Plumbing Question/Feedback Please

So, just running through some ideas in terms of which way to set up the plumbing on my 90 gallon build. I have jotted down some options.

There are advantages/disadvantages to both. For the top, it's rather complex which can be a downside (not in the construction...). It utilizes 3 ball valves and 2 true unions, a check valve and 7 - 45* elbows. An advantage is that it has the skimmer on the right side. The stand I'm building has a power strip mounted on the upper left, which doesn't necessarily interfere with the skimmer, but there's only a 1" difference (it may not be an issue if the sump is seated deeply enough in the stand).
You can see the strip here:


I suppose I could move the ball valve higher in the first one on the return side. That part of the plumbing is the same in the two models. I have true union ball valves as well... so I don't lose functionality for removing plumbing there.

In the second one, the plumbing itself is much more simple. It uses 4 - 45* elbows, a check valve and three true union ball valves. This obviously means I can return some plumbing parts (yay). The downside is, I'm not sure how much additional room is there for the skimmer. I think either design would be ok. The top section might be more quiet as the return water doesn't have a free fall from the tank into the skimmer section. Quietness is a concern for me as well. I suppose in the top section, I could use the true union ball valve at the top of the drain section as well and then have the other near the fuge as any water not going to the fuge would have to go to the skimmer. That would simplify the true unions out of the plumbing. Anyway, please provide me some feedback.

*I have included a remodel of the first one to incorporate some of the ideas in the text*

 

You are going to want to limit flow to the fuge, not the skimmer section. So you will need a ball valve before the inlet to the fuge itself, like in your first option. Other than that, just keep it simple and use as few fittings as possible.

 

Yeah, I made a mistake in that diagram. The fuge will be limited.
Ok, so I've diagrammed (on paper) a manifold. I'm not sure yet how it will be supported. Is there a recommended stand/support that I can clip to the rim of the tank or just set it on the tank? (Maybe with some padding between the two). Also, I had an idea that I'm not sure if it's a good idea or stupid. What if I ran a filter sock off the manifold and just had it dump water into the return chamber? So, my filter sock would be in the return. This would allow me the space to run the sock without further limiting my return chamber (when I ran it with my skimmer, the return chamber got quite a bit smaller). Because the pump doesn't take up as much room, it should be easy to stuff the filter sock in there. Additionally, I can shut off that flow and just not run a filter sock if I decided not to. I do have a reactor that might be nice to run off the system (though it came with a pump that I could use as well).

 

I agree with keeping it simple. To that end, lose the check valves...they give you a false sense of security and can fail due to snails/gunk in them, or they can simply quit working. It's best to set your system up so the sump has room to handle any "power-off back-siphoning" which may occur.

Additionally, you'll lose less flow due to friction if you leave the check valves off.

HTH

 

I have my check valve just above the water pump, so when I switch off the pump, it immediately clicks closed. The return just free flows down into the bioball chamber or whatever that thing is called and flows into the fuge.

I have ball valves on both returns - I have a 3/4" pipe that runs from the pump, to a check valve, to a T, to the two ball valves where it splits into two return lines. I have them both wide open and my pump is probably a little bit undersized, but allegedly will turn the water 10x per hour at 4' of head, which is about right.

I noticed when I had the pump off for like an hour or two, a decent amount of water had forced its way back into the plumbing, not sure whether through the drain or the returns, but basically my drain as soon as the water drops about 1/4" in the tank, it's no longer draining, unless its just seeping in through the fitting (which is entirely possible).

I wouldn't worry about crazy slanting pipes and 45 degree elbows - many here will disagree I'm sure, but I plumbed everything in my system at 90 degree angles and any reduction in flow vs. my old system which was all flex hose is unnoticable, if there is any at all. As long as your pipes are big enough, and your pump is big enough, you'll be fine.

My free advice, worth every penny!

 

I'm using an Eheim 1260, so should have plenty of pump there. I'm restructuring my plumbing as I don't quite have as much room as I had thought before.

 

Granted mine is a smaller tank, but I only have 20.5"x20.5" to work with under the aquarium.