Need some ideas how to plumb 500gal
- Thread starter Lucas&kim
- Start date
Use the holes on the floor of the tank for a close loop system. Then you don't have to have all the flow going through the sump.
If you are using substrate then i would cap the 4 in the tank and use the 4 in the overflow for drain and return or u can use all 4 for drain and hook the returns on the back depending on your pump size.......
If your are going bare bottom i would use it has a loop and use the 4 in the over flow as a drain and use the 4 in the tank as the returns
If your are going bare bottom i would use it has a loop and use the 4 in the over flow as a drain and use the 4 in the tank as the returns
I will be using sand as a substrate. And I'm will be using 1 135gal sump for the filtration. If I cap the 4 holes in the display I'm afraid I won't be able to get a enough circulation through the overflow alone. I wanted to avoid the herbie or bean animal overflow setups do to the maintenance. Trying to get away with just a gravity drain. My original idea was to use the overflow as the drain and use the for in the tank as returns. The problem with this is I would only be able to get 1800gph max using gravity drain. Most people would say that's not enough. BTW this is a freshwater tank and will be setup for 270 degree viewing. And I will have alot of sandsifting cichlids
If the overflow isnt going to be enough for a gravity you could use 2 of the 4 holes as overflows as well with pvc up to the top. The pvc would be visible but you could try to cover most of it up with plants/rocks/driftwood
Okay. So If I use the overflow for the drain and return I would only get 1200gph through the sump. And then if I used closed loop for the holes in the tank that completely bypasses my filtration which in this case doesn't help much except for water circulation.
I like your idea. Thats pretty much what it has came down to. To get the flow I need via gravity drain. Thank you for your help. Curious how many times do you think my turnover rate should be?
So if your oveflow drains are 4.....1 inch and 2.....3/4 inch.......that is a gravity drain of about 3200 gph
Personally i would want a higher turn over rate so i would use 7 out of the 8 as gravity drains and put some sort of corner or T fitting to spread the water out in diff directions
With 7 drains your looking at roughly 3800 gph...
Thats about 7.5 turnover rate roughly which i think should work well....most people say 5-10 turnover rate.....i prefer 7-10x
Personally i would want a higher turn over rate so i would use 7 out of the 8 as gravity drains and put some sort of corner or T fitting to spread the water out in diff directions
With 7 drains your looking at roughly 3800 gph...
Thats about 7.5 turnover rate roughly which i think should work well....most people say 5-10 turnover rate.....i prefer 7-10x
Ok, here's what I think will work, as long as you don't mind having some plumbing in the tank, coming up from the four holes in the display area. You can always try to hide them with strategically placed decor and plants.
Use all four of the holes in the overflow box as drains to the sump. Then, in the display area, use two of the holes as returns. You can do this by plumbing a standpipe up towards the surface and then plumbing in a return or elbow of some sort to direct the water, so it won't flow straight up. Then use the other two holes in the display area as additional drains into the sump. Just paint the plumbing that will be in the display area black and it should look pretty nice. If my calculations are correct, this will give you a max gravity drain flow of 3,200gph, which should be plenty for that tank.
Only other advice I think could be an option would be to enlarge some of the holes, if possible, to allow more flow.
Use all four of the holes in the overflow box as drains to the sump. Then, in the display area, use two of the holes as returns. You can do this by plumbing a standpipe up towards the surface and then plumbing in a return or elbow of some sort to direct the water, so it won't flow straight up. Then use the other two holes in the display area as additional drains into the sump. Just paint the plumbing that will be in the display area black and it should look pretty nice. If my calculations are correct, this will give you a max gravity drain flow of 3,200gph, which should be plenty for that tank.
Only other advice I think could be an option would be to enlarge some of the holes, if possible, to allow more flow.
