180 Gallon with two corner overflows; herbie drain in one overflow; emergency drain and return line in the other overflow?

[tmcd94]

Setting up a 180 gallon that has two corner overflows, each with two holes cut per overflow. Each overflow has a 2" and 3" hole cut. Ideally I would be able to set up dual herbie drains in each over flow and route the return line to behind and above the tank, but the wall trim and canopy impede running a return line above the tank trim.

I am considering utilizing only one overflow to accommodate the herbie style set up, with a full siphon and the semi-wet secondary drain, in one over flow. Then the second overflow I will use the 2" hole to run the return line, and set up the 3" line as a completely dry emergency line. I know that the return/emergency overflow will not function as a skimmer and the actual water in the overflow has the potential to stagnate, but I can alleviate this by drilling small holes in the return line standpipe to get some circulation.

The other option I was considering is running a durso drain in each overflow, and the other hole will be used for a return line from each overflow. I like to keep my sump flow very low so I dont think this will cause alot of noise, but I am then missing out on an emergency drain.

Any opinions on if the designated return/emergency drain overflow will work out would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Terry

 

[tmcd94]

Bump

 

[TehBrainz]

I'm in this same situation with my new 210 tank.

What did you end up doing??

 

[tmcd94]

I'm in this same situation with my new 210 tank.

What did you end up doing??

I ended up just going with the dual durso drains. The tank is custom so the bulkhead holes are a little large so I went with the 1.5" drain and 1" return line. I'm currently only running about 650-700 gph through my return pump. Setup has been very quiet. My protein skimmer has been the loudest part so far.

I personally don't see an issue with having the emergency drain partnered with the return line in one overflow, other than the surface skimming will be restricted to one side of the tank, and the overflow box without a constant drain will have decreased circulation of water in the overflow box. But that could be mitigated by drilling small holes into the return PVC, but then when you turn your pump off it will drain that overflow box to the lowest drill hole in the return line. Ultimately not sure how it will play out. I opted to go with the symmetric dual durso and dual return lines