the bulkheads are slip fit only then all you have to do is stick a chunk of pipe in there with a female pipe thread to slip coupler and get some hose barbs and tubing.

1.25" vinyl tubing slips nice over 1" schedule 40 pvc. 1" vinyl tubing slips nice over 3/4" schedule 40 pvc. I've done this alot before. Just double up on hose clamps and it's good. This saves parts and keeps your inner diameter as large as possible since you can only flow as much as your narrowest point.

Are you planning on running both holes I the 75 as drains? If you're only planning on running one hole as a drain and one as the return then I'd aim to keep your GPH around 350-400 at head height just to be safe.

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Click to expand...

Thank you. This was actually really helpful. So you just slip the clear tubing over the pipe? I like this idea. I was trying to do this and not getting to far. Do you use hot water or anything to soften the tubing? The 1 inch will be the drain and .75 will be the return. I have to say these pvc parts add up quickly.

THE FAMILY GUY said:
Charney seems like we are in the same boat. I'm very knowledgable with the hobby and canisters. I got my first tank and need to set up a sump, everyone says "it's so easy" but when you've never dealt with sumps or setting them up it can become very intimidating. I searched endlessly on YouTube and mfk for anything about setting up a sump for a newbie but the info I need isn't there. There should be a sticky for setting up your first sump with info on bulkheads, PVC piping and sizing, pumps and how to put everything together. Right now I'm running 4 fx5s on my 450 until I can find someone I can pay to come out set up my sump and explain it to me like I'm in kindergarten lol. Good luck with your thread.
Click to expand...
I am glad I am not alone on this feeling. I am sure this is "easy" if you have some kind of working knowledge of plumbing etc. I am knowledgeable about a lot with this hobby but not this
 
I (like mudbutt) also like to hard plumb (PVC) all my tanks.
I find plastic tubing to be expensive in comparison, and a hassle to deal with (hose clamps that loosen, and rust, connections that seep, and can be knocked apart by 1 false move, etc etc).
Especially when your bulkheads are already set up to easily accommodate PVC.
 
Charney said:
Thank you. This was actually really helpful. So you just slip the clear tubing over the pipe? I like this idea. I was trying to do this and not getting to far. Do you use hot water or anything to soften the tubing? The 1 inch will be the drain and .75 will be the return. I have to say these pvc parts add up quickly.
Click to expand...

I just got it hot with some water. A teeny tiny dab of Vaseline on the lip of the pipe helps. I took a metal file and machined a 45° lip around the pipe to help it slip on.

uploadfromtaptalk1429026574847.jpg
A piece of 1" tubing over 3/4" pipe coming out of a 3/4" bulkhead.

uploadfromtaptalk1429026586566.jpg
Some metric sunsun tubing (somewhere between 5/8" and 3/4") slipped in 1/2" pvc

Be careful. It takes decent amount of force and twisting to get it on the pipe, do not try this with the pipe and bulkhead installed. I used unions for this very reason. Easy to take on and off


The most important thing about this method is not cost but the fact that you aren't cutting the inner diameter down by using barbs. For example a 1/2" threaded hose barb has an ID of 3/8"

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I forgot to mention.

I learned from working in the auto biz that hose clamps have a threshold where if you get them too tight, they clamp less effectively than if they were looser. So I just wrench them tight + a quarter turn.

A standard automotive hose clamp doesn't distribute clamp forces equally. Basically only like 3/4" of the round surface has even downward pressure. That's why I usually double them up and put the worm drives opposite of eachother. It's usually not a big deal on stuff like this where you have a good snug fit, but I do it anyway.

Another good trick I learned is to wrap the outside if the hose in a little bit of electrical tape to keep the clamps from cutting or digging into the hose too much. I've seen rubber hose on cars where some idiot overtightened a clamp so much that it cut into the hose and caused it to break apart under pressure. Not really a huge deal on aquarium plumbing but something i do too.

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Mike if you're in my neck of the woods stop by I'll give you a play by play. Its a lot simpler than you think. I'm building my sump tonight and plumbing it this weekend.
 
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