Help Planning Overflow, Returns, and Return Pump

ReefDreamz

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Hi. I am planning a ~150 gallon display with basement sump. The current plan is 2x 1.5" drain holes in an external overflow box and 2x 1" return holes. Plumbing from the tank to the sump will include 11 feet of vertical, 5 feet of horizontal, and 6 or 7 90's per pipe. I want to use 2x Abyzz A200's one plumbed to each return hole. Abyzz has told me the flow with this plumbing setup should be in the range of 1300 gph per pump so 2600 gph for both pumps. If I do an Herbie style drain with one full siphon 1.5" drain and one emergency 1.5" drain just trickling will that provide enough flow down to the sump? I think it won't be enough to meet the 2600 gph of the returns. I am debating going to a Bean Animal drain not for the redundancy but for the increased flow to the sump. This chart: https://flexpvc.com/Reference/WaterFlowBasedOnPipeSize.shtml says 1.5" PVC has a flow rate of 2100 GPH which would be close enough if true.​
 

lapin

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I run a Reeflo Hammerhead / Barracuda Gold BALDOR Water Pump - 4600/6000 gph. Bean overflow thru 1.5 pipe. It does drop straight down into the sump. The gate valve is not fully open. I have the pump output ball valve set at about 3/4 of the flow. Returns are thru 1.5 returns.
Hope this helps
 

DCR

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You are not likely to get 1300 gph through a 1" line with that much elevation change unless you have the pump cranked up to 100%. I think you will be fine with the 1.5" drains. I don't think you really want 2600 gph going through a 150 gal tank and appropriately sized sump. That is a lot of flow and a lot of power (2 x 200 watts) with the corresponding heat load.
 
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ReefDreamz

ReefDreamz

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You are not likely to get 1300 gph through a 1" line with that much elevation change unless you have the pump cranked up to 100%. I think you will be fine with the 1.5" drains. I don't think you really want 2600 gph going through a 150 gal tank and appropriately sized sump. That is a lot of flow and a lot of power (2 x 200 watts) with the corresponding heat load.
The return plumbing will be 1.5" from the pump all the way to the bulkhead on the back of the tank where it will drop to 1". The 1300 gph was an educated guess of the max GPH an Abyzz A200 would push at 100% through this plumbing set up. I decided to go with 3x 1.5" drains and do bean animal instead of 2x to make sure I have enough flow going into the sump. I agree 2600 gph is overkill but I can just dial the pumps down if I want less flow.
 

SteveMM62Reef

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SDR-21 PVC Pipe is thin, thus bigger on the inside. It’s good for up to 200 psi. Sometimes called Sprinkler Pipe. McMaster Carr has an excellent assortment of pipe mounts. Don’t rely on check valves, they get tube worms, barnacles, coralline algae and calcium deposits on them, and fail. Make sure you have vacuum breaks, which is nothing more than a hole in the pipe above the water line in in power loss mode. This will stop the Syphon in the event of a pump outage. On the returns to the tank, I drill them in the inside of the “L” so the water sprays downward. To make sure they don’t get clogged, about once a month, I just put my finger over the outlet in the aquarium and blow them out. I would build a simple stand for you Sump, easier to maintain and easier on your return pump.
 
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ReefDreamz

ReefDreamz

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SDR-21 PVC Pipe is thin, thus bigger on the inside. It’s good for up to 200 psi. Sometimes called Sprinkler Pipe. McMaster Carr has an excellent assortment of pipe mounts. Don’t rely on check valves, they get tube worms, barnacles, coralline algae and calcium deposits on them, and fail. Make sure you have vacuum breaks, which is nothing more than a hole in the pipe above the water line in in power loss mode. This will stop the Syphon in the event of a pump outage. On the returns to the tank, I drill them in the inside of the “L” so the water sprays downward. To make sure they don’t get clogged, about once a month, I just put my finger over the outlet in the aquarium and blow them out. I would build a simple stand for you Sump, easier to maintain and easier on your return pump.
Thank you Steve! Very helpful. Good tip on drilling the hole in the underside of the Loc Line. I do plan to put my sump on a stand and that was already taken into account in my 11 feet of vertical.
 
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