Should I use 1" or 1.5" for 260g?

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FishNCash

FishNCash

Goliath Tigerfish
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Aug 1, 2009
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Tank has dual overflows on each back corner. I have been talking to my friend who is a salt aquarist that suggested to use 1" drain pipe since its cheaper and he thinks it would be fine for dual overflow. I spoke with another member here and he said to use 1.5" drain because bigger is always better but pricer for plumbing parts too. Now i am indecisive about my drain pipe sizing. What do you guys recommend?

PS tank size is 72x28x31 and sump is 30x15x15 which is a 29g.


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The answer to your question lies in how much water flow you are planning on having. What pump will you be using?
 
I just finished plumbing my 240g witha 55 g sump. My pump right now is underpowered (only 77gph) but I plan on upgrading to something double that power down the road. I have a 1.5" for my siphon and 1" for my emergency line. I also have ball valves on each to regulate the flow rate on my drains. 1" may work but I'd recommend going bigger. Having run both youre really only looking at a $20-$30 (ballpark) for all the parts for the return lines including the bulk head, valve, elbows and piping. IMO it is worth it to go larger even if its overkill now so if you wind up needing a higher turn over rate later you'll save a lot of time and money by not redoing everything.
 
BTW my pump is 700gph, not 77, damn fat fingering the keyboard
 
And i just realized i was unclear. I was trying to say the price difference for a return line that is 1" vs 1.5" for all of the parts is roughly $20-30. I should log off apparently lol too much time in front of a computer
 
FishNCash said:
Tank has dual overflows on each back corner.
Click to expand...

So do you have two dual overflows, ie four drains total? (one "dual overflow" on each back corner, assuming your tank has two back corners!) If so you'd probably be alright with four 1" drains, but it depends on you want to set it up. If you only have two drains total I'd go with 1.5".
 
Thanks for reply in great details. My pump is a quietone 4000 HF internal pump. In the future i plan to use an internal pump since its more quiet. I am leaning toward going small since big drain pipe require a heavy duty pump which will surely run up the cost of pump and electricity. This will surely make the Misses hate the hobby due to costs.

Is there a way I can go 1.5" drain pipe and use a energy efficient internal pump without costing me a limb?


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David R said:
So do you have two dual overflows, ie four drains total? (one "dual overflow" on each back corner, assuming your tank has two back corners!) If so you'd probably be alright with four 1" drains, but it depends on you want to set it up. If you only have two drains total I'd go with 1.5".
Click to expand...
here is a pic of the tank. I might have use the wrong terminology. It's one overflow on each side.
eea1c280.jpg
 
As long as the drain is more than the fill youll b ok, if your worried the 1" is to small go with the 1.5. If your worried about money get a different tank
 
I have a similar tank; 265 with two corner overflows. Each overflow has a 1" drain. I'm running 2 1350gph pumps full blast through 3/4 pipe with no issues. Lots of water movement. :) sump is 40gal.


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