From Durso To Herbie

cromag27 · Dec 4, 2016

See my post right above yours.

flyingfish · Dec 4, 2016

Hi, yes i saw the other post. But mine are 1" and 1/2" thanks

cromag27 · Dec 4, 2016

Still applies. 1" and 1.5".

flyingfish · Dec 4, 2016

Ok so the .5" is the main drain and the 1" is the em.

cromag27 · Dec 4, 2016

No. you need 1" and 1.5" to run a proper Herbie. sometimes larger on tanks that are over 200 gallons. using plumbing smaller than the minimum recommended will most likely end up in a disaster.

flyingfish said:
Ok so the .5" is the main drain and the 1" is the em.

flyingfish · Dec 4, 2016

Thanks for the clarification! I will stick with my durso for now then. Hope i can make it quiet. Really appreciate the info

Wavemode · Dec 4, 2016

flyingfish said:
Sorry if i am hijacking this thread..i am doing plumbing today. I have a 1" and a 1/2" to use as drain holes. I have a 1/2" planned for a return going up the back for my 1200GPH aqua mag pump. My tank is a 90 with a 30g.sump. Should i use the 1/2" for the main drain? Is 1/2" ok for the return? I have a ball valve to allow flow back to the sump off my return if i need it. Thanks! I may just stick with the durso as Lance did...if my setup gets too confusing.

There's no hijacking going on here. We're all here to help each other any way we can. A couple things I see here. I don't think you want a valve on a Durso drain. It's my understanding that it's not safe to slow down the Durso drain. Only the Herbie should do this as it has an emergency drain for safety. Instead, put your valve on the return on the output side of the pump. I have a sicce 4.0 935 gph return that I had to tune all the way down to about 350 gph before my Durso went silent. I too have a 1 inch drain and half inch return. My tank is a 50 gal cube with a 16 gal sump. My sump has a skimmer, live rock, and chaeto so I want slower flow anyway. It's also my understanding that flow in a sump shouldn't be as high as flow in the tank. Mine is about 1/3 of the currents in my tank. If you switch over to Herbie then you want a 3/4 inch return. This is sufficient since your main drain would be the 1/2 inch. I assume you don't want to drill
Your holes bigger. I couldn't do that as I already have fish in the tank. A 1/2 inch drain can only flow somewhere around 450 gph max or close to that anyway. Hence the need for a valve on the return line.

flyingfish · Dec 4, 2016

Sounds like you have learned alot here too, thanks! The tank is empty right now. I am not going to drill it myself, and do not know anyone who could. That would be ideal for sure. I was told by the people i got my tank from to close down the drain a little with the valve on my durso drain to make it quiet. ?

Wavemode · Dec 4, 2016

flyingfish said:
Sounds like you have learned alot here too, thanks! The tank is empty right now. I am not going to drill it myself, and do not know anyone who could. That would be ideal for sure. I was told by the people i got my tank from to close down the drain a little with the valve on my durso drain to make it quiet. ?

If you restrict the flow on your one and only drain then there is no wiggle room for fluctuation. I extended my drain line so it's underwater about 1/2 inch inside the filter sock in my sump. Then I tuned the return pump so the water level on my Durso was in between the drain and the air hole. Now I can hardly hear my tank running.

flyingfish · Dec 4, 2016

Yes, i agree. I will try that. I had my drain line underwater in the sock once, but it kept burping. I will try relieving some of the flow from the return to run something else and throw my gyre back in for flow if theres and issue with that. Will let u know-thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!

flyingfish · Dec 4, 2016

How big is the hole in your durso?

flyingfish · Dec 4, 2016

And did you put a air hose in the hole?

Wavemode · Dec 4, 2016

I do not have an airline in the to of my Durso. I'm planning on adding one with a valve in it and possibly a filter. This would give further noise reduction and adjustability IMO.