My basement sump project

[stingythingy45]

Thanks Jenn,
You could always go to the side and make a dedicated room for all your stuff.
I seen a nice setup like that last night.

Ronnie,

You should see all the stuff I had to take out of there first.lol
That's my next project is shelves and storage.After the new skimmer plumbed,refugium in line and the auto top off.lol
I'll be doing some more work on this soon.I'm just taking a little break to actually enjoy my fish tank.

 

[stingythingy45]

I added a ASM G-2 to the sump over the weekend.The skimmer has the gate valve and recirculation mods.Seems to be working pretty good,just needs break in time.The skimmer is sitting on a frame that I made from PVC and egg crate.I'm probably going to need at least one more ball valve.So it's off to Home Depot after work.I added more water the the system so that the skimmer sits in about 4-5 inches of water.I'll be taking a break from the built for a little while.Mostly due to lack of funds right now.
Just going to observe how the system works out.
Next projects include a 10 or 20 gallon drilled for a refugium.And some work areas with good lighting and storage.

 

[Reef55]

Just use the sump as your fuge... your sump will become a detritus trap (they all do). But by putting a fuge of sorts down at the bottom, with some cleanup critters, they'll take care of that detritus problem for you

 

[stingythingy45]

Yeah,I thought about seperating a section to keep the cheato and critters from getting sucked up the pump.And then hanging a light over that section.
But If I do that there's no way to spy on how stuff is growing...ect.It wont look as purdy......

 

[stingythingy45]

Starting to get some skimmate in the collection cup on the ASM.
I have a pretty low bioload with just 6 fish in a 55 gallon.I think the softies create more waste.
The ASM G-2 has the recirc. and gate valve mods and seem to create a nice amount of bubbles in the body.I've had it in service for 4 days give or take a few hours.I had to change some plumbing around to make things easier to adjust.
This weekend(weather permitting)I hope to drag the wood out from the basement and start building a work area and storage shelves.
Also finally got the stockman stand pipe in the overflow working.
I had the square hole in the pipe too big.I actually cut 2 square holes,one on each side.The new one only has one hole 1" x 1" and works really good.
And a quick picture of the tank at 8 months.(I need a real camera).

 

[JRM]

lookin good Bob!

 

[Pinkskunk]

You might have known this already, but the more angle you put on your return pump, the more pressure lost you will get. Every 90 degree turn will cost you so many gpm.............. other than that it is a nice and clean plumbimg

 

[stingythingy45]

Thanks,
Yup,I knew that,Pinkskunk.
I looked around some for spa-flex but decided to just use what I had.
The pump will bury the 800 GPH overflow up in the display if I don't throttle it back some.So the ball valve on the return is about the 1 oclock position.
Gen X pumps are pretty stong,but also quit loud.I wouldn't even consider a Mak 4 under a tank.lol

 

[Jim Tansey]

I found the same thing with Gen X pumps, even in my basement with my bedroom directly over the pump location, its annoying at night.

Jim

 

[stingythingy45]

I hear you.........I think.lol
It's just a light hum up in the livingroom.
But it's definitely audible in the basement.I'm probably going to put some foam insulation between the fishroom wall and the finished basement to eliminate some of the sound.Right now it's just paneling and a thin wall.
The power and price is great,but I wouldn't even consider one under a tank in a livingroom.

 

[dakar652]

dude...rock on. that has got to be the coolest thing in this whole town...ever! seriously though...well done. i just read the whole thread and i think the amount of planning (or your ability to act on the fly) has really shone through. i know your project is basically done, but if you need tools or anything to complete any job associated with reefing, rough/finish carpentry, or auto...don't hesitate to ask. i've got a rediculous amount of quality tools, and always willing to loan them out to people with the true DIY spirit...especially if i know where you live...LoL.

any particular reason you didn't RR? don't get me wrong, i have a HOB overflow too, but with such a large capacity, i'd be scared to lose my siphon and have 100 gallons of stock tank water on my living room floor...this is not to mention, of course, the dry pumps in the sump.

if you ever want to do the RR thing...i'd be more than happy to help. i should mention i've never done it before to any of my own tanks, but i plan to in the future when i have a more permanent living arrangement and have the freedom to create a basement sump.

sometime if you're feeling like you want to show off your system and tell your horror/success storiesover some wobbly pops, i'll bring the beer. nice display too!

 

[stingythingy45]

Thanks Mike,
I had the 55 all set up and it wasn't RR so I just added the sump onto the system.I just couldn't figure out a good way to do it under the tank(very narrow stand).
I plan to eventually move into at least a 75 or a 90 gallon RR in the near future.I don't like using a overflow,but I installed a high water safety switch from autotopoff to shut down the return pump if the water in the display gets too high.(I test it once in a while)
I think the biggest problem with U tubes is a build up of bubbles at the top.This don't happen as I'm pushing pretty close to 600 GPH through there.
Still,I definitely want RR in the near future.
I've amassed quite a bit of carpentry stuff also.It always seems like you need something that you don't have when repairs are needed to the ole house.
Sounds good,we seem to have a little group of reefers out here in this lil town now.Here's a very dark picture of the high water switch taken before work.

 

[JayM]

Starting to get some skimmate in the collection cup on the ASM.
I have a pretty low bioload with just 6 fish in a 55 gallon.I think the softies create more waste.
The ASM G-2 has the recirc. and gate valve mods and seem to create a nice amount of bubbles in the body.I've had it in service for 4 days give or take a few hours.I had to change some plumbing around to make things easier to adjust.
This weekend(weather permitting)I hope to drag the wood out from the basement and start building a work area and storage shelves.
Also finally got the stockman stand pipe in the overflow working.
I had the square hole in the pipe too big.I actually cut 2 square holes,one on each side.The new one only has one hole 1" x 1" and works really good.
And a quick picture of the tank at 8 months.(I need a real camera).

First, nice system

The only commentary I would offer is to suggest you build an eggcrate & PVC table to raise your skimmer, so you could get your overall sump water volume higher. It looks like you are leaving about 25 gallons of potential water volume on the table with your existing sump water height....

I also threw at least 150# of LR in my sump for added biological filtration. I had someone hollering at me about it the other day....

"do you know you have display quality fiji rock in your sump?!"

I have my sump height set so that in the event of a complete power failure, the drained water level in the sump is about 4-5" from the top once all the overflows from the tank, fuge and chaeto-fuge drain down.

 

[stingythingy45]

Thanks Jay,

Yeah,I can definitely fit another 25 gallons in there and raise the skimmer up.
What's another 20 gallons added to a flood?
One thing I've noticed is having a sump in the basement makes for a lot of trips up and down the stairs.
I'll bet I ran up and down the stairs 30 times in one hour when I first fired it up.lol
I'd like to get some rock to put in there eventually.Maybe sometime I'll run across somebody that has some old dried out stuff in the garage I can put in there.I don't have a whole lot of money left for premium stuff.
I'm thinking about drilling a 10 gallon or my 20L with a dremil this weekend.......any thoughts?
I already have a overflow line plumbed for a small refugium.I have some 1 inch bulkheads as well.Even have some diamond bits here at work to use.
There's a big ball of cheato in my QT that I want to get into the syastem.

 

[JayM]

buy a box of marco rock, cure it and dump it in......use a powerhead and your WC water to cure it.

I have a rubbermade tub you can borrow.

 

[delta]

Thanks,
Yup,I knew that,Pinkskunk.
I looked around some for spa-flex but decided to just use what I had.
The pump will bury the 800 GPH overflow up in the display if I don't throttle it back some.So the ball valve on the return is about the 1 oclock position.
Gen X pumps are pretty stong,but also quit loud.I wouldn't even consider a Mak 4 under a tank.lol

A foot or two of Spa flex fixes that problem, as long as the pump is aligned correctly with the plumbing and secured in place.

Also if that is a plywood box the pump is sitting on perhaps spray some foam insulation in it to dead the sound. I would also put a piece of foam
rubber under the pump.

Edit: you want to make sure to put spaflex on the intake and output of the pump

 

[stingythingy45]

A foot or two of Spa flex fixes that problem, as long as the pump is aligned correctly with the plumbing and secured in place.

Also if that is a plywood box the pump is sitting on perhaps spray some foam insulation in it to dead the sound. I would also put a piece of foam
rubber under the pump.

Edit: you want to make sure to put spaflex on the intake and output of the pump

Thanks for the tips,Greg.
I'm not sure where I could get spray foam that could fill a 4 x 4 ft. box like that.But I think that would help with any reverberation going on,same with the spa-flex.The pump actually comes with a rubber coated mount plate.
It's odd though,I feel no vibration or any switch in tone when I step on and off the box.It's not really loud,just can hear a light hum upstairs when all is quiet.Definitely like having the sump in the basement.

 

[JayM]

Bob, there's a hardware store over in Hudson that stocks spaflex. I gotta go pick some up in the next couple of days for my tank tie-in project, so LMK if you want some. I can send it down to Oxford where you can pick it up.

 

[stingythingy45]

Quick Update

I'm pretty happy with the way things are running.
The skimmer ASM G-2 is pulling a good amount of skimmate daily.
I would highly recommend the recirc. and gate valve mods.(thumbs up)I haven't has much time to work on the stand for the refugium.I rigged up a kalk drip using a water container from Wally Mart.It has a spout on it that I just losen the spring loaded valve to maintain a drip.It holds like 2 gallons of water and last about 24 hours.Much better than trying to get a siphon going from a bucket.
Just noticed your post,Jay.

 

[stingythingy45]

Drilling with a dremel

Well,yesterday I decided it was time to drill a 10 gallon I had sitting around to use as a refugium.I built a work bench over the weekend for the fish room and figured this would work pretty good sitting on the edge of that draining into the sump.I already had a feed from the overflow plumbed,just need to drain back to the sump.I left myself room if I ever decide to go bigger.
Started out with a diamond ball end bit and finished up with a cylinder shaped one.Took me about half an hour to get through.Just did the plumbers putty wall to keep cooling water in and took my time.
Here's a few pictures of the process.