Im chasing help with plumbing my tank. Any help would be great :)

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Timcyn7

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 17, 2013
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My first thread :D
Please check out my drawing.... http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae151/timcyn7/tank_zpsf68157a1.jpg

I know there is so much info on the net about this, but its so confusing and conflicting. I thought i would just ask straight up with what i need for my tank.
Im in the process of getting my overflow and holes drilled in my 6x2x2, 180 gal tank. I was asked where i wanted the holes and how many and also what size.
Im pretty sure ill go for twin built in weirs in each back corner. Each weir will have a durso stand pipe and also just a straight open pipe a few mm above the durso to take the flow incase of emergancy blockage in the main standpipes. So 4 holes all up. I like to have backups.
My return pump will be either 3500lph or if i can find one in stock a 4500lph.
My questions are:
Is the setup in the drawing ideal?
What size drain should i run? 1 inch?, 1.5 inch?

I was told that a single 1 inch drain would be ok? I cant see that being able to handle 4500lph? but im the newbie here lol so who am i to question something i know nothing about.
Thanks :D
 
Quietest and safest would be a herbie pipe setup with 3 holes in each side but honestly kinda overkill. All my tanks have had one drain in each corner and take work to get relatively quiet. There isn't any one way to do it, but herbie seems to be the safest and most quiet. Quick google search will turn up loads of info. Im not positive about sizing, but shouldn't be too tough to find, I wanna say 2 1" drains at full siphon will be plenty but u may want to double check
 
I agree that a Herbie/Bean Animal would be the best bet. I personally prefer one overflow at one end and the return at the otehr so you can have more of a constant left-right flow, but thats up to you. There is a thread in the DIY Filters forum that has flow rates for different pipe sizes. Always budget on having more than you need, I have two 50mm drains on my tank which is nearly double what I need for my 8500-9000LPH flow. Check the thread for exact numbers, but a 1" drain will certainly not handle 4500LPH!
 
I'd recommend doing bean animal overflow.I'm running them on my setups and they are absolutely silent. My 1-1/2 will handle over 8300lph. 3 drain holes and 1 return. I use a custom overflow box with the set up.

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Cheers thank you for the replies. Well yes after checking out the herbie/bean overflow i think ill ditch the durso. Ill check out the pipe flow chart and TRY (lol) to work out what i should go for. Since the drain on the herbie has a valve to change the flow, would it be safe to say i could go a bit bigger with the bulkhead and if its too fast, just adjust the valve? I was thinking about going a 1 1/4'' or 1.5'' bulkhead/plumbing?
 
You certainly want to err towards having the drains/bulkheads too big. If each drain is capable of handling the flow from your pump then you will only need to close the ball valve slightly to get it running at full siphon and then the other will only have a trickle running down it, which should be narly silent.
 
Thanks David. I have 2 more questions lol.
If my drain is 1 1/4, should I have my return at 1 inch?
And should I get the bottom or back drilled for the overflow ?

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Timcyn7 said:
Thanks David. I have 2 more questions lol.
If my drain is 1 1/4, should I have my return at 1 inch?
And should I get the bottom or back drilled for the overflow ?

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Click to expand...

David might have different advice. I always like to go more overkill/bigger and use ways to give myself more control to turn it down some if needed.

But you would get the back drilled for the overflow or it doesnt work right. 1-1/4 should work good, I'd go 1-1/2. Then use the largest return your pump can do to maximize its output for the head hight you will have for your pump. You can always have the use of valves to control output if you want. I run a laguna 2000 on my 125 gallon tanks with 1-1/2 drains and 1" returns. I didn't hard plumb the return from the pump. Just used quality black vinyl hose and clamps. Its easier as well as doesn't suck a ton of your flow from bends and such.

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I'm not an expert on sizing the returns vs flow, but bigger is better if you want more flow. 3500LPH you'd probably be alright with 1", but if you go for the larger 4500LPH pump you mentioned then you might want something bigger.

As for drilling the tank, do it how ever best suits your set up. Straight thru the base of the tank is cool if your sump is directly below and you can make it work with your stand, otherwise out the back or end, depending on where the tank will sit.
 
David R said:
I'm not an expert on sizing the returns vs flow, but bigger is better if you want more flow. 3500LPH you'd probably be alright with 1", but if you go for the larger 4500LPH pump you mentioned then you might want something bigger.

As for drilling the tank, do it how ever best suits your set up. Straight thru the base of the tank is cool if your sump is directly below and you can make it work with your stand, otherwise out the back or end, depending on where the tank will sit.
Click to expand...

Reading on the bean animal post at reef central I believe they discuss that a bean animal set up has to be run out the back/end of the tank to work correctly. Not the bottom. Just what I remember reading I believe.

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