Help me Make a Sump

drpaul84

Member
well i start a new job on Wednesday and there is a glass shop next door so im gonna take the dimensions to them and have them cut it for me, tomorrow ill do the plumbing, i have a question the bulkhead on the over flow is 1" should i have it 1" straight down or keep it at the 1-1/4" right now all i need to finish up the plumbing is a 1" - 1 - 1/4" connector an ill be good....
 

drpaul84

Member
well i got the pump plumbing roughed in, wasnt hard to do, i am going to redo one section and put a union right after the pump, i have 3 valves on it, one for each DT return and one on the one that is going back into the fuge, it looks very good, clean install if i do say so myself, need to head over to lowes and pick up the 1" - 1-1/4" connector so i can finish the overflow plumbing, any other tips or tricks i need to learn? should i put in the sponge that they sell at the LFS in the lines that are goin into the fuge to cut down on bubbles? or
 

wattsupdoc

Active Member
I run a sponge in my fuges, it just helps with mechanical filtration. But its best IMO to use it after the fuge, before the return pump, not on the skimmer side though, it will casue the water level to fluctuate there and your skimmer wont act appropriatley. Dont forget the syphon break on the return lines. Very important little dude that is!
 

drpaul84

Member
yup i will definitely have the siphon breaks on my returns, right now i dont have any thing in the DT, i stopped right before it because im not ready to get it all goin here are some pics of what i have been up to, please let me know if you see anything wrong or something i can fix...
http://drpaul84.com/pics2/fish/pumppipes/



 

drpaul84

Member
lets go doc wake up an tell me how its looking, i got the bottom portion of the overflow plumbing done, need to head over to lowes an buy that adapter and return one of the valves that i dont need
 

wattsupdoc

Active Member
I thought I had replied to your last post.Musta got distracted.
Piping all looks good. Cant really think of anyuthing I would have done different except having a BV right after the pump.But you dont really need it. You can control the flow more than adequatly as you have it. Also I prefer to run my plumbing up highter, like right under the stand. It being that low might cause you some frustrations, but really I cant see anything exactly that it would cause. So all in all, looks good.
Keep it up!
 

drpaul84

Member
happy new year!!!
i got all the plumbing done, i hope, lol....how do i test it other then actually filling it up an makin it work? guess thats my only option....but i still need to wait till i get the baffles to actually set up the fuge an sump setup and i ordered the elbow for the skimmer from aquamedic so hope it comes soon.... only reason iput the pipes low is for maintanance i can access easier rather then reachin up under the stand its right there....should be good i hope lol....an i didnt put a ball valve on the pump because if i want it off i just need to unplug it lol i will never have a time where i have the whole pump closed off and it still running you know what i mean?
 

matt b

Active Member
man i love this, im gonna be making my 1st sump for my new 75 FOWLR and i had so many questions but ive just been fallowing this thread and now i know everything i need to know.. AHAH
 

drpaul84

Member
hey doc going to the glass place tomorow, what thickness should i get? im excited!!!! how long do i need to let the silicone cure before i do a fill? should i just wait till the weekend to fill it (if i put the glass tomorow)
 

wattsupdoc

Active Member
Dont bother with single pane(like 1/8 in). Get the next size up at least. (like 1/4 in or some other metric value...I hate metric.
). Anything bigger than that is really pointless. The single pane will work, but I'd be worried of breaking while my hands in there...Ouch!
 

drpaul84

Member
yea i go the 2.5mm at lowes an the stuff is so thing, an hurts when it cuts lol...ill see what he has at the shop tomorow, wish me luck for my wallet!
 

drpaul84

Member
well been awefully busy and tired with this new job (12 hour days startin at 6am) but today i got a chance to head over to the glass shop, and it was 90 dollars! yea it hurt but the glass is NICEEEE all beveled edges and 1/4" thick very nice cuts by these guys, im gonna put it on today and fill it up tomorow...wish me luck!
 

drpaul84

Member
hey lol sorry havnt had any updates actually put in another piece of glass today, letting that dry, one thing we didnt account for, the two 6" pieces for the refuge side ...well that doesnt work cause the tank is only 12 inch tall, so i had to finagle a little bit, i put the top piece at an angle to allow for a gap for the water to go through, hopefully it will be ok.... i just been so busy with work, did 65 hrs last week so i havnt had much time for the sump, once this cures ill fill it up with water and pray to god it holds, then the scariest part, putting it back under the stand and filling it up and letting the overflow fill up , im truly scared...
 

drpaul84

Member
good news bad news? lol well not really, just good news so far, i havnt tested for water leak yet but, i just ordered my live sand, new bucket of salt (just finished last one) and ordered a g3 asm skimmer :D should be here on thursday, needless to say i am excited :D
 
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