Will this work for plumbing my basement sump

[stanleo]

I am building my basement fish room and I watched a few hours of plumbing sump videos on YouTube and came up with a rough sketch of how the plumbing is going to work. Will you DIY gurus look at it and tell me what you think?

The wall separating the basement from the main floor where the plumbing will go through is just one drywall so I was going to use a bulkhead to go through it and attach the plumping there on both sides so I can detach if needed. The part of the plumbing in the basement will be tied down to the wall down there for stability and come out into the sump.

Also, my plan is to do automatic water changes through the ball valve while simultaneously pumping in the fresh salt water into the return chamber of the sump. Will that work?

I also included a diagram of the sump design. 55 gallon tank converted. And a pic of the sump that I made. Any advise you could lend will be greatly appreciated. Behind the sump will be drywall designed for bathrooms so it can handle getting wet, I just haven't gotten that far in the construction.

 

[siggy]

I have never done this but you may want a ball valve before the sock to act like a break. The water velocity on the return may be quite a bit. good luck

 

[stanleo]

I have never done this but you may want a ball valve before the sock to act like a break. The water velocity on the return may be quite a bit. good luck

Thank you that's a good point. Maybe I could make the two unions near the "T" junction ball valves to control the flow?

 

[crusso1993]

I believe you'll also want to throw a valve and union or true union ball valve on your return.

 

[nspransy]

I would definitely put a ball valve on both lines before your T's and unions. It will allow you to control flow and also allow you to service the sump without draining all the water out of your lines. I also would add a check valve on your return line close to the sump. It will minimize the amount of water that drains back into the sump during a power outage or when you turn off your return pump.

 

[stanleo]

I would definitely put a ball valve on both lines before your T's and unions. It will allow you to control flow and also allow you to service the sump without draining all the water out of your lines. I also would add a check valve on your return line close to the sump. It will minimize the amount of water that drains back into the sump during a power outage or when you turn off your return pump.

OK, so I have added ball valves on both lines before the last set of unions. Also the return pump is a DC pump with a controllable flow rate and there is a siphon break on the return nozzle. And I designed the sump so if there is a overflow issue, it will not fill up to the point of spilling out.

 

[motortrendz]

I just did this with my tank.

 

[stanleo]

I just did this with my tank.

Holy crap!!!

 

[motortrendz]

Holy crap!!!

I replaced the 20g long sump I had in the stand to the 75g in the basement. And I made a 15g water change chamber so I dont have to turn anything off to do a water change. It's on the left side in this picture. its fed off the manifold. and the drain is plumbed right to my sewer line. So all I have to do is turn off the manifold, open the drain and let it go. 15 gallons gone, turn off the drain and fill it back.up with new water and turn the manifold back on. It gravity feeds back into the skimmer section so it doesnt create air bubbles in the return

 

[stanleo]

I replaced the 20g long sump I had in the stand to the 75g in the basement. And I made a 15g water change chamber so I dont have to turn anything off to do a water change. It's on the left side in this picture. its fed off the manifold. and the drain is plumbed right to my sewer line. So all I have to do is turn off the manifold, open the drain and let it go. 15 gallons gone, turn off the drain and fill it back.up with new water and turn the manifold back on. It gravity feeds back into the skimmer section so it doesnt create air bubbles in the return

That's pretty impressive. I am not planning on storing salt water, just make as I need it and let it get up to temp with a heater and pump in my mixing station and have a pump feed the water from there into the sump during water changes. Do you think that would work?

Also, do you think my design will work, with the ball valves added to control flow?

 

[sharpimage]

I wouldn't bother with the unions or the bulkhead at the wall. Just pvc straight through.If you want to disconnect it, the union fittings aren't going to make it through the hole. I would have 1 union under the tank with a ball valve and one above the sump with a ball valve. The rest just glued together PVC. If you ever need to remove something just cut it and put in a splice.

 

[motortrendz]

I wouldn't bother with the unions or the bulkhead at the wall. Just pvc straight through.If you want to disconnect it, the union fittings aren't going to make it through the hole. I would have 1 union under the tank with a ball valve and one above the sump with a ball valve. The rest just glued together PVC. If you ever need to remove something just cut it and put in a splice.

Exactly this. It's what I did. And I dont store any salt water. It's a chamber that's constantly flowing but doesnt impact the level of the sump weather running or off. Like having an empty tank in the system. I make 15 gallons of salt water and heat it the night before, it takes about 1 min to drain the 15 gallons from the chamber and 3min or so to pump the new water into the chamber.

 

[stanleo]

Exactly this. It's what I did. And I dont store any salt water. It's a chamber that's constantly flowing but doesnt impact the level of the sump weather running or off. Like having an empty tank in the system. I make 15 gallons of salt water and heat it the night before, it takes about 1 min to drain the 15 gallons from the chamber and 3min or so to pump the new water into the chamber.

Ok so let me see if I have this right. The 15gl chamber is constantly flowing. But when you do a water change, you stop feeding the chamber and let it drain into the sump while draining the water from your tank down the drain. Once that is done, you stop the drain on the 15 gl, fill it back up with new water and then open all the valves to connect it back into the system. Is that right?

 

[motortrendz]

Ok so let me see if I have this right. The 15gl chamber is constantly flowing. But when you do a water change, you stop feeding the chamber and let it drain into the sump while draining the water from your tank down the drain. Once that is done, you stop the drain on the 15 gl, fill it back up with new water and then open all the valves to connect it back into the system. Is that right?

My 15g chamber is all part of my sump..hope these pics help.

 

[stanleo]

I see. I don’t think that will work in my case. The tank I am using for the sump is tempered glass and I already spent days building the sump, I hate to start over. Thank you though you have given me a lot to think about.

 

[motortrendz]

Absolutley. I honestly was showing you more for the way I plumbed the drains. Then got sidetracked to the water change lol.

 

[stanleo]

Absolutley. I honestly was showing you more for the way I plumbed the drains. Then got sidetracked to the water change lol.

I just did some research and discovered that auto water changes is a moot point in my case anyway. I have a septic system and you shouldn't dump saltwater into it. Oh well.

I think I will take your and @sharpimage 's advice and just run it straight through the wall without bulkheads or unions there. And I am going to add ball valves below the unions under the over flow. Thanks again guys.

 

[stanleo]

This is my new diagram with all the great suggestions taken. Thank you. Will this work?

 

[tb582]

this whole thread has me really scared to even start thinking about adding a sump to my DT ... which I was just like sure I'll just run a couple pvc pipes to the basement!