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My first attempt at PVC plumbing


aaron186

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Just dry fit my 40 breeder drain to a 20 H sump using PVC. My stand is not ideal for it and I wanted my sump as far against the side wall of the stand as possible so I can fit an RODI reservoir. Because of that i needed to use more 90s than I would have liked (4 total). Was able to use two 45s for one of the 90 degree turns but couldn't for the others due to height restrictions and a little bit of frustration. The sump is not finished yet but planning to baffle tomorrow and hopefully dry fit it. Please let me know what you think. Constructive criticism welcome.

 

 

 

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if you remove the piece between the bushing and the valve, you may be able to roll the 90 bend up on a 45 degree angle ( short piece of pipe out of 90), eliminating the 45 in between the 90 and 45. This will make the ball valve higher so the piece coming out of the bushing will be shorter. May be able to roll the 90 above the filter sock as well, but from pics the 90 on a 45 degree angle will make union too low?

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Really the ball valve wants to be as close to the sump as possible to help prevent unwanted noise, and all those corners will only make for more noise with a ball valve that high I suspect.

Personally I would fit the ball valve to the filter sock holder replacing that union and fit a hose tail the other side and a hose tail where the ball valve is now and run flexi vinyl or similar hose to the top of the ball valve.

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wait a minute!! lol, no emergency overflow?, what happens when the strainer gets plugged up with algae growth? Correct me if I am wrong, and I am a lot. Isn't the ball valve used to adjust the flow of the syphon in the drain? Looks to me you may create a vortex which will break the syphon by introducing air into the drain? Concern there would be that the drain won't be able to keep up with the return and the carpet gets wet

 

not trying to be a downer or pita

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wait a minute!! lol, no emergency overflow?, what happens when the strainer gets plugged up with algae growth? Correct me if I am wrong, and I am a lot. Isn't the ball valve used to adjust the flow of the syphon in the drain? Looks to me you may create a vortex which will break the syphon by introducing air into the drain? Concern there would be that the drain won't be able to keep up with the return and the carpet gets wet

 

not trying to be a downer or pita

 

That's a good point, you don't need the ball valve if this is a single drain set up. It can not be restricted as you'll likely overflow the DT as the pipes slime up ending in angry wife syndrome lol.

The ball valve is used in a herbie style overflow to create a syphon in the primary drain with an emergency drain to prevent disaster if the primary drain clogged.

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If I didn't have 2 drains on top of each other I would have done it like this: rotate the drain exit so the pipe travels at a slope then a single 90 into the sump cavity. I have that length of pipe going down and a single 45 to keep one on top of the other.

 

If you want the drain to be as close to the side of the cabinet as possible cut out a hole and pass the plumbing through the hole. Run the valve horizontally in the short stretch to the 90 that points everything down. Actually with a single drain you should be very cautious with using the valve. Clean the strainer frequently and fully open the valve as well to flush through any accumulating obstructions because if the drain clogs then it's insta flood. I have a backup drain and it's saved my floors exactly 3 times in 4 years.

 

Tank drain

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90 into cabinet

 

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Finally, on your return consider installing a siphon break. Simply bring the return above the water line and attach a small hose to it. In the event of a power outage very little water will go back into the sump. Without a siphon break you need to run the sump water level lower to account for a few inches of back siphon until the return line starts sucking air and breaks the siphon - that's usually 2-4" of display volume +more if you have loc line aimed further down.

 

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I'm a bit upset my lfs drilled my tank with just 1 drain. Its my fault for not researching it before I got it. At this point I think it's too late to add a back up. I actually had planned on just using the valve as an emergency shut off and not to hone in a siphon. My drain does not have an over flow box but is using a 90 street elbow with a low profile drain cover over it to prevent a snail from going down it. Will that make it safer? Do I need to take the tank back to my lfs and come up with a new option? My return has loc line check valve built in and a is going to be run high in the water

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Also what if I run the return area of my sump a bit shallow?

Then you definitely need an ATO so the return pump won't run dry after a day of evaporation

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It can be run with a single drain, lots of people do it that way and lots of big tank makers only make prevision for one drain. The guard will help stop clogging, just make sure cleaning it is part of your weekly routine to stop it furring up with alage etc.

As for syphon break on the return. A simple 1/8th hole at the water line in your loc line will stop excessive drain back. Do a power loss test (turn off your return pump) and see what happens when the system is full and running. Unless you have the loc line 6+ inches below the water line because you don't have massive plumbing lines you won't get loads of drain back. You need 3 or 4 inches of extra height in your sump.

An ATO is always good though...

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GFY

 

Good For You?? or something else? :D

 

+1 to what everyone is saying, forget the valve. I just have 1 drain pipe - it's huge, 1 1/2" - I've never cleaned it in 5+ years, maybe I should... ;)

 

Also I have 2 tiny holes drilled in the top of my loc line right after it enters the display like Benny said.

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I think I cleaned it up a lot. I was going to ditch the valve but I plan on just using it as an emergency shut off and I like the union. Will be running it wide open. I moved the sump out an inch sacrificing a little bit of storage space for an ato reservoir to the side of the sump but it made the sock holder and drain line up better. I managed to only use 1 elbow and two 45's so its a much more direct line. I also plumbed the return line. I have a jebao dct 4000 with a 1 inch to 1/2 inch adapter. All of the turns are 45s minus the entry to the tank.

 

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