What parts do I need for a bean animal?

[CHOX]

I'm seeing a lot of variation in what people are using for a bean animal. I'm running a 29 gallon and using a modular marine 800 gph overflow.

 

Can anyone help out?

[Dramad1]

3 stand pipes, 2 drains and an emergency.

Couple gate valves to adjust drain, few unions for disconnecting pipes if need be.

Maybe some ball valves to be able to turn water off if having to disconnect.

I ran an internal overflow on mine, od recommend an external overflow for more room in the display. Synergy has a nice overflow.

Check Out Reef Central AND Look For beananimals post. Lots of good info from that guy, really helped me figure out how to set a ba system properly.

[gulfsurfer101]

A full siphon which will take the majority of your water drainage into the sump. An open channel which will draw in air and run a trickle of water to sump. This pipe will be coated inside with a small bit of water and the air intake is what makes this and the full siphon channel virtually silent when dialed in correctly. Lastly the emergency channel.

[CHOX]

I think this is going to be the stupidest question of all...do I need to glue the syphon and emergency drain into the overflow bulkheads?

[gulfsurfer101]

I would glue everything, however use unions to make break aways for future maintenance! Use threaded bulkheads if you're unsure about your plumbing and may need to remove them to rework something. You don't need to glue fittings if they're threaded.

[knd107]

I think this is going to be the stupidest question of all...do I need to glue the syphon and emergency drain into the overflow bulkheads?

 

Inside of the overflow box, you don't NEED to glue the pipes to the bulkheads. I usually hand tighten and its good enough in my experience. Everything else outside of the tank needs to be glued or tighten (threaded connections).

[rickztahone]

 

Inside of the overflow box, you don't NEED to glue the pipes to the bulkheads. I usually hand tighten and its good enough in my experience. Everything else outside of the tank needs to be glued or tighten (threaded connections).

Yup, inside the outer overflow box, you do NOT need to weld everything down. Simply hand tighten. The lines are submerged and even if the pipes were a little off and not fully set, they would still be under water and work well. To go one step further, I'd encourage you not to weld them in place so that you can get in there and clean the setup when it gets dirty, because it WILL get dirty

[gulfsurfer101]

Here is one I was putting together for my 75g. Everything inside the overflow compartment is slip to slip for easy maintenance and not glued. Everything underneath will be glued and locked in place. I have a valve on my full siphon to control flow rate along with a break away union to remove the drain pipe if for some ungodly reason it ever clogs. I'll add break away unions right before the overflow box and right before the sump on the other two channels. I don't think I'll run a valve on my open channel. That siphon will be controlled by the full siphon. Sorry I don't have any other recent pics but I've put this project on the back burner as I was preparing for our sons arrival. We're actually in the hospital now expecting very late tonight or very early tomorrow morning! I'll get back to this build very soon though!

[rickztahone]

Here's a video a made a while back demonstrating how the BA works during a clog. You can see how everything works in this video:

[gulfsurfer101]

That was a pretty good vid! Here's another one that actually shows fluctuations in real time with a great view of what's going on. Not to mention that is one sweet set up with the plumbing in the external overflow drain box.

[rickztahone]

Very cool video as well. A couple of things I will point out. The pipes can all be the same height. The differentiating factor is not the height, but rather the addition of the "breather tube" on the open channel. If they were both the same height, it wouldn't matter as far as the whole operation is concerned. Also, I will point out that the second ball valve he has is not needed. Only the full siphon needs that valve. Furthermore, I believe that ball valves are not the best to use in this application. I believe the gate valves to be much, much better at regulating the water flow, and more importantly, they are not known for "ceasing". Ball valves tend to get harder and harder to turn over time. This is the one I used for my build:

http://www.amazon.com/King-Brothers-Inc-GVP-1000-S-Schedule/dp/B000H5ZTUY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1458614597&sr=8-3&keywords=king+gate+valve+1%22

[gulfsurfer101]

I agree! You don't need a valve on any other channel except the full siphon channel. Gate valves are much better but also come with higher price tag. For someone who doesn't do a lot of messaging around with your tank settings like myself a ball valve works fine. Set it and forget it basically. Hopefully the op has found the information he was looking for.

[CHOX]

Yes, I did get the info I was looking for. Basically everything I was hoping answered were. Thanks!

 

Actually, I see so many people adding support to their CUSTOM OVERFLOWS. If I'm using a smaller one (compared to the custom deals) like this...

http://modularmarine.com/products/800-gph-low-profile-overflow-box-bulkhead-mounted-aquarium-surface-skimmer

I shouldn't have to add anything extra to support it, right? I guess it's really no different than a big filter hanging off the back, only it's attached with two bulkheads.

 

1 inch PVC should do just fine for a 29 gallon with 800 gph overflow?

 

Thanks guys. It's much appreciated.

[knd107]

I had a 1" siphon drain on my 40G Breeder and it was dialed all the way back. It depends on the return pump but 1" is more than enough.

[rickztahone]

Yes, I did get the info I was looking for. Basically everything I was hoping answered were. Thanks!

 

Actually, I see so many people adding support to their CUSTOM OVERFLOWS. If I'm using a smaller one (compared to the custom deals) like this...

http://modularmarine.com/products/800-gph-low-profile-overflow-box-bulkhead-mounted-aquarium-surface-skimmer

I shouldn't have to add anything extra to support it, right? I guess it's really no different than a big filter hanging off the back, only it's attached with two bulkheads.

 

1 inch PVC should do just fine for a 29 gallon with 800 gph overflow?

 

Thanks guys. It's much appreciated.

yes, 1" is more than enough.

[CHOX]

So maybe I need to look at a 1/2" or 3/4". The overflow I'm going with has 1/2" bulkhead drains. That size just seems so tiny. I'm going to need to do more research and come back at you guys with my whole parts list.

 

This plumbing stuff makes me nervous.

[Hig789]

Just use 1". You can cut the valve back as much as you need to to compensate for the bigger pipe. Also get a good valve, I used the CPEX true Union ball valve from BRS. It is very easy to adjust. Also you can nix the air line on the secondary drain using a synergy type overflow, just drill a 1/4"hole in the top of the elbow. All it is for is to turn it into a siphon if it gets covered.

[markalot]

You'll also need some animals.

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=21349206&postcount=185

[CHOX]

Thanks Hig!

You guys are the best. I think I'm ready to go.

 

I need to draw this out, but here is my plan:

 

1. Little bit of schedule 40 PVC into bulkheads

2. Slip x Slip union on all three drainlines

- CPEX True Union Ball on the main siphon

3. PVC down to the sump with some 45 degree elbows to get it into the sump

 

I mean...does that sound about right? Also, since the overflow is about 800 gph, I'm looking to push about 600 to 750 ish gph via pump. What size bulkhead will I need for the return line?

[CHOX]

Here is my shoddy version...there needs to be a pipe between the union and bulkhead, right?

[Hig789]

Lol

[CHOX]

I know!

 

When it comes to trying more technical things in this hobby, I feel like a little kid trying to play with dad's tools.

[StevieT]

[knd107]

Here is my shoddy version...there needs to be a pipe between the union and bulkhead, right?

 

Yea, you need a pipe between the bulkhead and the unions.

 

You might want to consider a gate valve in lieu of the ball valve. I haven't tried ball valves but you can fine tune the siphon in smaller increments with gate valves. If you are staying with the ball valve then they make a ball valve with unions on both sides. I think you wrote that but your sketch notes a union ahead of the valve.

 

I just finished my plumbing last night and no leaks so far! Doing a 24-hr leak test.

Thanks Hig!

 

You guys are the best. I think I'm ready to go.

 

I need to draw this out, but here is my plan:

 

1. Little bit of schedule 40 PVC into bulkheads

2. Slip x Slip union on all three drainlines

- CPEX True Union Ball on the main siphon

3. PVC down to the sump with some 45 degree elbows to get it into the sump

 

I mean...does that sound about right? Also, since the overflow is about 800 gph, I'm looking to push about 600 to 750 ish gph via pump. What size bulkhead will I need for the return line?

 

I believe most people run the return in 3/4". I consider drilling all my holes for 1" bulkheads (so I didn't have to get 2 different hole saws and bulkheads) and using adapters to get it down to 3/4". i ended up just drilling for the 3/4" in the end.

[CHOX]

Thank you knd, I'm feel comfortable about this now.