First Time Plumbing Help

[WifiGuy]

Hey Everyone!

This is my first time plumbing an aquarium and I'm looking for any feedback or advice anyone wants to provide! I have everything dry-fit right now (no glue in place whatsoever) and would appreciate any info I can get ahead of the glue-up.

I'm using an Eshopps Eclipse-L overflow with a bean-animal style drain. The drains all have 1-inch PVC going down to a custom diy sump (aqueon tank with acrylic baffles).

The pipe on the left is the main drain going into a roller mat. The middle is the secondary durso-style drain that will go straight into the middle sump chamber beside the emergency drain on the right.

The return has silicone coming up from the pump to a PVC barb to 3/4 inch PVC going to a bulkhead and then loc-line.

The display is a 40 gallon with a 20 gallon sump!

A couple of questions I have:

Is it ok to just dump the secondary drain right into the sump without filtration?

Are there any general plumbing gotchas or does anything look incorrect?

Thanks in advance!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

You definitely need a gate valve on your main drain and it would be a good idea to have one on the durso too...

 

[Red_Beard]

Looks clean! Dont forget to strap the pipe, when they get full of water the weight needs some support. How easy is it going to be to get to the back of the tank when its full? That valve in the return could get hard to adjust.

 

[WifiGuy]

Looks clean! Dont forget to strap the pipe, when they get full of water the weight needs some support. How easy is it going to be to get to the back of the tank when its full? That valve in the return could get hard to adjust.

Thanks!

I plan to use some galvanized pipe strap to support the three drain lines once everything is glued.

Regarding the return gate valve, I've tested turning it while the tank is against the wall and it's pretty easy to reach and turn.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Thanks!

I plan to use some galvanized pipe strap to support the three drain lines once everything is glued.

Regarding the return gate valve, I've tested turning it while the tank is against the wall and it's pretty easy to reach and turn.

You still need gates on the drains... Those are more important than a valve on the return.

 

[WifiGuy]

You definitely need a gate valve on your main drain and it would be a good idea to have one on the durso too...

Forgot to mention this and it's probably hard to see in the pics but there is a gate valve right above the roller mat facing the front of the tank for the main drain.

Is a gate valve needed on a durso for tuning or could I get away with a ball valve?

 

[Red_Beard]

You still need gates on the drains... Those are more important than a valve on the return.

He has a gate valve on the main drain, thats all he needs. The other one will flow based on that.

 

[Red_Beard]

Forgot to mention this and it's probably hard to see in the pics but there is a gate valve right above the roller mat facing the front of the tank for the main drain.

Is a gate valve needed on a durso for tuning or could I get away with a ball valve?

Makes it way easier to fine tune. You *could do a ball valve but i would recommend leaving it the way you have it.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Forgot to mention this and it's probably hard to see in the pics but there is a gate valve right above the roller mat facing the front of the tank for the main drain.

Is a gate valve needed on a durso for tuning or could I get away with a ball valve?

My bad. Didn't see the valve above the roller mat. A gate on the durso isn't a must, but might come in handy and is easier to add now than after the tank is running. A ball valve just gives less precise tuning.

 

[WifiGuy]

My bad. Didn't see the valve above the roller mat. A gate on the durso isn't a must, but might come in handy and is easier to add now than after the tank is running.

Fair point, I was hoping not to have to get any more gate valves since they're pretty pricey, but it makes sense and couldn't hurt to have one there. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[HankstankXXL750]

Thanks!

I plan to use some galvanized pipe strap to support the three drain lines once everything is glued.

Regarding the return gate valve, I've tested turning it while the tank is against the wall and it's pretty easy to reach and turn.

Use plastic strap vs galvanized. You will be happier in the long run.

 

[19Mateo83]

With that large straight drop on the durso you are going to get some noise. If you add a little angled piece at the bottom above the water line it will help smooth out the flow as it enters the sump and reduce the trickle sound. I have this same overflow set up very similarly in my build thread.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

The silicone tubing run is too long. You only need a few inches of isolation above the return. I would use a check valve on the return and put a manifold in place now with one to three "T's" with 1/2 gates. The return does not need a gate so much as a ball for maintenance. Since you have three drains, run your main drain plus the secondary into your aquamaxx. you do not need your Durso on the secondary (that is so yesterday) You will want to have both run into your Aquamaxx to keep the flow higher otherwise, contrary to logic the TP will clog faster. In fact I use a cut down RedSea because it is 200 microns opposed to the 50 that Aquamaxx sells. When you set up the flow, you will want the height of the water to just trickle over the second drain. Your third drain should be set 3/8 to 1/2 higher then your second and should be dry all the time. That can go anywhere in your sump. If your planning on doing a refugium, you can change the height of the third drain to a midway point between your filter drains and drain directly into your refugium. You can check out my tank (build) thread for som visual ideas.

 

[JonoH]

The silicone tubing run is too long. You only need a few inches of isolation above the return. I would use a check valve on the return and put a manifold in place now with one to three "T's" with 1/2 gates. The return does not need a gate so much as a ball for maintenance. Since you have three drains, run your main drain plus the secondary into your aquamaxx. you do not need your Durso on the secondary (that is so yesterday) You will want to have both run into your Aquamaxx to keep the flow higher otherwise, contrary to logic the TP will clog faster. In fact I use a cut down RedSea because it is 200 microns opposed to the 50 that Aquamaxx sells. When you set up the flow, you will want the height of the water to just trickle over the second drain. Your third drain should be set 3/8 to 1/2 higher then your second and should be dry all the time. That can go anywhere in your sump. If your planning on doing a refugium, you can change the height of the third drain to a midway point between your filter drains and drain directly into your refugium. You can check out my tank (build) thread for som visual ideas.

Curious why you would leave the Durso off the second pipe - would you only put this on the main siphon? I see a lot of Bean Animal set ups with the Durso on both the main and secondary pipe's (albiet the main siphon without the T fitting and air hole).

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Curious why you would leave the Durso off the second pipe - would you only put this on the main siphon? I see a lot of Bean Animal set ups with the Durso on both the main and secondary pipe's (albiet the main siphon without the T fitting and air hole).

I just don't think it is needed. In the old days when you had just one drain, that's when it had its advantage. a properly set up bean or herbie is going to be just as quiet as a durso. If I hear my overflow, I know there is a problem with the flow.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Hey Everyone!

This is my first time plumbing an aquarium and I'm looking for any feedback or advice anyone wants to provide! I have everything dry-fit right now (no glue in place whatsoever) and would appreciate any info I can get ahead of the glue-up.

I'm using an Eshopps Eclipse-L overflow with a bean-animal style drain. The drains all have 1-inch PVC going down to a custom diy sump (aqueon tank with acrylic baffles).

The pipe on the left is the main drain going into a roller mat. The middle is the secondary durso-style drain that will go straight into the middle sump chamber beside the emergency drain on the right.

The return has silicone coming up from the pump to a PVC barb to 3/4 inch PVC going to a bulkhead and then loc-line.

The display is a 40 gallon with a 20 gallon sump!

A couple of questions I have:

Is it ok to just dump the secondary drain right into the sump without filtration?

Are there any general plumbing gotchas or does anything look incorrect?

Thanks in advance!

Also a couple things if you look at my build thread... in the early pics I noticed the overflow was not placed in the Aquamaxx, but it is in later pics, so ignore that. Also when I talked about two drains flowing into the filter, I have that on an actual RS tank/sump vs. what I have on my build thread so I have a side by side comparison on TP usage. So that is why I have my recommendation.

 

[Reefacist]

Hey Everyone!

This is my first time plumbing an aquarium and I'm looking for any feedback or advice anyone wants to provide! I have everything dry-fit right now (no glue in place whatsoever) and would appreciate any info I can get ahead of the glue-up.

I'm using an Eshopps Eclipse-L overflow with a bean-animal style drain. The drains all have 1-inch PVC going down to a custom diy sump (aqueon tank with acrylic baffles).

The pipe on the left is the main drain going into a roller mat. The middle is the secondary durso-style drain that will go straight into the middle sump chamber beside the emergency drain on the right.

The return has silicone coming up from the pump to a PVC barb to 3/4 inch PVC going to a bulkhead and then loc-line.

The display is a 40 gallon with a 20 gallon sump!

A couple of questions I have:

Is it ok to just dump the secondary drain right into the sump without filtration?

Are there any general plumbing gotchas or does anything look incorrect?

Thanks in advance!

Your silicone tubing HAS to either be shortened or really strapped onto the barb with some plastic straps. I hav been researching whether to use one foot of silicone tubing from my return to barb. Here is what I have found…it is safe but it falls off the barb very very easy. Looking at your plumbing that silicone tubing isn’t only too long but also gonna have A LOT of weight on that bend when filled with water. I even read someone’s silicone exploding and water shooting everywhere due to restricted returns with a strong pump (that’s on bra’s review on silicone tubing).

 

[JonoH]

I just don't think it is needed. In the old days when you had just one drain, that's when it had its advantage. a properly set up bean or herbie is going to be just as quiet as a durso. If I hear my overflow, I know there is a problem with the flow.

What would you put on the secondary pipe? Just a vent/cover the same as the main siphon?

Sorry for all the questions, it just so happens that i am setting up some also at the moment !

 

[WifiGuy]

The silicone tubing run is too long. You only need a few inches of isolation above the return. I would use a check valve on the return and put a manifold in place now with one to three "T's" with 1/2 gates. The return does not need a gate so much as a ball for maintenance. Since you have three drains, run your main drain plus the secondary into your aquamaxx. you do not need your Durso on the secondary (that is so yesterday) You will want to have both run into your Aquamaxx to keep the flow higher otherwise, contrary to logic the TP will clog faster. In fact I use a cut down RedSea because it is 200 microns opposed to the 50 that Aquamaxx sells. When you set up the flow, you will want the height of the water to just trickle over the second drain. Your third drain should be set 3/8 to 1/2 higher then your second and should be dry all the time. That can go anywhere in your sump. If your planning on doing a refugium, you can change the height of the third drain to a midway point between your filter drains and drain directly into your refugium. You can check out my tank (build) thread for som visual ideas.

Thanks for the info, the silicone tubing was a concern of mine, I'll shorten it.

Regarding the secondary going into the roller mat along with the primary, wouldn't that defeat the point of the Bean Animal's redundancy and create a single point of failure?

Also for the durso standpipe in the overflow I understand you're saying it's not needed but is there any disadvantage to using one?

 

[WifiGuy]

What would you put on the secondary pipe? Just a vent/cover the same as the main siphon?

Sorry for all the questions, it just so happens that i am setting up some also at the moment !

This is the image I'm using for mine as well, good luck on your setup!