Bean Animal Plumbing on a 240 Gal Tank

[mmotown]

Hello guys! I am about to start setting up my 240 gal tank that's been sitting in my living room for months now. I currently have a 150 gal. The 240 has two overflow boxes with two returns and two drains each for a total of 4 holes under the tank for each box. It was suggested to me to do the bean animal overflow. My questions are as follows...

1. Would I have to cut out the existing overflow boxes?
2. Could I do a bean animal within my overflow boxes and still make it quiet ?
3. Does anyone reading this live in Dallas?

 

[Reefer5640]

Yeah you can use the existing boxes for a bean animal in each box. It’ll still be quite regardless of if it’s a box drilled through the back or stack drilled through the bottom. I prefer the bottom drilled overflows so you can push the tank up against the wall.

 

[mmotown]

That was going to be my next statement. I have to push my tank against the wall and using my existing overflows would make that possible. In my 150 I have regular dursos. It's still fairly quite but what would be the advantage of durso's over the bean animal?

 

[Reefer5640]

In my opinion there isn’t an advantage. The bean was designed after the Durso to make the concept better. Technically you have a Durso and a herbi in a bean animal. And you have an emergency drain pipe which the Durso does not

 

[Reefer5640]

With a bean you pretty much have a herbi which is full siphon drain fully submerged which you accomplish with a valve on that drain line by applying back pressure until the drain is fully submerged but still keeping up with the return pump. Where it’s different than the herbi is you slowly close that valve until the water level rises up to the second drain pipe (which is the Durso). Then it’s just finding the right balance between the two drain lines. The third drain line is left higher than the Durso but lower than the top of the weir as an emergency back up Incase the first two drains fail

 

[Reefer5640]

By the way. I’ve found a multi turn valve/gate valve is much better for tuning the drain flow than a ball valve. Ball valves tend to be harder to find that sweet spot in my opinion. Harder for fine adjustments which is usually what you need to get it dialed in

 

[mmotown]

Reefer everything you told me was confirmed but another hobbyist today. This is the route I am going and I appreciate the feedback. I will go with the gate valve for the drain instead off a ball valve.

 

[Gablami]

Herbie is a much better overflow than durso. The jump from herbie to bean animal is much smaller. Many many tanks do just fine with herbie (like all the Reefer tanks). A herbie is just as quiet as a bean overflow. The bean overflow has only a small increase in safety compared to herbie with its additional emergency pipe that is not in use, unlike the herbie.

If your return lines are large enough diameter for your flow and you can make due with 2, then sure, go with bean animal each side. If not, then stick with herbie.

 

[Reefer5640]

Herbie is a much better overflow than durso. The jump from herbie to bean animal is much smaller. Many many tanks do just fine with herbie (like all the Reefer tanks). A herbie is just as quiet as a bean overflow. The bean overflow has only a small increase in safety compared to herbie with its additional emergency pipe that is not in use, unlike the herbie.

If your return lines are large enough diameter for your flow and you can make due with 2, then sure, go with bean animal each side. If not, then stick with herbie.

I agree with this. If you have 4 holes on each side then another option would be to run dual return lines and have redundant return pumps. That way you still have dual herbies with dual emergency drains. The chances of loosing flow to the DT or the sump are pretty slim.