Simple tank plumbing help.

[Jake_the_reefer]

So I am getting a 30g frag tank that I will be plumbing to a 30g sump.

I know absolutely nothing about plumbing a tank however I know what I want and would like to know if anyone has a diagram or thread to share with me.

What I am looking for is to plumb the tank is the simplest way, the easier the better. I dont care about it being loud because it will be in the basement. One hole drilled would be the most favorable option for me

 

[Dom]

So I am getting a 30g frag tank that I will be plumbing to a 30g sump.

I know absolutely nothing about plumbing a tank however I know what I want and would like to know if anyone has a diagram or thread to share with me.

What I am looking for is to plumb the tank is the simplest way, the easier the better. I dont care about it being loud because it will be in the basement. One hole drilled would be the most favorable option for me

You need at least three holes drilled; one for the return, and two for the drain. One is your primary drain and the other is an emergency drain un case the primary gets blocked.

Of course, you could not drill at all and use a hang on back overflow and return.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

What style of overflow is your first task. Look up what a bean animal, Dorso, herbie overflow is.

 

[piranhaman00]

Two holes minimum, one for return and one for drain (overflow box would then contain emergency and main drain). Like mentioned you could also just do hang on.

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

What style of overflow is your first task. Look up what a bean animal, Dorso, herbie overflow is.

All of my tanks are all in ones so I have never plumbed.
This is a crude idea of what I am thinking.
From the side you can see the return on the left and the overflow on the right.
The purple pipe is just a straight pipe for water to drain out of and the green pipe points up over the water level to act as an emergency drain.

Should the two pipes converge and drain into the sump or should they be two sepparate pipes

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

This is the overflow I plan on using

 

[NowGlazeIT]

The drains should be separate. The returns are commonly joined. That overflow will work but I recommend drilling your holes then mount that overflow. That way you can get your drain holes as close to the bottom of that overflow box as possible.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

If you go with the two pipes separate, you will have a quite drain. What you want to do is add a gate valve to one drain. This one drain needs to be fully submerged. The second drain you want just a hair above the water line in your overflow box. This is called the herbie overflow method

 

[KrisReef]

Flexible hoses are the easiest and fastest way to connect your plumbing and are easy to change up if you move or decide to go another route or add another piece of equipment later.
Good luck!

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

I forgot to ask. How big of a hole should I drill for the overflow/return and how big should the pipes be?

 

[jstncoffman]

did you get all figured out?

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

did you get all figured out?

For the most part yes I do i just have 2 main things left. Should I install my overflow box pipes like the first or 2nd pic. And what size hole do I drill and how big of pipes.

Ignore the actual pipe height on the diagram the main focus is how the pipe enters the actual overflow box.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

The second picture is the correct way for that overflow box. The size holes depends on the bulkheads you buy. The size bulkheads is determined by the amount of flow your want. I think 3/4 inch drains would work well for your 30g