Plumbing question - Consolidating drains from more than one tank?

[mik3c]

I'm about ready to launch a build but I have a few questions about plumbing that I'd like to resolve before I begin. I'm setting up a respectable display tank (ie: 120g) along with a 40 gallon secondary tank and a slightly larger display refugium. I have a nice oversized sump with 3 1.5" drain ports which will actually be about 5' off to the side of the main display. I'm wondering if I can consolidate the primary drains from those 3 tanks into a single pipe (maybe 2"?) and connect that 2 inch pipe to the 3 drain inlets in my sump? If I were to try something like that, how would connecting several 1" drains into a 2" pipe affect siphon flow? I'm not great at diagrams but I'll try and make a few. If I can figure this out and come up with a plumbing plan I can start my build thread...

 

[GlassMunky]

Yes you can connect them together but be aware that if you do so, getting the tanks to run quietly will be almost impossible due to having all the drains splashing together in the connection piece.
you will only be able to run basic style drains like a Durso on the tanks as well. (No herbie or bean style since both those utilize multiple drain lines.

 

[mik3c]

Yes you can connect them together but be aware that if you do so, getting the tanks to run quietly will be almost impossible due to having all the drains splashing together in the connection piece.
you will only be able to run basic style drains like a Durso on the tanks as well. (No herbie or bean style since both those utilize multiple drain lines.

Thanks for your input, that's kind of what I was worried was going to happen. I intend to run a standard bean-animal on the primary display and herbie-style overflows on the secondary and refugium tanks, I'm mainly thinking about the primary drains in each tank here - I have another plan for the emergency drains - but I'm thinking (and again I'm sorry I suck at diagrams, I'll work on that) that if I have individual gate valves on the 1" drains and then another, bighonkin 2" gate valve on the larger pipe after they've been consolidated but right before they flow into the sump, I should - IN THEORY - be able to maintain a full siphon through the entire line no? If I could control flow from the drains before they merge, then again after, I feel like that SHOULD work maybe? I'm still new at a lot of this but I think these engineering challenges are a big part of what attracts me to the hobby.

 

[GlassMunky]

Thanks for your input, that's kind of what I was worried was going to happen. I intend to run a standard bean-animal on the primary display and herbie-style overflows on the secondary and refugium tanks, I'm mainly thinking about the primary drains in each tank here - I have another plan for the emergency drains - but I'm thinking (and again I'm sorry I suck at diagrams, I'll work on that) that if I have individual gate valves on the 1" drains and then another, bighonkin 2" gate valve on the larger pipe after they've been consolidated but right before they flow into the sump, I should - IN THEORY - be able to maintain a full siphon through the entire line no? If I could control flow from the drains before they merge, then again after, I feel like that SHOULD work maybe? I'm still new at a lot of this but I think these engineering challenges are a big part of what attracts me to the hobby.

I do not believe that will work.
You would have to be able to individually tune each drain which you won’t be able to do.

 

[mik3c]

I do not believe that will work.
You would have to be able to individually tune each drain which you won’t be able to do.

Hmm. Ok that sounds right too. So the only way this would really work out is if I put a valve on each of the 3 1.5" lines running into the sump? Sounds like kind of a tuning headache but I could do that. Ie: gate valves on the drains coming off the tank, then more gate (or maybe I could get away with ball vales here) at the 3 inlet ports in the sump? I COULD pull that off, one of the benefits of having the sump off to the side is that I have plenty of room for... sump stuff.

 

[mik3c]

Ok I think I'm going to try that, it's going to be some expensive plumbing but I Think once it's in place I should be eset up pretty well. I'll put 3 gate valves right at the inlets to the sump. I wonder, if I do that, if I even need the valves on the tanks themselves but I guess they couldn't do any harm. I think once that line is established I'll be able to expand or upgrade this system later.