Best way to plumb 3 return jets with one pump?

[MoshJosh]

Really the idea would be 3 tanks with one sump and one return pump. Best way to plumb this?

 

[lapin]

Trying to balance out 3 overflows might be a nightmare.

 

[FUNGI]

you would need a several flow controls valves..kinda like these loclines

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

This is easy if all of the tanks have a single drain. It gets hard if you want all 3 tanks to have a herbie or bean animal drain. For store systems and aquaculture this is pretty common.

Run 3 drains into the sump one from each tank and build a manifold onto your return pump. Run 3 return lines to each tank connected to the manifold and place a ball valve on each line. In most cases, I use the Inline Locline Valves.
https://www.marineandreef.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=RLL69556
Keeping the valve by the tank will let you balance the flow. Water will always travel the path of least resistance so the return with the shortest run will get most of the flow. Simply close down the closest return and then close the second a little less to make sure that an appropriate amount of flow is getting to the farthest tank.

It is nice to have the valves by the tank rather than by the sump so you don't have to squat down by the sump to rebalance the system.

 

[MoshJosh]

Trying to balance out 3 overflows might be a nightmare.

You plan is to be super utilitarian with oversized bulkheads and strainers in all three tanks, will be noisy but should mean I don’t have to do any balancing.

 

[twentyleagues]

This is not that hard. I had 4 "tanks" I ran off of one reefflo hammerhead pump in my last reef life. I say "tanks" because I had 2 tanks upstairs a set of 2 300g stock tanks and a wall of 5 20g and 20 10g tanks for breeding clownfish. I used gate valves near the tanks. On the wall it got a little more tricky. The other tanks a 90g and a 75g display fuge were run off the returns from upstairs. Both tanks upstairs had dual overflows with 2 1" pipe in each emergency and full syphon so herbies.