My plan so far

[branw]

We currently have 2 90 gallon tanks built in to our rec room wall. One is currently empty ( sold my cichlids) and the other currently is holdings freshwater fish. I know I have a lot to do and I have been researching online for a couple months. I am saving up for the big project and in the planning stages right now and am gonna need lots of help and suggestions.

I plan to run a sump in the basement and I think I am going to go this route. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WHn7_ZqZljs  I am not good with the plumbing part of this hobby but my husband has a much better understanding of how that stuff will work. I guess I should also mention I plan to get a 90 gallon sump and hook both tanks up to one sump. I would like to get the tank drilled and plumbing figured out because I really want to make a 3d background...something like this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=euTeBpM0nRQ

We are currently looking at plumbing parts and I guess our first question is where to buy bullheads and what size. Any suggestions or help is greatly appreciated

 

[Neopimp]

ooo Interesing plan Most people order the specialty plumbign from bulkreefsupply or mops or goreef.  Can be found locally at places but i cant tell you where.

How are you planning on doing the plumbing?  Type of setup, beananimal or herbie ?  Are you gogint o tye the tanks together then drop the lines to the sump or keep each tanks overflow lines seperate?

 

[Pistol]

I had a similar overflow design that worked pretty well, I see problems with the one in the video, as algae and critters etc. get on it you are going to have a flood happening, also it must be removable for cleaning, perpendicular slots would be safer, personally I would recommend an overflow box or two and a beananimal drain.
Here's a pick of mine, 1 1/2" in a 90 gal

 

[spyd]

So, I would buy the bulkheads from Plasco Welding in London. They sell the good Hayward PVC bulkheads that are heavy duty and worth the extra cost. If you are going to drill your tanks, drill 3 holes in each. 2 for drain lines and one for a return line. Just research "Herbie Overflow". You will also need to purchase 2 PVC gate valves, 1 for each tank. They are for one of your 2 drain lines on each tank to adjust and make them run dead silent. You can buy the Spears gate valves from Plasco as well. They are pricey but well built.

I would go 1 1/2" drain lines and 1" return line for both tanks. You can use Spaflex (Tiger Flex) PVC plumbing for your drain lines. It is very flexible and can save you lots of fittings. It is pricey though. You can get it at pool supply stores or Lowes.... But Lowes wants a small fortune per foot. You can run your return line in spaflex as well, but I prefer hard PVC pipe to prevent rattling, etc. You can use a combination of both as well. Lowes sells the white PVC pipe and fittings or you can go to Accupump in Stratford that has any and every type of sch 40 white PVC fitting you can think of.

 

[Pistol]

I've always used pvc hose for my returns, flexible, doesn't rattle, easy to cut and assemble, and change if nec.

 

[theyangman]

I used clear hose for my plumbing and I found it was a lot easier than having to be pretty exact compared to PVC. Plus there is no gluing.

The only advantage of a beanie vs herbie is the extra peace of mind. Also having a c2c overflow behind the tank can be obtrusive but if it is being built into a wall I guess space isn't as much of an issue....

 

[Duke]

if you can research the bean animal drain setup. the herbie setup doesnt really give you much peace of mind imo but it is silent, all it would take would be the secondary pipe to plug or clog and your spilling water on the floor. same peace of mind(none really) as a single stand pipe. with the bean animal you have multiple redundancy's which make it pretty much impossible to clog.

 

[Poseidon]

I always use hard pluming for drains and soft for returns.
I have a couple tanks tied intogether
Your welcome to drop by to check out how I have it setup !

 

[pulpfiction1]

mutiple drains............only safe way to go imo

 

[Duke]

mutiple drains............only safe way to go imo

totally, i should add to my post above, if you have a tank with dual corner overflows and both are setup with a herbie setup is much safer than just a single herbie setup.

 

[theyangman]

I have dual corner flows with dursos.... should I potentially be looking for a different fail safe solution?

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[Duke]

I have dual corner flows with dursos.... should I potentially be looking for a different fail safe solution?

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durso is just the single pipe with the hose stuffed down it to keep it quiet right? since you have 2.. you do have redundancy.. so as long as each of them can independantly handle the full flow in your tank.. your pretty safe.. theres not much else you can do with corner overflows, it would take a c2c or a bigger center overflow to hold a full bean animal setup.

 

[branw]

Looks like more research into this

 

[teebone110]

I may have three 1.5" bulkheads if you are interested,

 

[branw]

The plumbing in the video was the easiest ones for me to understand, but I want to do what's best for the tanks in the long run so will watch some more videos and figure something better out

 

[Pistol]

Check this out.

http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

 

[KBennett]

I have dual corner flows with dursos.... should I potentially be looking for a different fail safe solution?

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Isn't that crazy loud in the sump?  I have 2 herbies - 1 for each overflow.  I bring the returns up over the back.  It is absolutely silent unless one of the dursos has too much flow.