Help sizing pump for 135g

[elting44]

Good afternoon MFK

I am needing some assistance sizing a pump and with general plumbing questions, I read the sticky but still have some questions in determining the amount of total head loss I will be getting.

My tank will be a 135g with a 55g sump. I would like to turn the water over 6 to 9 times per hour.

The 135 is a Oceanic with dual overflows. The drains are both 1" and the returns are 3/4". My plan is to have both drains to connect to clear flexible PVC tubing and meet at a 1" T with a ball valve and union and drain into the sump.

The return will be a with a union and a ball valve below a T that will split the returns to flexible clear PVC and back to the returns that have 90 degree elbows and LocLines.

My questions:

Am I missing something? If the vertical height is roughly 5', and the horizontal run is about 5 feet, and i will have 1 ball valve, 1 union and 2 90 degree elbows, and 4 barbed fittings, my total head feet is roughly 12'?

When connecting clear tubing to sched 40 PVC, is the preferred method barbed fittings and clamps?

When connecting sched 40 PVC to the bulk heads, do I use the purple primer and PVC sealant? Where else is it best practice to use primer and sealant?

Thanks in advance for the help and I apologize for my ignorance, the 135 is my first biggish tank and first foray into sumps, my experience has been HoBs and Canisters up to this point

 

[NathanKS]

I wouldn't T the drains, youll limit the flow unnecessarily.

head height will be closer to 5, you don't include the horizontal run, unions, barbed fittings or ball valve. my general rule of thumb is the height from the top of the water in the sump to the tank outlet plus ~1' per 90.

Both?
I use a nylon barbed fitting and then a SS pipe clamp to secure it to the barbed fitting. that way its secure but can still be taken apart if needed.

What is the bulkhead made of?
I use transition cement (green) if they are ABS and heavy duty cement if everything is PVC.

I use PVC primer on every pvc connection I do, it is required to get the chemical reaction working properly with most glues.

Enjoy your new big tank!

 

[elting44]

Thanks for the reply. So I will have 2 drains going into the sump and the one return that splits into two. That makes sense.

I was under the impression that barbed fittings, elbows, unions and ball valves all restrict flow and in the case of returns add "virtual" height. Is that only when considering drain flow?

The bulk heads are ABS.

Any particular reason to use nylon rather than PVC? Do you still use primer and sealant when connecting pvc to nylon? Or the transition cement?

 

[TexasMFK31]

PVC cement is enough on a open loop system as the pressure isn't enough. I agree with keeping both drains separate. If possible, I would do 2 separate returns as well, but that's my personal preference given your situation. Look at the Herbie style overflow given 2 outlets, using a gate valve to siphon on 1 drain and the other as a backup/emergency drain. This will reduce noise and it sucks to go back (speaking from experience).

 

[elting44]

PVC cement is enough on a open loop system as the pressure isn't enough. I agree with keeping both drains separate. If possible, I would do 2 separate returns as well, but that's my personal preference given your situation. Look at the Herbie style overflow given 2 outlets, using a gate valve to siphon on 1 drain and the other as a backup/emergency drain. This will reduce noise and it sucks to go back (speaking from experience).

I am using 2 durso standpipes for the drains, but I will look into the Herbie drains. When you say 2 separate returns, do you mean 2 separate return pumps from my sump?

 

[TexasMFK31]

You can utilize the Durso and Herbie in the same design. The difference i had was putting the gate valve one 1 drain. This made my system MUCH quieter. Yes, 2 separate pumps for the returns would be my route. I wish I'd done it with my big tank as the return one 1 pump is a bit much I think for the fish.

 

[narayanang76]

Do consider Herbie overflow system, that makes your tank running almost silently. Have 2 separate drains to the sump (don't join them). 1 drain pipe with ball valve to function as main suction drain. Given your requirement, try to go with any good-silent sump pump that claims around 500-800 Gallons per hour (preferably with a flow control valve).

In such an overflow system drain flow can be controlled with the ball valve, and flow from the sump pump can also be controlled.

 

[elting44]

In order for one to have a Herbie setup, I assume both the short primary drain and taller emergency drain need to be in the same overflow box? My tank is drilled for a 3/4" and 1" in each of the corner overflows.
If I lower one of the durso standpipes than the water level in that overflow would be lower than the other, so the taller standpipes will still drain as the water level in its overflow rises correct?

Again thanks for the help, I'm trying to visualize how this works.

 

[elting44]

Hopefully this will help explain my thoughts. Since I have 2 overflow boxes, the water level in the one with the short drain pipe (right side) is independent of the other overflow, which will have a water level based on the height of the durso (left side). With this being the case, the short drain will not be submerged and will be noisy.

Restricting the ball valve on the short drain wont allow me to reach a point where it is full submerged and draining quietly, while the left overflow box is gently draining down the durso, correct?

 

[TexasMFK31]

I missed the whole thing about dual overflows, damn you whiskey! Given this, and I haven't ever tried it here are my thoughts. Run 2 separate Durso stands (like the left of your image). 1" drain, I went up to 1-1/4" for the standpipe and reduced down to create a natural bottleneck. I don't know if this is that helpful, but I had read a couple people doing this with good results. Then run your pipe the rest of the way to the sump entrance. What I would try, would be to have your entrance in the middle of the 55G then bio on either side, and a pump on each end of the tank. This way the return length of your pump piping is limited, and you can "shutdown" half the tank should the need arise but closing the overfill valve and turning off that pump. Also would have a backup should a pump fail. Others may correct me in this philosophy though.