Plumbing For Tank

[manny]

I've never had a sump for my aquarium so I've never had to do any plumbing to it. I've copied and pasted some plumbing fittings from marinedepot and come up with this. I've gone with mainly slip fittings cause it's supposed to be less likely to leak from what I've read. Will what I have work?

Oh yeah, and what's the difference between a true union ball valve and a slip or threaded unioin ball valve?

[Henry]

Manny true unions come apart at both sides of the valve. If possible try to put unions a close to the pump as possible, this makes for quick and easy maintence. I don't know if this will be feasable for you, but if you are short on space, you can always put the valve inside the sump. I'll look at the plans a little closer later, but this is all i can think of for now.

[eleyan]

Manny, I don't think you need 2 valves (before and after the pump). The danger of the valve before the pump is that it might make the pump run dry if not adjusted right. I think the one after the pump should be enough.

[wkopplin]

I always put a valve before and after. Just leave the one before the pump wide open. I do this in case I need to remove the pump, you can close the line off before and after it.

[manny]

An Iwaki MD30RLT should be ok for a 38 gallon? It puts out 510 GPH which would be a 13X turnover rate for my tank per hour at full pump performance. I'm getting the RLT model which is for pressure applications so I can use that valve after the pump to slow it down if I need to and not mess up the motor. I'm also gonna add a closed loop with a scwd later on. Think this will be enough water flow or would it be too much?

[manny]

just wanted to bump this up and also ask if true unions are threaded or slip?

[wkopplin]

I think they can be either. I know Home Depot has slip and threaded unions.

[TexasState]

You can buy schedule 80 PVC fittings(Grey) from Lowes instead of ordering online. That way, you can play around and return what you don't need (I don't even bother to since they're only about .80Cents a pop. True Union are great for fast & easy removal. In your size of tank, I would stay away from Iwaki of that size, it will add heat to your tank. Get an Eheim pump if you can afford it (I will trade my used one for that GC that you have.) Eheim run cooler, and quieter. Or get a Mag 5. The pressured rated one you mentioned might be louder then non-pressured one. Instead of put a reducing valve on it, just bleed the extra GPH back into the sump. Threaded might be more leak-prone, but I like to use threaded unions over slip.
Flexible hose are more leak-prone too, but I like to use flexible hose over PVC pipe all the way. Flex. hose can reduce noise.

[manny]

What's a GC? And also what do you mean by bleed the extra GPH back into the sump? The eheims I'm lookin at are alot less than the Iwaki I was lookin at. These (http://www.marinedepot.com/a_pu_eheim_universal.asp?CartId=) are the one's you are talking about, right? What if I went back down to the Iwaki MD20RLT?

[TexasState]

GC=Gift Certificate.
Instead of using a valve to reduce the amount of GPH going back to the main tank, you can let your pump operate at full speed, but split the return and let some water back into your sump. Iwaki have a good reputation, but some of the smaller model can get hot b/c they don't have a fan build in(so it would depend on the model you're looking at.) I'm no longer familiar with the different Iwaki models so I can't tell you.
My eheim only do about 600GPH. But they have rated higher then that. You don't really need a high turnover in your sump. Higher GPH will equal=more noise, more heat, more micro bubbles. The only reason I would use pump with more GPH is if I'm going to use a SCWD as a return. The SCWD will eat up your GPH (sorry, I don't have the statistic on hand.)

Why are you trying to stick with Iwaki, they're not cheap.

[TexasState]

When you plump, remember that each turn in your plumbing=1 head loss.

[manny]

Just for the rep that they have. They're supposed to be really good from what I've heard and I've just figured to go with the best at first instead of having to replace somethin that's just gonna be 'ok'. Oh yeah, and I don't have a gift certificate :? Maybe you're thinkin someone else?

[manny]

So, with what I'm plannin, I'd have 4 90 degree turns. That's 4 head losses which means what? Sorry for the ignorance. I knew I'd loose some gph but didn't know how much exactly

[TexasState]

For none pressure rated pump, each feet of travel distance will result in one head loss. Doing a 90 degree turn will result in a head loss. So if you're buying a Mag 5, which is stated as 500 GPH, the actual GPH making it back to the main tank will be less then 500 GPH. For the head loss amount, you will have to look at the chart for the specific pump you're using. Here's a head loss calculator: http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php
----------------
Model: : MD30RLT*
Inlet(MPT) / Outlet(MPT) : 3/4" / 3/4"
Flow Rate @ 4` Head : 510 GPH
Max Head ft: 17.7

-----------------------
Model: : MD30RLXT*
Inlet(MPT) / Outlet(MPT) : 1" / 1"
Flow Rate @ 4` Head : 960 GPH
Max Head ft: 13.5
----------------------
http://www.marinedepot.com/IMD/pu_iwaki_curve.jpg

Model Conn-ections
In/Out Motor Output (HP) Motor Speed (RPM) Amps Max Flow (GPM) Max Head (Ft) Max Sys Pressure (PSI) S.G. Weight (lbs)
WMD-20R(T) 3/4 1/38 3100 0.48 8.2 14.1 10.0 1.1 7
WMD-20RX(T) 1 1/38 3100 .50 13.7 8.2 5.7 1.3 7
WMD-30R(T) 3/4 1/16 3150 1.00 10.0 17.7 11.6 1.3 9
WMD-30RX(T) 1 1/16 3150 1.00 19.0 13.5 8.5 1.1 9
WMD-40R(T) 3/4 1/12 3200 1.90 13.7 21.3 14.2 1.1 10
WMD-40RX(T) 1 1/12 3200 1.90 22.4 15.4 10.0 1.1 10
MD-55R(T) 1 1/9 3400 1.60 18.4 26.9 17.1 1.2 10
MD-70R(T) 1 1/4 3400 2.8 25.6 31..8 21.3 1.0 13
MD-100R(T) 1 1/3 3300 3.40 35.6 39.0 25.6 1.2 -

[manny]

Good info. Now I'm really unsure of what pump tp get....Started with one, now I'm lookin at three :?

[dan]

i've got a 100 iwaki if you want to hook it up. lol going to hook it up to my 250. will build a manifoil and that will feed my tank, refugium, skimmer and the nano. i still think for the size of your tank you should use a mag drive. if you still wanted to go with an iwaki i would do the 20

[manny]

The mag drive as an external Dan?

[DeletedAccount]

Mag's are great becasue they can be internal or external. I have one that has changed functions several times. It is nice to be able to take the pump out of the sump and use it inline instead of having to buy a new pump!

[JesterGrin_1]

Dan Sent e mail on pump :)

[TexasState]

I don't think there's any needs to plumb a 30 gallons long tank. Put your heater inside your skimmer. Add a hang on refugium. The Mag pump will add noise & heat to your tank. Not to mention it could leak if the impeller cover break from you moving the plumbing around.