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Advice? Tank Build! reef ready drain dilema

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Roman, Mar 1, 2017.

  1. Mar 1, 2017 #1
    Roman Cedar Rapids, IA

    Roman Experienced Reefkeeper

    1,277
    Cedar Rapids, IA
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    I am currently building a reef ready 220 and struggling on how to plumb the drains to the sump. I have set up different types of drains before using flexible tubing and hard pvc piping. I like the flexible pvc for drains because you can adjust the incline of the hose to almost eliminate the "flushing" noise which comes from hard plumbed drains. I know a lot of people have incorporated herbie bean animal type drains to eliminate that by creating a siphon for your drains. I know with home plumbing systems there is a vent that goes out the roof of your home to allow your home plumbing to flow easily without creating a vacuum which i believe creates the flushing. My question is could you possibly place a tee in where it enters into your sump and vent it with a pipe that extends up the back of your aquarium above the water line to prevent it siphoning? I know we all have the little airlines on the actual drains on the overflow but they really don't allow a lot of venting and I have had them plug with salt creep before which made my drains result in a flushing type result and raise the level in my aquarium from the lack of sufficient draining. I really want to go back to hard plumbing just for the the cleaner looks but I want it to be quiet also.
     
  2. Mar 1, 2017 #2
    blackx-runner Cedar Rapids, IA

    blackx-runner Administrator Website Team Leadership Team

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    Interesting question. I'm not seeing why that wouldn't work. I'm not really sure how much noise the drain would create. Might be worth dry fitting the plumbing tight enough not to leak and doing a trial run to see what happens.
     
  3. Mar 1, 2017 #3
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

    Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

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    Home vent pipes are for venting sewer gas safely, not for preventing a siphon/flush situation. It won't work the way it seems like it might with a continuous flow drain. The little air hole on the top of a durso standpipe is supposed to help to control the flow and silence things but it's really finicky.

    One thing to remember is that with flow dynamics, an open standpipe (not operating as a siphon) has a really low flow rate compared to one with even a partial siphon or a controlled allowance of air entraination (if that is even a word) so if you do a true open standpipe with a T at some point and an extension of an open pipe upward, a) the top of the open pipe must be higher than the tank top and b) the drain pipe I would think would need to be much larger than normal, like 3" or something, so that it doesn't "close off" and start to gurgle.

    It's kind of hard to describe but that's my take on it anyways, others might have more insight, mine is mainly an educated guess. I would be interested to find out how it actually works though :)
     
  4. Mar 1, 2017 #4
    sjones Marshalltown, IA

    sjones

    54
    Marshalltown, IA
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    +22 / 0 / -0
    I just went through a build myself and plumbed and replumbed again and again. I did not use a herbie drain from the main tank because I did not want the waterfall of water over the overflow. I used a Stockman drain modification just as high as I could get it just under the glass top, I have a curious cat in the house. I have no emergency overflow because I am using the other pipe to refill the tank. I am running the sump level low enough that the tank cannot overflow, the pump compartment runs out of water first, yes tested that. In the picture you can see the drain comes into the side of the tee and the water goes down and air up through the vent. I put a cap on top of the vent and drilled the same size hole as the cap on the overflow. The idea is to starve the drain of air letting just enough through to let the water drain consistently but keep it above the waterline so it won't plug as quickly with salt creep. It works very well and is quiet too. As for siphoning the air that you let in will break any siphon before it starts. Just had a 3 hour power outage last Thursday and the water stayed where it was supposed to be and when the power came back on everything took off just like it should. Check this website www.madhattersreef.com › Aquarium DIY Projects, just scroll down you should see it.
     

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  5. Mar 1, 2017 #5
    Roman Cedar Rapids, IA

    Roman Experienced Reefkeeper

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    Cedar Rapids, IA
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    I found this on the internet.
    Vent pipes
    For water to flow smoothly without gurgling, there must be an air passageway behind the water. Vent pipes extend from the drainpipes up through the roof to provide that passage. Vent pipes also carry odors out of the house.

    The drainpipe for each plumbing fixture must be connected to a vent that supplies the pipe with air from the outside. In some cases the drainpipe is connected directly to a main or secondary stack pipe, which travels straight up through the roof. More often a drainpipe is connected to a revent pipe that reaches up and over to tie into the main vent stack. Plumbing codes strictly prescribe where vent pipes can connect to the stack and how far they should travel. In most cases a "wet" section of pipe -- the part that carries wastewater -- cannot be used as a vent, even if it is usually dry.

    If your drainpipes gurgle when you run water in a sink or flush a toilet, call a professional plumber for an inspection. A vent may be stopped up and need clearing. Or the plumbing may be incorrect, and you may need a new vent line.

    In some cases local codes allow for other venting strategies. For instance a basement sink might be vented with a special wall vent, which simply runs out the wall. Or a cheater vent, a small device that draws air from the room rather than outside, may be allowed.

    Branch drainpipes lead from fixture traps to a stack, which carries water out of the house. Vent pipes allow fumes to escape and provide an air passageway behind the drained water.
     
  6. Mar 1, 2017 #6
    sjones Marshalltown, IA

    sjones

    54
    Marshalltown, IA
    Ratings:
    +22 / 0 / -0
    I used the term vent rather loosely. My "vent" is only 6 or 8 inches above the sump. The idea was to give the water and air coming down from the tank a place to separate before reaching the sump. In my setup that was where a lot of the noise was generated by the bubbles gurgling in the sump because the drain pipe went below the waterline of the sump, it came in that way from the manufacturer. My wife is now very HAPPY.
     

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