Plumbing plan for a 50GT

[MinibowMatt]

I am doing a Glass-Cages Acrylic 50T and I have come up with the following plumbing diagram. I plan on keeping a mixed reef, with a limited amount of SPS. I would like to keep my options for flow open.- In case I ever wanted to add more. What could use tweaking? Im open to all suggestions. Thanx!
Please note: Drawing not to scale!
http://reefbucket.com//files/4/Drawings and Plans/plumbing.bmp

[Pesce]

I would suggest you place the skimmer in the first section where the water from the tank first enters the sump. Two primary reasons for this...
First you want the surface water from the tank were all the waste is to be skimmed prior to traveling the sump. And 2nd, any micro bubbles exiting the skimmer would be removed through the double baffle sections.

The Mag 5 for the CL I believe has 3/4" fittings. I've always heard the the feed for Mag's should at a minimum be 1". Maybe someone else can confirm that point.

Theres my $0.02

[MinibowMatt]

Pesce-- thanx. I forgot about that.. I fixed the diagram. I have heard that about the Mag's before. I will look into that. What else? should I use more Unions or 45* instead of 90's?
How about ball valve placement? That should be as close to the BH's as possible right?

[Pesce]

What is the distance the sump will be from the display? You may want to consider using spa-flex rather than hard PCV wherever possible. It should allow you eliminate some of the 90s altogether giving you less resistance = more flow.

Also, you should consider using true union ball valves closer to both the Mags. This would allow you to disconnect the pump for regular maintenance with little difficulty. Remember on a closed loop you have no head pressure. So make sure you size your pump correctly for the desired flow in the display.

If you havent already checked out Melv's site you should. Excellent information and plenty of pics / diagrams to pull from.

www.melevsreef.com/

[MinibowMatt]

I did a lot of research at melevs, but this is my first plumbing job, so I want a lot of help before I build it! I am going to use a flexible piping, so I should be able to knock out a 90 or two. I will price the union ball valves.
As for flow, with 4ft. of head, this setup with mag 7 return (about 400 GPH at tank) and the mag 5 CL I should be somewhere around 900gph, or 13X turnover. Good enough for me.

[wickerj]

It looks like you are planning to feed your CL from your overflow box? If so, that's a bad idea. You need an intake outside of your overflow for the CL.
I don't think you'll get the kind of flow from the mag 5 that you're looking for (if your goal is to keep powerheads out of the tank) , I'd look into a larger mag or a better external pump.
The sump setup looks fine.
Hope that helps.

[MinibowMatt]

Why can't I run the CL from the Overflow?

[wickerj]

You can, but You'll pull in tons of bubbles.

[MinibowMatt]

I figure if it is low enough it shouldnt. I want it to be hidden from view. Im going for a *clean look* on this tank.. no clutter of equipment.

I do have a question--How do I determine what size to make my internal overflow teeth. I am DIY'ing an acrylic overflow, I know I need about 10-12" of overflow, and that tooth size plays a big part, but I cant find how to determine that size...?