Bean Animal pipe size

OCJoeR

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My tank has been up for several years. It's just a 55 gallon tank that, at this point, has just one lonely clown fish in it. I built it with a Bean Animal system with a 39 gallon sump. I've put in the best photo I have of what the system looks like. I used 1 1/2" PVC for the system. However, it wasn't until everything was put together I realized that the bulkheads I used were 1" inside diameter. As I said, it's been running for several years and I haven't really had much trouble with it.



Tank 4.jpg









Last week, after doing a water change, I noticed the system was working very slowly. I had to slow down the pump to somewhere around 45% capacity or else it would overflow into the emergency line. I started trying to adjust the valve on the full siphon line and as I was pushing to open it I tweaked the bulkhead and it sprang a leak. So I drained it below the overflow box and started taking everything apart. I've got all the drain lines and bulkheads off and am thinking about what I need to put it all back together.

My primary question is if the bulkheads only have a 1 inch inside diameter, does it matter if the rest of the system is 1 1/2"? The water can only go through as fast as the 1" opening can take. I was thinking about re-plumbing it with 1" pipe. Any ideas or suggestions?

Joe
 

Fish Fan

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@BeanAnimal was on the forum just this evening, maybe he'll have a minute to pop in here and help you out 🙂
 

BeanAnimal

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Not sure what your flow is, but 1.5" is a bit large. It will work, it is just not needed. 1.25" is what I typically use with 1" bulkheads. Lower flow systems can easily get away with 1" pipe, especially for the siphon. The model system was built with 1.25" pipe and valves.
 
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OCJoeR

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Not sure what your flow is, but 1.5" is a bit large. It will work, it is just not needed. 1.25" is what I typically use with 1" bulkheads. Lower flow systems can easily get away with 1" pipe, especially for the siphon. The model system was built with 1.25" pipe and valves.
Thank you for getting back to me.

If the bulkheads I have on now only have a 1" threaded opening does it matter what size the rest of the drain piping is?
 

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