Deep Blue 57 rimless build

There are quite a few options you can choose, but for me I use pvc for the overflow and vinyl tubing for the returns. I would suggest using the ball valve between the return pump and the tank so you can dial in the pump. It's not required by any means but it's good to have. I would really suggest gluing all your pipes together. I've seen countless post where the pipes have come apart and now there is a mess everywhere. If you want to be able to take it a part later look into pvc unions. This allows you to take apart pvc the correct way, without the risk of leaks.

 

Ahh PVC unions... I'll have to check that out, I'm not into plumbing so I know nothing about the parts. Thanks.

 

Ok, so put everything together, but didn't glue yet. So before a test run I'll have glue and have fasteners on the tubing. From the pics below does everything seem set up okay? Skimmer will be on left, and refugium will be on the right. I think I'll cut holes on the tube going to the refugium to allow flow from more than just the end.

Front


Rear


Top-down

 

that looks really good, i would add a nother ball valve to the skimmer side, not to reduce the flow, but to remove all the air from the line if you experience any gurgling noise or toilet flushing with your system running. but for a bit more you can get gate valves which are leaps and bounds easier to fine tune than gate valves are, thats just my .02

 

Everything looks awesome so far!
BUT! It's a sin how you have your drain rigged. You never put a valve on a single drain.
You need to set it up so the return line has a tee - going up to the display one way and going to the fuge with a ball valve on the other side.

Folks saying the fuge needs the dirtiest water are true but in this case, the safest option is to NOT set it up the way you have it.

Or if you want, you can get another small pump and put it in the drain side and pipe water over to the fuge - it doesn't need too much flow... but better to use your return pump.

 

no valves period on single drains!

 

Ok I decided to just go with a small power head in the sump to feed the refugium. The overflow seems to be water tight.

 

Looking nice. Are you curing your rock first?

 

I think the setup looks nice. I wouldn't waste money or energy on a powerhead for the fuge, just keep it how you have it with the ball valve. It's not going to restrict the gph of the overflow at all. You have a 1" line coming down and even if you close the ball valve completely you still have a 1" line next to it. So you're fine with the current setup. Using as few pumps and powerheads as possible is the way to go. Keep in mind every pump / powerhead will eventually fail or need cleaning. A powerhead in a fuge usually gets wrapped with macro algae and will need cleaning regular. That's just my 2 cents though.

 

Quick question:

I'm noticing a very small drop of water coming from bulkhead. Should I tighten more? Or is there something else I should do? I tightened as much as I could with my hand, but no more. Also the bulkhead came with 2 gaskets, so I did one on each side of the glass, is that okay?