planing stage questions

[hmt321]

the wife an i are contemplating a renovation to our downstairs (basement area) I have a conditional go ahead for a 240 gal tank if i can make it meet the following criteria

1# it has to be built in
2# it has to be quiet
3# it has to be easy to maintain

There is a 40" offset in the down stairs wall that is aproximatly 20'

this is what i have come up with

I get 10' for the tank, the rest is bookshelves and storage

not going to have alot of room behind the tank but i want to use the space to both sides

The tank will be a 240 Gal glass
72"x30"x25"(tall)

I will have approximately 8" behind the tank

I will drill 2 overflows into the back wall of the tank, hard plumb everything with 1.5" pvc.

The return will most likely be split into two pipes, to try and propagate water movement in the tank with out strong current. (siphon breaks at the surface)

I will use about 1" of gravel, drift wood sitting on top, and plants in pots
(so everything can be moved around at will)

it will be cold water (NA natives)


I have specific questions about the sump and prefilter

pre-filter questions first (all pvc shown is 1.5")

I wanted the pre-filter easy to access. (I am getting old, and fatter by the second. I hate working on my canister filters under my tanks) If i can get at it easy i will clean it more.

I can easily add more bulk heads to the bottom of the five gallon bucket, and drill holes in the DIY sock holder, in case the socks block up for some reason.

questions about pre-filter

1.) The pre-filter is very close to the water level in the main tank, i have never seen anyone do one that close to the tank water level before, will that give me issues?

2.) Will it be quiet? or is there any way to know?

3.) Do you see any potential fail points? (note: the 5 gal bucket will be supported by a 2x4 frame, not shown)

4.) Any way to improve it?

here is the sump

Questions about the sump

1.) will i have probelms from a lack of a bubble trap? (or does the 2nd 35 gal tub act as one)

2.) will one 1.5" pvc overflow be enough between both sump tubs?

3.) the pvc overflows between both tubs, am i doing it right?

4.) I will have a drip system on this tank, i plan on driping the water in the 2nd tub (where the pump is) is that where i need to drip the water? or does it need to drip in the main tank? (my city water will be filtered by a charcoal filter, not shown) Is the overflow in the correct place?

5.) what am i missing, and what do i need to change?

thanks guys

 

[hmt321]

anyone?

bump

 

[Pharaoh]

Cabinetry looks good.

Prefilter:
1. Should be fine at that level as long as it is lower
2. I don't think it will be super quiet. There's a lot of falling water. Would all depend on the water level in the bucket
3. Seems OK

Sump:
1. Shouldn't have any problems
2. I would find an old tank or something else to use rather than two individual tubs plumbed together. A 55G would do.
3. See #2
4. Either drip close to the pump or drip directly into the tank. You would theoretically have a minute loss of fresh water coming in, but nothing aside from any other drip system.
5. What kind of flow are you planning for this? Just make sure your plumbing is adequate for you expected flow rate.

 

[hmt321]

I want to turn the tank over aproximatly 4 times an hour


I have been looking at a

Iwaki MD70RLT Water Pump


if I am reading this chart correctly

it should deliver 1440 gal per hour at aproximatly 6' head, I need around 1200, and i will have a few pvc fittings further reducing flow.

new question!!

For the return, the pump has 1" fittings, I could not find any recomendations about hose or pipe size in the manual. would probably be using 1.5" pipe or hose, will it increase or decrease flow? ( I plan on 1.5" pvc, a T at max head height, then split to 2 - 1" pipes (i figure 2 more 90's will get the retun under the water level.)

I trhink that the pre-filter would have almost no water in it, perhaps i should lower the socks into the bucket so they are only about 1" above the course foam?

thanks for the feed back

 

[Pharaoh]

As far as the prefilter, the more water you have splashing, the louder it will be. So, in one sense, the lower the better.

I would stick to 1" PVC for the return pump. You're not going to get anything out of it by plumbing it with 1.5" but more cost in fittings. At that flow rate, two 1.5" drain lines should flow well.