Tank size is 180g
How big should I go for the drain line? I want to be able to drain the tank quickly.
What is commonly used?
How big should I go for the drain line? I want to be able to drain the tank quickly.
What is commonly used?
What size bulkhead is ideal for a drain line?
- Thread starter philipraposo1982
- Start date
Are you talking about adding a drain line so that you can drain the tank for water changes, or to drain down to the sump?
I have 2, one inch drains to the sump on the 180 gal I have now (they were already there when purchased the tank). They are working fine so far, for the species I have now .
If I had drilled it myself, I would have used a drill bit large enough to use 1'5" or 2" pipe size PVC bulkheads.
The larger the hole, the less chance of it getting plugged up with debris, a dead fish, or whatever...... and with a larger drain, I'm not limited to how much pumpage the holes will take.
I suppose it depends on the fish you keep. For riverine, and rheophillic species (my favorites)a strong flow may be required, so larger openings needed, if there are fish that require more placed waters, not so much.
Below a 1.5 " drain getting plugged when a couple cichlids decided to spawn, and ripped up the plants in the tank.
If I'd have had a smaller drain, I might have woken to water on the floor.
When I want to totally drain a tank quickly, I just switch the pump from the sump, to the tank, and pump the water outside.
If I had drilled it myself, I would have used a drill bit large enough to use 1'5" or 2" pipe size PVC bulkheads.
The larger the hole, the less chance of it getting plugged up with debris, a dead fish, or whatever...... and with a larger drain, I'm not limited to how much pumpage the holes will take.
I suppose it depends on the fish you keep. For riverine, and rheophillic species (my favorites)a strong flow may be required, so larger openings needed, if there are fish that require more placed waters, not so much.
Below a 1.5 " drain getting plugged when a couple cichlids decided to spawn, and ripped up the plants in the tank.
If I'd have had a smaller drain, I might have woken to water on the floor.
When I want to totally drain a tank quickly, I just switch the pump from the sump, to the tank, and pump the water outside.
Figure out what gph you want to be at and what method your going to use. Gravity fed or full siphon. You can move allot more water by utilizing a gate valve and running full siphon.
But more importantly is the emergency drain size. If the e drain isnt sized to handle the full flow then its worthless.
This chart is a rough estimate of what to expect. The gate restricts flow, purges air and moves more water than a gravity fed line. Say you want to be at 10x turnover You could do a 1 inch drain and dial the gate back. Id over size the e drain if it were me and go with 2 inches. You could even do a 1.5 inch drain just to leave room for error.
I have a 300 gal with 2 1.5 inch drains tee'd to a single gate and its barley opened. In all honesty i could have probably gotten away with 2x 1 inch drains but wanted to leave room for error
But more importantly is the emergency drain size. If the e drain isnt sized to handle the full flow then its worthless.
This chart is a rough estimate of what to expect. The gate restricts flow, purges air and moves more water than a gravity fed line. Say you want to be at 10x turnover You could do a 1 inch drain and dial the gate back. Id over size the e drain if it were me and go with 2 inches. You could even do a 1.5 inch drain just to leave room for error.
I have a 300 gal with 2 1.5 inch drains tee'd to a single gate and its barley opened. In all honesty i could have probably gotten away with 2x 1 inch drains but wanted to leave room for error