Unsure how to plumb protein skimmer and return pump

[jasimek]

i recently acquired a 90 gallon acrylic tank. i finished sanding it down and polishing it and am now ready to start connecting the plumbing. The tank is on a stand and there is a wall behind the tank underneath the stairs in my basement which I plan on placing the sump, return pump and protein skimmer. I bought a danner mag drive 1200 pump and a reef octopus NW150. I have the skimmer and pump completely assembled but I am not sure how to make the proper connections to my tank which has two drilled bulkheads in the overflow box in the tank. There is also a bulkhead on the side of the sump which I am thinking I could connect the return pump to, but am not sure. The pump can be either submersed or left out of the sump. If anyone could point me in the right direction on which fittings to use how to connect them to my tank I would appreciate it. I do not want to get too elaborate with the design and would prefer not to have too much pvc pipe in the design. I am either going to use spa flex hose or I have clear tubing with metal mesh in it...spa flex is just very hard to use. Any input would be greatly appreciated...im eager to get some water in this tank. my pics are too big and it wont let me upload them. Thanks.

[seapug]

I believe that's an in sump skimmer. It shouldn't require additional plumbing. Place it in a baffled section of your sump with a constant water level and raise it so it sits in 8-10" of water, plug it in and use the adjustment knob to put the water level at the base of the collection cup. As far as the return pump plumbing is concerned, we really need to see photos. Open a free account at photobucket.com and upload your photos there. They provide an embed code that will allow you to post them on RC.

[jasimek]

http://s1093.photobucket.com/albums/i424/jasimek/90%20gallon%20acrylic/


here are pictures of my tank, the return pump, bulkhead on side of sump, connections underneath tank and the overflow box.

[jasimek]

reference my pictures it is about a 30 gallon glass sump with a bulkhead on the side. the skimmer is an in-sump and i have it between the baffles in the middle of the sump. im not sure what connects to the overflow box. the return pump? i thought the skimmer possibly connected there, but it appears that it does not and just sits in the sump. there are two holes in the overflow box and im not sure what connects to what. any help would be great. refer to my pictures i posted above. thanks.

[jon99]

I am not sure how to make the proper connections to my tank which has two drilled bulkheads in the overflow box in the tank.

These two in the overflow are your drain down to the sump.
Use either spa flex or rigid pvc to run two seperate lines from the tank down to the sump. I would recommend you keep them separate incase one is to ever become clogged you have the other as a back up. What do these two bulkheads look like? They will either be threaded on the inside or smooth (slip), so you will either glue the return line into the bulkhead or thread it in.

There is also a bulkhead on the side of the sump which I am thinking I could connect the return pump to, but am not sure. Yep, this is for the return from the sump back up to your tank. You run a short line from this bulkhead to the pump and from the pump to the tank. This is only if you are using an EXTERNL PUMP.

The pump can be either submersed or left out of the sump.

Gotcha. You may want to double check that. I read somewhere once that the mag's don't do too well run externally, they overheat and leak. No personal experince tho.

If anyone could point me in the right direction on which fittings to use how to connect them to my tank I would appreciate it. Fittings will depend on the type of bulkhead you have in place. There are basically 2 types, slip and thread. Check the inside surface of the bulkhead on the OUTSIDE side of the tank and sump. If it's smooth it's slip and the pipes need to be glued in place. If it's threaded you need to thread a coupler into the bulkhead that you can then connect the pipe to.

I do not want to get too elaborate with the design and would prefer not to have too much pvc pipe in the design. I am either going to use spa flex hose or I have clear tubing with metal mesh in it...spa flex is just very hard to use.

Ridgid pvc may be more difficult to work with and harder to squeeze into tight areas, but it's least likely to leak. Spa flex is kind of the middle of the road. The clear tubing your referring to, I believe can't be glued into place. You have to use a barbed tube fitting which you slide and clamp the clear tube onto. It's easiest to work with, removable, but also most likely to leak.
Any input would be greatly appreciated...im eager to get some water in this tank. my pics are too big and it wont let me upload them. Thanks
Read this and look over the diagram. It's the basics of plumbing an aquarium. It really helped clear things up for me when I had many of the same questions you do.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/plumbingmarart.htm