Plumbing questions..

[Reef-junky]

I think this greatly depends on the pump. but I do agree it isn't an ideal situation. Best thing to do is size the pump to the flow rate you hope to get

With an AC pump you are going to have to over size the pump as there is no way to control the pump it self. If you under size an AC pump you have no way to get more flow other then to buy a new pump. If you buy a DC pump that is a different story.

 

[Reef-junky]

The way to bleed off speed from a pump is like this.

 

[Reef-junky]

Looks like a herbie overflow. I would have made the emergency drain bigger then the main drain. Also would use 45s instead of horizontal piping. It’s harder to bleed air out of horizontal pipe. The pipes off the overflow need to go just below the water line otherwise you will have noise and splashing salt water.

 

[Reef-junky]

I thought that was part of the Herbie concept ? I’m kinda effed now as I just glued it lol

No it’s not. Herbie has to do with the overflow/drain side. Not the return side.

Herbie Overflow Plumbing Guide for Quiet Reef Aquariums - gmacreef

The Herbie method can quiet down your aquarium drain and eliminate microbubbles. The guide includes helpful diagrams and explains each component.

gmacreef.com

 

[Jamesnorwood860]

Looks like a herbie overflow. I would have made the emergency drain bigger then the main drain. Also would use 45s instead of horizontal piping. It’s harder to bleed air out of horizontal pipe. The pipes off the overflow need to go just below the water line otherwise you will have noise and splashing salt water.

**** so I should redo it? Or will I be okay. I see it says anything over 24 inches is where issues arise.. mine is like 6 inches or 8 idr. I can also just leave the gate on the return wide open and that should solve that issue right

 

[Reef-junky]

**** so I should redo it? Or will I be okay. I see it says anything over 24 inches is where issues arise.. mine is like 6 inches or 8 idr. I can also just leave the gate on the return wide open and that should solve that issue right

Honestly PVC from the hardware store is cheap so I would just redo it. You can also use unions from the hardware store the only thing I would spend more money on would be the valves. It looks like you have the more expensive colored PVC. You could have saved money by painting the PVC your self. You can get away with the horizontal runs but it also makes the pipe easier to plug.

 

[Jamesnorwood860]

Honestly PVC from the hardware store is cheap so I would just redo it. You can also use unions from the hardware store the only thing I would spend more money on would be the valves. It looks like you have the more expensive colored PVC. You could have saved money by painting the PVC your self. You can get away with the horizontal runs but it also makes the pipe easier to plug.

I don’t want painted pvc haha I want nice red inside and out pvc and idk i think I’m gonna run it

 

[Reef-junky]

I don’t want painted pvc haha I want nice red inside and out pvc and idk i think I’m gonna run it

Was just making the point that for less then 1/2 the cost of colored PVC you can do it your self. You will probably be fine.

 

[Jamesnorwood860]

Was just making the point that for less then 1/2 the cost of colored PVC you can do it your self. You will probably be fine.

I’m redoing the return side after Christmas and I know I’m just weird like that lol

 

[Reef-junky]

I’m redoing the return side after Christmas and I know I’m just weird like that lol

Like I said I would just redo all of it because it wouldn’t cost that much but to each his own. I like having more flow capacity in my emergency drain then the main drain. As for the return side you can play around with this.

Friction Loss Calculator | Line Loss Calculator

This line loss calculator is useful for calculating friction loss in piping systems. Formulas used include Hazen Williams, Darcy Weisbach, and Fanning Churchhill.

inventory.powerzone.com

 

[Sleepydoc]

Re: Herbie - @Reef-junky is right. You use a gate valve to throttle the (siphon) return and match it to the return flow. I have a ball valve on my return so I can shut it off to prevent back-siphoning during maintenance but otherwise the fewer restrictions on the return, the better.

If you’re dialing back your return pump significantly all you’re doing is wasting money - you paid for more pump than you needed, you’re generally using more electricity and also adding more heat to your tank. Heat may or may not be significant depending on the time of year, but I live in MN and even here I end up running fans during the summer.

As far as manifolds go, I agree with the advice above. You can run it off the return pump, but it gets tricky to manage flows. Since most reactors don’t need a ton of flow a small pump for the reactors often times ends up being easier.