Need some plumbing help

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So what is the actual flow rate into and out of the aquarium, when corrected for head height? Until we know that, we cannot say whether it is reasonable to to reduce 2 inch drains into 1 1 inch drain.

I am beginning to think that flow rate is low enough for this to be OK, but....


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ragin_cajun said:
So what is the actual flow rate into and out of the aquarium, when corrected for head height? Until we know that, we cannot say whether it is reasonable to to reduce 2 inch drains into 1 1 inch drain.

I am beginning to think that flow rate is low enough for this to be OK, but....


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Click to expand...

Stand is 36 inches high. The drains sit just at the bottom of the stand because I have standpipes inside as overflows. The sump is just below the tank... to be safe I'm just going to split them

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Just separate them, at 3600gph I'd guess you'll be around 1800gph at 5-6' of head, however I could be wrong depending on your pump as some have more or less head loss. That being said 1800gph will be a tad too much for one 2" pipe.
 
axs377 said:
Just separate them, at 3600gph I'd guess you'll be around 1800gph at 5-6' of head, however I could be wrong depending on your pump as some have more or less head loss. That being said 1800gph will be a tad too much for one 2" pipe.
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I don't know about that--I have 2 Maxflo 2400's, 5 foot head height, I THINK I'm getting 1800 GPH pump output, based on charts for the pump at various head heights. I have 2 2" drains tied together with a 4 inch tee and a 4 inch slice gate. My gate is almost totally shut and it drains just fine. The drains run at full siphon, though, so that helps alot. I also have 2 "emergency" drains as backup for the herbie drains. If something ever happened, they'd drain the tank without full siphon.

I could be wrong, but I think a 2 inch pipe would drain more than 1800 gph.
 
I don't know how true this is, but I've seen it before, many times, last year when I was planning all this stuff out for my tank.

2d1wr6d.png
 
Well, my numbers for the pump could be totally wrong, I'm just basing them off of the pump I have that is rated at 3600+gph. However the flow rate of the drains shouldn't matter unless they are maxed out. In other words if he's only returning 1500-2000gph from his sump, his tank shouldn't overflow faster. On the other hand it is possible for his drain to not be able to keep up. With all that said, if that chart is right he will be fine either way. By the way ragin, that's a useful chart if its correct
 
Just to note, those numbers seem quite high. Here is another chart that contains gravity fed max flow rates that are quoted lower than that chart. However it still quotes a 2" at 2350gph, so my original guess that one 2" pipe may not be enough is wrong. However again, I still would separate them. This would also provide protection in case one became clogged.
 
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