Plumbing to Sump & Skimmer

Hello everyone. I just got my first saltwater tank. I found a set up on craigslist for $100. Now I have to figure out how to put it together.

75 gallon corner overflow glass aquarium with black trim.
The bulkheads are accept 1" pvc.

The 14g acrylic sump(pictures included) has a L shared 1.25" barb leading to a chamber. That chamber has what appears to be a protein skimmer in it. It is an acrylic tube with an open bottom. There is what i've researched to be a venturi tube going to the bottom with black sponges around some outlets. Above that in the skimmer is a sponge that fits the cylinder. On top of that is the waste collection.

From the looks of it, he had an Eheim 1250 plumbed to sit in the first chamber of the sump and push water into the venturi tube. The airline connects to the tube and they output to the bottom of the skimmer. There is a plastic grommet halfway up the skimmer that i assume just allows water to escape back into the tank. The eheim 1250 is plumbed with two valves inline before the venturi tube. To me it would seem an ehiem 1250 would be overkill. Am I wrong here?

The next chamber has 3 panels and an open bottom which leads to an open area. I assume I put live rock on these panels and the bottom of the sump and the heater in this final chamber. I would think I would then need an additional pump to route water back out to the tank's inlet bulkhead.

1) So I guess my first question is this: is the eheim 1250 too much for a skimmer pump and if so, could I repurpose that as my return pump and purchase a smaller pump for the skimmer?
2) If not what rating pump should I get as a return? I don't imagine the pump would have to go more than 4' from bottom of the sump to the top of the tank.
3) is the L shaped 1.25" barb on the side of the sump supposed to be what the from the tank drain connects to?
4) The bulkhead fittings appear to have just had 1" pvc pressed in there. Should this be glued in place or is pushing it in there good enough?

 

I doubt it is overkill, the real question, though, is will it produce enough (and fine enough) bubbles to be an effective skimmer pump. My sense would be no. It looks like it pumps air through the foam to make smaller, finer bubbles. The problem with that is that the foam will eventually get clogged so becomes another maintenance item. I'd recommend getting a needle wheel skimmer pump. There are a couple companies that use 1250s for skimmers, but they modify them to use needle wheel impellers - probably something difficult to do yourself. Ocean Runner and Sedra makes pretty economical needle wheel skimmer pumps - sizing it appropriately would be the key thing. Regardless, it doesn't look like the contraption with the foam and stock 1250 would be suitable.

For a return pump, I would say the minimum you want is about 300 gph. At 4' you'd get only about 200 gph out of a 1250 and then you have to add even a little more for the couple elbows you'd have to put in. I think it would be on the low side

Something like the Sicce Syncra 3 will get you about 400gph, which would be good and cost you only about 50 watts, which is pretty amazing. You want to plumb in a ball valve so you can regulate the flow.

Looks that way.

On the low pressure side (drain from the tank) the tube doesn't technically need to be glued in. However, you have to understand that if for whatever reason the pipe comes out (like you're working under the tank and knock into it) then you get a lot of salt water on your floor. My recommendation would be to secure it in some way to prevent it from coming out - but a drain hose/pipe does not need to be totally water tight at the bulkhead.

Now on the return from the pump, it most definitely needs to be properly glued. Since it is under pressure, if you don't glue it then you will likely get leaks.

 

1) Sounds good. I'll guess i can always try it out since I already have it all. I did see that there were needle impellers for it. I've already broken the whole thing down and put in new seals, and the impeller and shaft came out at that time.
2)Sicce Syncra 3 - I like what i've read so far. Some people say its loud and recommend Aqueon 3000 instead. But I hear ya and will look into them further.
3) It seems silly to me that i would need to take a 1" drain and enlarge it to 1.25", but I guess that's right.
4) So for plumbing the drain. I don't mind gluing and it seems the right thing to do. I shoove in 1" pvc get a schedule 80 union then shutoff valve then another union to barb and down to the sump inlet. Does that sound right?

 

If you've got nw impellers then use the 1250.

Not really an issue and fairly common to have to use reducers, etc.

If I'm understanding you, you will:

- Glue in a pipe to the bulkhead
- Glue in a ball valve
- Glue in a barb fitting
- Use flexible hose to connect to the sump

What I would do change it slightly:

- Get a nipple fitting (the grey "PVC" with threaded ends on each side)
- Cut it and glue the cut side into the bulkhead so that you now have a bulkhead with a pipe with threads. Why do this? Because if you ever need to break it down you can remove the bulkhead without having to cut it off.
- Get a threaded ball valve and plumbers tape and screw it onto the nipple fitting.
- Get a male barbed fitting and tape/screw it into the other end of the valve
- Use flexible tubing to connect to sump
- Use hose clamps to secure flexible tubing