Plumbing Questions

[RyanEG]

Well I just recieved my Economic Stimulus Check today from that IRS and Ive decided that it would be a good time to order my plumbing fittings. The only problem is that this is my first tank with a sump(first saltwater tank in general). Where all do I need to have valves and unions? My first line of thinking was to have a ball valve on each return and overflow. I now realize that would be overkill and a waste of money. Now my list is as follows:

Single Union Ball valve on each overflow to the sump
True Union ball valve on each side of the closed loop pump
Can anyone think of other places that I should have regulators?

I will be upsizing each tube to avoid cavatation and have read on this site that ball valve should be upsized as well. So for 2" tubing on 1.5" overflows does that mean I should run a 2.5" valve?

Sorry if this is a dumb question but Im kinda overwhelmed and want to get this right the first time!

Thanks for any help.
Ryan

[RyanEG]

is this in the wrong forum or what?

[Der_Iron_Chef]

The only other thing I can think of is to place a ball valve after the output of the return pump.

As well, if you're using 2" PVC, just use a 2" ball valve. I've never seen upsizing of the ball valve before. I suppose I could be wrong, but I don't think I am :)

[Playa-1]

There are many different ways to set these things up. Go to www.melevsreef.com and that is a gr8 place to get lots of information about sumps. They have a good DIY section.

Then visit www.dursostandpipes.com and that has lots of good information as well.

It's actually wise to have the ball valves on both the drain and return sides of the plumbing. You will likely never need to use the ball valve on the drain side. It's primary purpose would be to shut off the flow from the drain line in case of an overflow failure. As far as operation goes you would always want the drain valve wide open. The return line should have a ball valve between the pump and the display. This act as a way to regulate flow thru the system. You will also want a union near the return pump to allow you to easily take it offline for servicing. Here is a pic of the way mine is set up.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/158898Playa1_sump_Drawing_-med.JPG

[GlassReef]

Ball valves do restrict flow a little - because of that, some recommend oversizing the valves to compensate. I've never worried about it.

[RyanEG]

Thanks for all of the help and links all!