How to plumb a sump when tank is drilled this way.

[CHOMPERS]

Oops! I forgot to mention the pump. Using the tank size, you will have to pick your turnover rate. The debate over turnover rates is endless. I have experimented with higher and lower rates and haven't been able to validate the arguements in favor of higher rates. I now size my tanks in the range of 3ish turnovers per hour. Pick your turnover rate and that will tell you what size pump to choose.

Again, I like Aquatic Ecosystem's website for their pump sizing info. Here's the page for Mag Drives:
http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/1191/Danner-Supreme-Mag-Drive-Pumps
and the performance curves
http://www.aquaticeco.com/images/static/pump-curves/MD2.gif

And for Quiet One:
http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/1205/Quiet-One-Pumps
performance curves
http://www.aquaticeco.com/images/static/pump-curves/QP11.gif

Quiet Ones are typically cheaper at Petsmart if you use the online price matching from their website.

 

[CHOMPERS]

A few things about the spray bar... You can drill the top toward the back for a cleaner look. Make sure you drill away from the edge of the panel the same distance as the diameter of the hole. If you drill a one inch hole, it should be at least an inch away from the edge of the panel (stress strain thing from engineering).

Keep the spray bar at or just below the water's surface. The spray bar can be a source of noise that will drive you crazy. If it is submerged or right at the surface, it will be silent (submerged) or barely audiable (at the surface).

You don't have to return the water through a spray bar either. You can run fittings through the hole and then to a 45 or 90 for directional control. Follow the same rule for the spray bar to control noise.

 

[CHOMPERS]

and dont forget to drill the end of the crack!

Nice call!!! By using the Weldon #4 and clamping the tank, it will glue the crack together and end the crack propagation. The repair won't be as strong as the original material because of the molecular structure, but with the sheets of acrylic and polycarbonate I just don't see the crack opening up again. In this case, I don't see the need for drilling the crack.

 

[alleykat0498]

Thanks Chompers for the wealth of information. I'm headed out today to buy a Quiet 1 4000 which should put me in the neighborhood of 600 gph return at 3 foot head. I'm hoping the same place I am buying the pump from will have some Weld on 4 and some new bulkheads. The previous owner pvc cemented the 3/4" Tee's into the existing bulkheads and they will need to be removed.

As for drilling the crack it's not necessary as it spans from edge to edge of the affected piece.

On to the spray bars, I figure I could just leave them like they are, or I may drill the back of the tank, but I'm skittish at putting extra holes in an already cracked tank. I will decide this when the time comes I suppose.

Any ideas as to using nylon hose from the overflows to the sump? I thought this may cut down on restriction from the 90's and allow a little more flow.

By the way the tank is 72x18x20 and it's made of 1/4" acrylic. (minimal)

 

[TheFishJunky]

Are you sure its 1/4"? That is very minimal as you said and hence why you are dealing with cracks.I think chompers covered just about everything but I would suggest some more reinforcement wherever you can to strengthen it up.Thats a nice size tank and im no pro on this but that seems kinda scarey if its filled with water(pressure) and decides to bust on ya because its so thin.Good luck though.The tank is coming out nice now that you cleaned it and also the output you concocted for the spray bar is a pretty sweet idea you came up with to make it work yet not be noticeable.

 

[alleykat0498]

OKay so I'm back from my shopping spree and here's what I've aquired. An Eco plus 1056 pump (highly recomended at the reef shop) and comes with an instore and manufacturers warranty. 2x 1 1/2 inch bulkheads. I decided it was time to do something about my fears of one of the overflows getting clogged so if one gets obstructed the other should be capable of picking up the slack. I bought a sterilite tower for bio media as I am running out of weekend and the budget for this project has been way over run already. 20' of 1 1/2 pvc, miscelaneous plumbing supplies, a 2 1/2 inch hole saw, and a new 18v drill. My dewalt needed a new battery and since the budget was already shot I figured what the heck. I plan on leaving the returns the 3/4 pvc and I probably wont drill any more holes in the tank unless I'm completely unsatisfied with this designs performance when I test it later this evening. I will still have to buff the tank when the novus arrives and I'll probably trim the tank and paint it while the tank is up and running. I forgot to mention I'll be picking up some weld on 3 which the guy at the reef shop says has the same results just a little less play time, later on this evening.I'm off to work more pics in a bit.

 

[Dr Joe]

You can use nylon hose as long as it's doesn't put stress on the bulkheads (like constant lateral pressure). If your only doing it for little if any gain in flow, don't bother, as it will only be negligible on a short run like this.

Your doing some real nice work here, just the look of that tank before you cleaned it would have scared off many people .

Your getting some good advice from CHOMPERS, this is going to be one sweet build when it's finished .

Did you get a stand with it?, Or are you just going to build a Super Sump and set it on top of it .

Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing,

Dr Joe

.

 

[alleykat0498]

Well drilling the bulkheads was much easier than I expected after making a jig (thanks again chompers) I called the hardware store to find out which weld on it was that they had, and he said that it was the "retail version" and google wont pull up anything on this product. Anyone ever heard of this stuff before? They close at five and are luckily open tomorrow.

The top that is cracked is 1/4" the rest of the tank is 3/8" sorry measured the top in a hurry this morning.

 

[dennisdeng2002]

How much was that pump? I've never even heard of that brand before, so I'm not sure how the reef lfs can recommend it since most submersible pumps (except for eheim) have trouble longterm pumping saltwater. Sounds a little sketchy to me. I know most reefers would opt for a external pump, especially a extremely high quality pump like Iwaki or Reeflo in order to protect their $1000+ reef.

 

[alleykat0498]

The pump was right at 100$, they had quiet 1's but they didnt have anything that would move enough water in stock. The reason I purchased this particular pump is #1 there was a gentleman purchasing the same pump for his second reef tank and was very satisfied with the results he has gotten out of his 3 year old pump. #2 The guy at the counter said if I have any problems with it in the first 12 months to return it to them and he'd deal with the manufacturer and either give me an exchange or store credit towards the purchase of another pump.

They had Darts and eheim and Iwiki, but like I said I'm running a little over budget at the moment on what was initially to be an even exchange...

Besides have you ever attempted to return something you purchased on the net or ebay? Lets just say that customer service and the replacement time leave something to be desired.