Return flow suggestions!

[Justin84]

So I would like to increase my flow in my tank. I have a reeflo hammerhead/barracuda return pump thats dialed way down, maybe 35%-40% of its full capacity but my refugium can't handle the drainage coming from my main displays. The refugium is a repurposed 75g tank and i have a full siphon and an emergency drain. Underneath (not seen) is a 100g rubbermaid trough with my skimmer. I need to do some plumbing upgrades so I can crank up my pump! So here I am picking away at your brains on a sunday morning!!!! Don't mind the messy wiring as I'm always tinkering and trying to figure out "better" ways to do things! ;)

 

[Brew12]

I cant picture how your system currently works.... I don't see any return plumbing or the pump.

Have I just not had enough coffee and am missing something obvious?

 

[Grey Guy]

So I would like to increase my flow in my tank. I have a reeflo hammerhead/barracuda return pump thats dialed way down, maybe 35%-40% of its full capacity but my refugium can't handle the drainage coming from my main displays. The refugium is a repurposed 75g tank and i have a full siphon and an emergency drain. Underneath (not seen) is a 100g rubbermaid trough with my skimmer. I need to do some plumbing upgrades so I can crank up my pump! So here I am picking away at your brains on a sunday morning!!!! Don't mind the messy wiring as I'm always tinkering and trying to figure out "better" ways to do things! ;)

I think that a sump in another room, up off the ground and easy to work on, is the way to go. Many of us don't have that option.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

It looks like you have three drains coming from your display, each handling the same amount of water, is that correct? And you are using the stock megaflow to drain the fuge into the sump. You have a couple options I can think of:

1: Drill the fuge with one or more 1.5" drains to handle more flow.

2: Bypass the fuge by diverting one or two of the drains directly to the sump. This is probably the easiest and I think I like this the most.

3: Re-route all your drains to the sump, and then feed the fuge from a tee off the main return line. If you were starting from scratch, I personally like this setup the most since I don't like sending display water straight to the fuge for a number of reasons, but it's personal preference really.

 

[Justin84]

The fuge and sump is in my basement about 10' away from my main display tanks and all my siphon drains handle about the same flow. I have a 220g and 60g so I'm sure the 220g is getting a little better of a return. As far as not sending the drain into the fuge, why don't you like it (curiosity feeds the brain) I wish this was a fresh start and I'd love to drill another hole yet I'm not sure if the glass is tempered or not. I thought about bypassing some of the water into the sump but I'm concerned about a few things in doing so (detritus flowing back into the tank, micro bubbles) I am attempting and experimenting with the idea of going a "non-water change" method. I do have a blessed curse in the fact that i have no coral in my set up as of yet so I do get to experiment without causing issue! Again thanks for taking time out for your responses I do take suggestions quite serious! ;Wideyed

 

[Justin84]

I cant picture how your system currently works.... I don't see any return plumbing or the pump.

Have I just not had enough coffee and am missing something obvious?

Sorry I just seen this... Apparently I didn't have my coffee before replying. :D I snapped some pics to show how the flow goes. I have gate valves to control siphon on all 3 drains (2x220g & 1x60g) that drain to a 75g fuge, then drains to a 100g sump. My emergency overflows are connected to 1-1/2 line. the return line is a 1-1/2 that manifolds off to 3- 1" lines.

 

[Brew12]

Coffee is so important!

I should have been more clear. How are you getting the water from the fuge to the sump?

2: Bypass the fuge by diverting one or two of the drains directly to the sump. This is probably the easiest and I think I like this the most.

I like this idea. If you take 2 lines directly to the sump you can reduce the flow through your fuge very easily if I understand the flow correctly.

Otherwise, you could drill another hole in the sock area of the fuge and run a new drain line to the sump to control how much water bypasses the fuge.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Use a flow accelerator on your return line. This should at least double, maybe triple, the flow in the display tank without re-plumbing your sump.

 

[Justin84]

LoL yeah it is! So I'm just using the 75g overflow holes as my return to the sump and I'm unsure about the type of glass the aquarium is. I bought it used. So I have some uniseals laying around and I thought about drilling into the sump and splitting the returns between the refugium and the sump. I know my 3x1" lines can handle more flow as I've experminted with it but even with my gate valve opened all the way ,on my refugium to sump return, the fuge fills up fast! So maybe I'll reroute my emergency and split my 3 returns to the sump and place ball valves on em to control flow to help elimate splashing and more control for the refugium water level

 

[Justin84]

Use a flow accelerator on your return line. This should at least double, maybe triple, the flow in the display tank without re-plumbing your sump.

I'm unfamiliar with a flow accelerator... sounds interesting too!

 

[Justin84]

This is my setup on my return from my 75g to my sump

 

[Justin84]

So it hit me what a flow accelerator was and I googled it to confirm.. LoL but my thought is less about water flow in the display and more about turnover in the display so I'm not sure the accelerator would work in this circumstance. I have 2 maxspect gyre 150s in the 220g and I'm sure I have enough flow for detritus and agitation in the tank.

 

[Dana Riddle]

My bad. I thought you were interested in increasing display tank flow.

 

[Justin84]

Hey I always appreciate ideas and I've been thinking about getting them for sometime to add another dynamic of agitation to my tank!

 

[BluewaterLa]

With your existing set up and not wanting to drill more holes, the only thing that others mentioned I would say is your best bet would be to divert one or two or your drains to the sump. If you are worried about catching particulate matter then just use large socks for the drain pipes to sit in, problem solved and you can now open up that restrictive valve.