I did it!!!!!!

[Scott07]

Just finished plumbing my first sump'd system, a 65g with trigger systems 26inch sump. Leak test with tap water is in progress, and I have paper towels taped around my bulkhead joints to make sure. I can't believe I actually made this work! I also can't believe how long it took me. Looking at the plumbing now I'm thinking... how the h3ll did this take me 3 days of work to do... it looks so simple. But it was a lot of problem solving, on line researching, and trial and error. Biggest problem at the moment is a noisy return pump... but I can deal with that problem. I'll probably sit it on a sponge or some foam in the sump. Anyhow, I just had to share. This site has helped me so much over the years, and I really couldn't have done it without the wealth of knowledge on RC. I'm beyond thrilled to be stepping up from my 20 long nano with all HOB equipment .... to a true 'small' reef tank!

[homer1475]

Now if you supplied pics.........

Grats though. Doing your first plumbing job can always be daunting.

[ryeguyy84]

I felt the same way after I did my first plumbing. it's nice to sit back and admire your work :-)

[Scott07]

ask and you shall receive... pics attached. Please let me know if anyone wants a specific pic. of anything about the setup. I only have the return pump running right now to test the plumbing... but will be using a Bubble Magus NAC 5.5 skimmer, and setting up the middle section of the sump as a fuge.

[vhuang168]

Why so many connectors coming from the return!?!


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[Scott07]

Why so many connectors coming from the return!?!


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They are (in order): screw on connector for mag. 7, union, one way flap valve, ball valve, hose adaptor.

The union is for ease of maintenance and cleaning. The one way valve, along with the anti siphon hole in the elbow of the 'mega flow' plumbing provide anti-siphon redundancy, and the ball valve controls flow.

At first I intended just a ball valve and hose adaptor, but after looking at other tanks and talking to the folks at my LFS, the one way valve and union seemed like great ideas. Plus, it gets my ball valve high enough that it's above the water level in the sump.

[Scott07]

Here's a clearer pic of that stack of valves lol

[homer1475]

What are those light hangers in the ceiling, are they adjustable, And where did you get them?

I like them and have my lights hanging from the ceiling also, but I use those ugly looking plant hangers, but I can raise and lower my lights. Its the only reason I used them.

These aren't the exact ones I used, but very similar.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hanger-Flower-Hanging-Retractable-Adjustable/dp/B00IPJONAG

[Scott07]

What are those light hangers in the ceiling, are they adjustable, And where did you get them?

I like them and have my lights hanging from the ceiling also, but I use those ugly looking plant hangers, but I can raise and lower my lights. Its the only reason I used them.

These aren't the exact ones I used, but very similar.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hanger-Flower-Hanging-Retractable-Adjustable/dp/B00IPJONAG

I really lucked out on those.... they're AquaticLife hangers made for my 4 bulb T5 fixture. I was looking online to see if I could buy a light hanging kit for my light, and it appears AquaticLife no longer makes anything greater than 2 bulb T5 fixtures. Furthermore, the 2 bulb fixtures they're making now have a sort of rail on the top to suspend them rather than screws like my older model does. So I was totally ready to go to the hardware store and start putting together my own design light hanging kit when I happened to mention it at my LFS (while also asking about plumbing). Turns out they had one of the old style hanging kits for my light tucked away in the back collecting dust. I really like how they look... and yes, they are adjustable via a spring loaded button on top of the piece that connects the single wire to the two screw ins for the light.

[homer1475]

Found these online, but since their for a MH fixture im guessing they won't hold my 2 black box LED fixtures. I'm holding up over 60 pounds.

https://www.aquaticlife.com/light-fixtures-accessories/fixture-hangers-suspension-hardware-retrofit-kits/aquatic-life-suspension-hardware-for-g12-r7s-hid-fixtures.html

[Scott07]

Found these online, but since their for a MH fixture im guessing they won't hold my 2 black box LED fixtures. I'm holding up over 60 pounds.

https://www.aquaticlife.com/light-fixtures-accessories/fixture-hangers-suspension-hardware-retrofit-kits/aquatic-life-suspension-hardware-for-g12-r7s-hid-fixtures.html

Yea... I kept running into those and similar when searching online. And I agree... you could ppprrrooobbbaabbblllyyy get away with it depending on how you anchored it into the ceiling, but that's a lot of weight. An idea I toyed with was getting a piece or two of metal shelving bracket, or ceiling track lighting rail. This would allow you to anchor it to the ceiling in multiple places to spread out the load. But probably wouldn't look as clean.

[homer1475]

Yeah I have 4 of those plant hangers in my ceiling anchored to my ceiling joists. They may be slightly ugly, but they work well.

Upon further exploration into those that I posted, they are not easily adjustable.

I thought about brackets and such, but where my tank is located I have no walls near one side, so those won't work. lol

It was worth a shot, and I'm always on the lookout for a cleaner way to mount my lights from the ceiling. Although the plant hangers work, they are slightly ugly, and I need the ability to move them up and down to access the tank.

Thanks for the replies either way. :thumbsup:

[vhuang168]

Found these online, but since their for a MH fixture im guessing they won't hold my 2 black box LED fixtures. I'm holding up over 60 pounds.

https://www.aquaticlife.com/light-fixtures-accessories/fixture-hangers-suspension-hardware-retrofit-kits/aquatic-life-suspension-hardware-for-g12-r7s-hid-fixtures.html


I hope the 60lbs includes a canopy!


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[aquaman67]

Congrats on your build.

As for your noisy pump, instead of a sponge, some people use a neoprene mouse pad. Hope you get it worked out.

[Scott07]

Hey guys, question this morning for you all. My drain into sump does a good amount of bubbling and gurgling when I turn the flow on the return pump up. I've seen a few people make t fitting sort of bubble separators out of PVC to go on the end of their drain pipe. But I'm not sure a fitting id make would fit in the drain chamber of my sump. I'm going straight into the sump with flexible aquarium hose right now. What would happen if I cut the drain line at a hard angle such that part of the opening was above the water line, and part below? would this solve my problem? or make it worse?

[cleverbs]

Yeah I have 4 of those plant hangers in my ceiling anchored to my ceiling joists. They may be slightly ugly, but they work well.

Upon further exploration into those that I posted, they are not easily adjustable.

I thought about brackets and such, but where my tank is located I have no walls near one side, so those won't work. lol

It was worth a shot, and I'm always on the lookout for a cleaner way to mount my lights from the ceiling. Although the plant hangers work, they are slightly ugly, and I need the ability to move them up and down to access the tank.

Thanks for the replies either way. :thumbsup:

If you want nice looking hanging kits look at AquaIlluminations hanging kit. They have white covers. They look nice and are what I use.