Dual-tank dual-floor drip plumbing

[DaveB]

I am about to [finally] get started on my drip setup. I have a map drawn of how I want it to run but am sure I'm missing some things. Would love to get input from the pros.

Details: Washer is downstairs in the utility room. Was going to put a Y on that and run PEX upstairs to the 120 a floor above and 20 feet over. Inside that stand I'll have a chloramine filter that I can hang above a sump and have it drip via a drip emitter to the sump. The sump then can overflow and travel back between the floors to the utility room to drain, also via PEX.

Where it gets difficult, at least for me, is that I also want to drip into a 220 down below. I assume I have to keep the chloramine and drip stuff above this and let gravity work, which is why it's upstairs, but I have some concern that the difference in height between this tank and the sump upstairs will lead to some inconsistencies in the amount of water being split between them. I'll want to have precise control over how much goes into each.

(Or is it going to end up just having both tubes full all the time with the drip emitter being the bottleneck? I guess that's probably the correct assumption.)

What I don't know is what pressure regulator to get and where to put it. Should it be upstairs, allowing the pressure to push the water up a floor to get there? If so, I would think I'd want it in between the floors, so as not to place undue pressure on the bulkhead that will be drilled in the bottom of the (acrylic, watertight) 120 stand... and to allow me to turn a ball valve and disconnect that line. Is that right? Will there then be enough force to go up another 2 feet to the filter and give it enough water, but not too much?

Here's a drawing.

Thoughts? Advice?

I figure I'll probably want to change 25-50 gallons per day in each tank. One filter ought to be able to handle that load, right?

 

[DaveB]

Possible added dimension:

My next thought is whether I could easily also add in an RO filter. I bought one a while ago and haven't set it up. I'm sure the Discus would appreciate it. But I believe RO needs an extra drain for waste water as well (though perhaps I could plumb this into the outgoing end of the sump overflow), right?

Assuming I can even make this all fit under the 120... would it be complicated to split the supply line between the chloramine filter and the RO and have two drip emitters going to the sump? What about having a 2nd drip emitter also going downstairs?

Might it be smarter to have a little (10-15 gallon) reservoir under there that they both drip into and then have that feed the 220? I figure that'd make it a more reliable mix. And save a 1/4" tube and hole.

(That reminds me. Do they make bulkheads small enough for just a 1/4" tube?)

 

[sunvalley aquarist]

Hi Dave,

I could be wrong, but I don't think your 1/4" line is going to be large enough to use as a drain. I know it wouldn't be for my system. Also, I put my filtration in the laundry room.
And also, just a thought, but you could run a single line upstairs and tee it off, have a ball valve on the leg going to the upstairs tank and regulate that water with the remaining water going to your downstairs tank.

Pat

 

[DaveB]

The drain is 1/2".

Even that is not ideal, though. It is fine for a drip drain but not an emergency. I have to come up with another method for that. Especially if I also use RO, since then I'll run into the matter of how to refill the tank with a blend when I don't have a reservoir on hand.

There is not enough space for utility room filtration, nor do I want the two tanks to share. So there will just be a big bundle of stuff under a 4x2 tank.

 

[DaveB]

bump

 

[Dan F]

Like you say, the drip emitters are the point of constriction, so you will be fine to put your pressure regulator before you split the line. One floor comes out to about 5 PSI of pressure loss, so I would say as long as you are running the regulator at 25 PSI+ it shouldn't make that much difference.

One thought that could simplify things - you could just run the overflow from your Discus tank into the 220 and double the flow into the 120. Your Discus would get some really fresh water and the other tank would get some "pretty fresh" water. Just thinking...

 

[DaveB]

Interesting.

So I'd basically end up coming close to 100% turnover in the upstairs tank per day. I'm sure they'd love that.

And that'd be double the water coming into the 220 too. Not as fresh, but if the upstairs one is getting 100% it won't really ever have anything in it at all, so with proper filter maintenance it'd barely be an issue.

Hm.

 

[DaveB]

dup

Oh... not sure that actually simplifies anything though. I'd still want another drain on the sump that drains waste too. So the total plumbing would remain the same, if not getting more complicated to do whatever I'd need to ensure that the clean line out from the sump to the downstairs tank always remained functional and flowing.

 

[Pharaoh]

I think your original drawing would be fine. Just throw the pressure regulator in line right before the chloramine filter. Heck, you might not even need it once it is all said and done. I have removed my pressure regulator as it was reducing the pressure too much. I think it would all depend on the number of total outputs.

You could "T" the line just before the chloramine filter to run RO if you wish, but that's about as far as I can take you on that one. I've never messed with RO.

I change more that 25 gallons a day with my chloramine filter. Probably closer to 100 gallons a day or more. The filters are rated at 5,000 gallons, so just do the math and you should know where you stand for individual drip emitters.

 

[DaveB]

I don't know much of anything about how pressure regulators work but that would surprise me if I didn't need one for the filter. I thought they had to have things regulated down to a very reliable (low) level.

Saves me some expense, though, if I don't need that.