1.25 inch return?!?

[BZOFIQ]

Is anyone else seeing this as bizarre?

I mean, 1.25 seems fairly common. So, you could have a manufacturer (like friggin' Reef Octopus who makes the danged 1.25-inch return pumps) have a simple 1.25-inch return jet.

OR, you could have, "I run a 1.25-inch silicon tubing into a 1.25-inch pipe, up to the top of my tank, where I then have more plumbing parts than for the rest of my tank. I have the 1.25-inch split with a 1-inch T, then from each end of the 1-inch T it then splits into two 3/4-inch T's (4 total), which each have a 3/4-inch outlet into my tank. Unfortunately, that means that my screen top project required 328 right angles for all of the various openings, and unfortunately my tank is shaded by all of the pipes running into the backside of my tank, but the FLOW!"

I really don't want the Flying Spaghetti Monster of pipes to allow me to effectively use a simple 1.25-inch pipe from my return.

Are you feeding anything else outside the return? do you have reactors/uv/anything else being fed from the pump or is it pump straight to the tank?

 

[KenRexford]

Are you feeding anything else outside the return? do you have reactors/uv/anything else being fed from the pump or is it pump straight to the tank?

Straight to the tank.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Keep in mind that most DC pumps don't like to be 'choked' because most are not pressure rated.

If the pump manufacturer says output is 1.25" keep it that way.



VCA does carry penductors in every common size needed

https://vividcreativeaquatics.com/product-category/random-flow-generator-nozzles/

 

[BZOFIQ]

Straight to the tank.

Go from 1-1/4 to 2 x 1", use 2 x 1" penductors to finish it off.

Come up the middle of the tank and over the rim and use this

https://flexpvc.com/cart/agora.cgi?p=PVC-Fittings-Wyes-TrueWye&p_id=413-4100-3&xm=on&ppinc=detail
then install reducer bushing from 1-1/4 to 1" and bring it under the water surface with a combination of 45-degree elbows.

 

[KenRexford]

Update: Pipe size makes a HUGE difference. I had a 1-inch flex tube coming from the Varios 6. At 100% flow, I had to dial back the Herbie setup on my CS-202 overflow ridiculously. Defeated the purpose of the 0-10v control.
So, I redid the plumbing today to 1.25 inch rigid pvc. The outlet is a 1.25 random flow generator that I had to order direct from VCA. Now, I have the valve on the Herbie wide open. The Varios 6 is set at exactly 54% and the overflow is silent. Exactly what I envisioned. Maximum flow for the Herbie design, controlled primarily with the 0-10v so that I get exactly the flow that I need. Beautiful!
That’s one amazing difference from pipe size!

 

[BZOFIQ]

Update: Pipe size makes a HUGE difference. I had a 1-inch flex tube coming from the Varios 6. At 100% flow, I had to dial back the Herbie setup on my CS-202 overflow ridiculously. Defeated the purpose of the 0-10v control.
So, I redid the plumbing today to 1.25 inch rigid pvc. The outlet is a 1.25 random flow generator that I had to order direct from VCA. Now, I have the valve on the Herbie wide open. The Varios 6 is set at exactly 54% and the overflow is silent. Exactly what I envisioned. Maximum flow for the Herbie design, controlled primarily with the 0-10v so that I get exactly the flow that I need. Beautiful!
That’s one amazing difference from pipe size!

told you so!

 

[KenRexford]

told you so!

The 1.25 RFG allowed me to have 1.25 pipe the entire length. Thanks for the tip!

 

[outhouse]

Weird. The Varios 6, for example, seems to ideally have 1.25 inch inner diameter plumbing for the least flow restriction to maximize the flow capacity. Surely other pumps do likewise. However, once you run the plumbing up to the tank, you want something nice to end the plumbing, like a return jet or something. However, I can’t find anything at the end, except the sea swirl, that caters to 1.25 plumbing. Reducing seems like a dumb solution. I don’t want to reduce at the end and defeat somewhat the purpose of the larger pipes. Does no one make 1.25 inch returns?!?

I run that size pipe from my basement pump, into a Y into two 1" pvc pipes melted to make bends for great flow, before going into my two 3/4 returns. so key is using two returns