plumbing question?

[prow]

well i am almost finished building my sumps. have all the pieces cut and ready to go. still need to drill it and add bulkheads for my external pumps. but before i do anything else i wanted to get any thoughts on possible issues or better ideas with connecting them.

some info; what i have is two seperate sumps. one is for my skimmer and the other is for the refugium. both sumps are about the same size, one is 22x19x17(31gal) and the other is 24x19x17(33gal). i plan on using two pumps for the returns. with the sumps on either side and pumps in the middle. one pump(skimmer side) will go through the chiller before going to the DT the other(refugium side) goes straight to the DT. both pumps are Pan World 100XP's (these are pressure pumps rated at 790gph@4') with a inlet-outlet of 3/4"-3/4". the pump to the chiller will have 3/4" PCV piping to the chiller then an adapter to 1" PVC piping after chiller to DT. the other will have the adapter to a 1" PVC piping at the pump to DT.

what i wan to do is use a 1" bulkhead on both sumps and run a 1" PVC pipe to connect the sumps. i want to tee both pumps from that same 1" connecting pipe. one pump being closer to one sump and the other closer to the other. both pump inlets will have adapters to 1" from pump to return line. so the question is, do you see any issues with using a 1" pipe to connect my sumps and use that as a common return line for my pumps also?

[JoJo]

with me be new to plumbing my input isnt worth much, but would a 1" shared line supply the 2 pumps enough, it starve them would it? with the puts having 3/4" inlets x2 pumps=1.5", wouldnt the pipe need to be atleast that size?

[prow]

i am not sure. i think you would be for sure right if the water was coming from one source. but this would have inputs to the shared pipe coming from either end. so the pumps would not be pulling from the same water.

i know i can run a 1" bulk head and hook the pump up directly that. but to connect them in the mid not sure about.

[JoJo]

hmmmm.....not sure. i would be worried that the pumps would fight for water. but i dont know. keep me posted on what you decide

[cioutlaw]

Not sure if Im following correctly. 2 sumps with seperate pumps that return to the main display? I think it should work. If you some how DONT connect the 2 sumps & 1 of the pumps were to quit you would still get return water from the other drain & eventually flood. Also if 1 sump were to get most of the return you would have same problem. Another option would be to have 1 pump & 1 sump overflow into the 2nd. 1st sump gets the drain from the display & 2nd would be connected to the pump You would save electricity this way, cut your chances of a pump failure in half & possibly not put as much heat into the water. If you just want the extra flow of 2 pumps I would put the pumps side by side & tee together so if 1 pump fails you still have flow in both sumps. Also two 0.75" lines do not equal one 1.50" line. You have to figure the area of the opening.

[prow]

i attached a simple drawing. the red lines are how each would be hooked up to each sump. the green line is how i would connect them. the main reason for two pumps is i want one dedicated to the chiller.
if i tee the pumps togather on the same tee i think the 1" pipe will not work. i am hoping by teeing each pump close the bulb head on each pump, the pumps will pull from opposite sumps. one fails and the other would still run both sumps. i dont think hooking them up like this would starve the pumps, but not 100% sure on that.
maybe i should just go with 1.5" bulkheads and hook up as planned. the issue with that is the size of the 1.5" bulkhead and the space it needs, hole wise on the sump. would rather use the 1" bulkheads if possible. what to do, what to do???

[prow]

[JoJo]

hey Prow, i think i had the wrong idea, the pumps would tie in on the same return line not drain line right?

[AQTCJAK]

Gary sorry I didnt see this before Ok here is how to measure plumbing correctly is you hav 2- 1" pipes your over all flow is 1.5" of pipe so you would need to add a 1.5" pipe between the pumps & back to the tank if that is how you are doing it

[prow]

right. each sump is feed from a separate overflow.

[prow]

jack, well about time
i am not planning on running the pumps on the same return line. one will go the chiller the other to the DT on seperate lines. the attament i link has a weak drawing, but i think you can see how i am thinking of doing it.

[JoJo]

sorry for the confusing. i dont see any problems other than a little back pressure on the pumps. but again, you have more plumbing experience than i do

[cracker]

I agree with Jack. You want to feed both pumps from where the sumps connect right? sorry I couldn't open your diagram. How large are the intakes on the pumps?

[prow]

_________ ................... __________
|............|...@......@......|...............|
|............|__|_____|___ |...............|
|............|....................|............... |
_________ ................... __________

ok this a real simple drawing. try not to look at the dots, lol. the @ signs are the pumps. the pump intakes are 3/4"

[prow]

haha well i messed up on my order and ended up with 1.5" bulkheads. so geuss i am going with a 1.5" shared pipe thanks for the help guys.