400+ gallon plumbing questions

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I was just claryfying - obviously a misinterpretation could be devastating if you were to supply the wrong information to someone.

Your sketch would work fine then - depends on the distance between the 2" and 1.5" but i think the 2" could handle it all, i have 3 x 2" drains and 5K GPH, the third one is slightly higher and so the two manage the flow.

They could definately do more
 
bonesb66 said:
I was just claryfying - obviously a misinterpretation could be devastating if you were to supply the wrong information to someone.

Your sketch would work fine then - depends on the distance between the 2" and 1.5" but i think the 2" could handle it all, i have 3 x 2" drains and 5K GPH, the third one is slightly higher and so the two manage the flow.

They could definately do more
Click to expand...

I agree, after seeing that last link I posted.
 
Psylant said:
Thanks for the advice. While I do agree with you, the cost of doing so is my issue. It really pisses me off that I can find the 4280 for $175 in the USA and it's $343.99 in Canada. It's $263.99 for the 2400 model. If I could get two for the price you guys can, I would in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...

Whoops, I forgot you mentioned how much more expensive they are in Canada. Almost double?! That is brutal!
 
It is indeed. I could save some money using a company that allows me to order it, ships it to their facility in Oregon, and then ships it to me. I might do that... but I'm a little wary of the idea.
 
I now have the tank and am starting to plumb it. I realized that the returns are below the water's surface about 4-5". I could get a check valve but I understand that this will slow the flow rate and possibly be noisy as well. So there are two 1" returns that are about 5" below the surface. Would I be able to drill a small hole in the return pipes (inside the tank) and silicon some airline tubing in there, and have it poke out of the surface of the water? Would this work to prevent a back siphon if the power were to fail or would I need a larger hole? The return from the pump is 1.5" and splits into two 1" bulkheads.
 
Can you post pix of the tower and the top of the tank?

Have you considered not using the holes?

I know it would look cleaner if you plumb the returns up the back of the tank, into the overflow tower and out the two 1" holes, but I would be nervous about using a check valve or the contraption you mention. They might work, but if they don't you are going to have a lot of water on the floor. Five inches of water out of a tank that size is a lot.

Another option would be to plumb an elbow right off of the return holes in the overflow tower in order to bring them closer to the water's surface. I think plugging them and just dropping the returns discreetly into a corner may look cleanest, but without seeing pix it's hard to say what would look best.

If you don't like the idea of just plugging the holes in the overflow box rendering them useless, you could run a canister filter on it (since you have two holes it would be perfect....one inlet to the filer and one return).
 
I think what I may do is on the inside of the tank I'll get a male threaded elbow and go up 90 degrees, then 90 back horizontal... Not pretty but it will work and raise it up a few inches. I ahve some black Krlyon I could use to "disguise" it a little better. I wish I could get some of that locline stuff in 1"
 
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