Bulkheads

[cmich]

II'm trying to get my sump set up again on my 90 gallon which hasn't been connected in over a year. I got a new pump that had a larger sized output which meant I had to change my whole hook up. I'm trying to reconnect my pvc going up from the bulkhead in the overflowbox and the small piece of pvc that I have that comes out from under the tank out of the bulkhead. If I remember correctly, I did this before using only teflon tape- but now I can't seem to make a watertight connection. Am I doing this wrong? I'm starting to think I must have used a pvc glue. Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Blake

[cjr8420]

if its threaded use the tape if its smooth fitted then glue.should be able to find a reducer fitting to make pump output same as before with minimal adjustment.hth ps replace tape on threads if u havent already,tape is good one time if u unscrew it u need to retape it

[cmich]

Thanks that does help. I actually am interested to see what my flow will be like with the larger output. In my old setup it seemed a little weak to me. I am going to have a valve between the pump and the return that I can shut so that I do not reverse siphon when I shut the pump off. I suppose I could always turn that a little to control the flow. I can't imagine that closing the valve slightly would be bad for anything in the system right?

Blake

[Darrell Ward]

The easy way, is just glue it with PVC solvent. It's permanent, but it won't leak. You will have to cut it off in the future to change it, but who cares? Fittings are cheap, and smart people have extra fittings lying around anyhow for quick, emergency repairs. You never know what kind of freak thing that can happen at 3 AM or whatever.

[cmich]

Thanks Darrell. My worry always is when I do have to remove it, I worry about having to cut it right off the tank and applying pressure that breaks the glass. If you do it right, you should be able to unscrew the bulkhead I suppose and take it right out of the hole. Somehow I always seem to have too big of a fitting or poorly rigged up plumbing that makes it so the bottom of the bulkhead can't fit over my fittings requiring me to cut it straight from the tank. This one shouldn't have that issue, though. Thanks again.

Blake

[Sean Buehrle]

A proper sump and overflow system needs no shutoff valve. A shutoff valve is bottleknecked and seriously reduces water flow and produces micro bubbles which are not serious in a fresh water system but are unsightly.

Your sump should hold all water that will drain from the tank in the event of power failure.

Your sump should not be able to send enough water to the tank to overflow it.

If either of these things can happen and can cause a flood, you should rebuild it properly.

The way to make it so your sump can't overflow the tank is by having the pump in a chamber by itself being fed by an overflow wall or having the pump raised up to a certain level in the sump so it only has access to so much water.

Your sump should be big enough to hold all the water in your tank from the overflow up to the rim of the tank.

Good luck.

[cjr8420]

Thanks that does help. I actually am interested to see what my flow will be like with the larger output. In my old setup it seemed a little weak to me. I am going to have a valve between the pump and the return that I can shut so that I do not reverse siphon when I shut the pump off. I suppose I could always turn that a little to control the flow. I can't imagine that closing the valve slightly would be bad for anything in the system right?

Blakekeep return line near surface or drill a 1/8" hole in return at top of waterline will stop reverse siphon.it will shoot a small stream of water when running but its better than a flood. that valve is no good if u not home when power goes out.as far as valve to slow flow will waste electricity and add load shorting life of pump

[cmich]

Thanks for the replies. Doesn't seem like too big of a deal to me to turn the pump off when making a water change and then shut the valve to keep the water from reversing. Then open the valve and switch the pump back on. The tank shouldn't have any trouble with increased flow, though. The overflow box is set up well and should have no trouble draining any water put into the tank. I would seriously doubt that I would do anything but leave the valve completely open unless the pump was shut off. Would a valve cause any problem in the system if it was open while the water was pumping? In itself it doesn't reduce much flow just being there if it's open correct? Thanks again for the help. I still struggle with all of the plumbing.

Blake

[cmich]

Although, now that I think about it a valve does nothing for a power outage like mike said. Would a check valve be a better option? Seems to me that a check valve reduces flow but maybe I'm wrong. I want to get as much out of the pump as I can.
Blake

[cjr8420]

no valve will work u need to make the return line be able to suck air if pump stops then it will just drain the current water in the lines not the tank to.so keep return just barely above water line or if lower drill a small hole at or above water line so it can feed air and stop the siphon

[cmich]

Okay that makes sense. When you said "no valve will work" did you mean do not use the valve, just drill the hole, or that the valve will work for shutting it off when I am cleaning the tank but drilling the hole will give me peace of mind for a power outage when i'm not home? Thanks again.
Blake

[cjr8420]

either power outage or cleaning pump should be off if it can suck air and kill the siphon ur good either way.no need for a valve."no valve will work"mean i dont trust a 1way to completly kill the siphon just slow it down

[cmich]

Okay great. Thanks a lot I really appreciate all of the help.

Blake

[Darrell Ward]

no valve will work u need to make the return line be able to suck air if pump stops then it will just drain the current water in the lines not the tank to.so keep return just barely above water line or if lower drill a small hole at or above water line so it can feed air and stop the siphon
You are dead wrong. A check valve on the return line will indeed stop the flow of water to the sump with power to the pump shut off. That is the whole purpose of using a check valve, to prevent unwanted backflow.

[ZX10R]

I wish I had some pics available to show you my setup. I have a 120 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump. I have a overflow box with two 1" outlets I ran those down and put in a 1 1/2" T with reducers. I then put in a 1 1/2" ball valve then from that into my sump. My sump is 3 chambers first being filter bags, second is bio, third is my heaters and pump. Pump sits in the bottom of my sump I come up out of it into a check valve then over to a T. One side of the T runs into my tank for the return the other side I put in a ball valve and use that for my connection during WC. I also put in a T in my 1" overflow box line before the 1 1/2" with a ball valve there also and ran that outside my house. To do a WC I shut my pump off wait for the water to settle out then I connect my line from my aged water barrel to the T for my return line and open that ball valve the check valve keeps the water from pushing back into my sump. I then close the 1 1/2" ball valve going into my sump and open the 1" ball valve to my outside line. Start the pump in my aged water barrel and sit back and watch it work. All my stuff is SCH40 PVC and is all glued together.

[Darrell Ward]

Well, as long as the sump will hold the amount of water to the overflow box level, and the returns have a check valve, or the return exits are high and dry before the level of the overflow box, there can be no overflow with the pump power shut off.