Bean animal bulkhead size drainage help

[arowana718]

Hello all,

270 gallon tank with 28 inch internal overflows.

I have three (3) drilled bulkheads that is ONE (1) inch only.

Is the primary drain 1 inch even big enough to handle the drainage?

My plan is to have all drainage at 1-1/4 inch pipe reduced to 1 inch right before bulkhead.

 

[MartyK]

What flow rate the 1-inch pipe can handle is entirely dependent on the difference in the water levels between the overflow and the sump, and the pipe head loss between the two spots to some extent.

If you're asking whether the 1-inch pipe can handle 5x turnover on a 270 gallon tank with some arbitrary head loss and water level difference then yes, it can. Full siphon should handle that no problem so long as there's minimal head loss and the water level's are at least 24 inches apart.

 

[Ef4life]

You can always drill the holes larger if there is enough room to fit the larger bulkhead fittings.

 

[arowana718]

What flow rate the 1-inch pipe can handle is entirely dependent on the difference in the water levels between the overflow and the sump, and the pipe head loss between the two spots to some extent.

If you're asking whether the 1-inch pipe can handle 5x turnover on a 270 gallon tank with some arbitrary head loss and water level difference then yes, it can. Full siphon should handle that no problem so long as there's minimal head loss and the water level's are at least 24 inches apart.

My internal overflow is pretty big. This was the old setup from previous owner. Had three dursos and two spray bars within the internal overflow. All the drains were 1.125 reduced 1 inch right before bulkhead

 

[arowana718]

You can always drill the holes larger if there is enough room to fit the larger bulkhead fittings.

No thanks to that

 

[italquam]

Any idea why the old owner had three dursos? Also I would say have one emergency drain

 

[Bruttall]

3x 1inch bulk heads to drain a 270g is more than enough, I have 2x 1.5inch drains on a 300 that reduce to 1inch under the tank, 3100gph return and primary return handles 95% of my flow, thru full siphon. The secondary overflow is Emergency drain and usually has barely a trickle running thru it, just enough so I know at a glance it is flowing and not plugged.

 

[italquam]

3x 1inch bulk heads to drain a 270g is more than enough, I have 2x 1.5inch drains on a 300 that reduce to 1inch under the tank, 3100gph return and primary return handles 95% of my flow, thru full siphon. The secondary overflow is Emergency drain and usually has barely a trickle running thru it, just enough so I know at a glance it is flowing and not plugged.

Do you have any pictures of the overflow setup by any chance?

Is your overflow internal or external?

 

[Bruttall]

Internal DIY standpipe, 4inch outer silencer pipe reduces into 1.5 inch bulkhead thru the bottom of the tank.
I custom fabricated the inside so the 1.5 inch pipe is only about 8 inches below the top of the stand pipe, creating a stagnant area. I wonder what is growing in there sometimes. Water does not fall very far at all and with the gate valve pictured later, I can raise that level in the stand pipe to silence the noise almost completely.



I have a rather unique sump system setup, it's in my build thread.


The primary drain reduces to a 1inch bulkhead to enter the bottom of the right hand side of that tank, the secondary drain goes into that tank on the left hand side and then across the top inside to the right side where it drains into sump.

Picture shows the 1.5 inch primary drain and gate Valve used to maintain Full Siphon.


My fish room is a Work In progress. Seems I am always coming up with something else I can make to help.