3/4” Horizontal drain

[Tuffloud1]

For a remote frag tank about 40 gallons, can I get away with a 3/4” pipe running horizontally for 15 feet with 5 elbows? It will be running as a full siphon with gate valve. In addition to that, there will be a 1” emergency drain running parallel with the 3/4”.

I only need 200 gph or so.

 

[The Aquatic Arsenal]

Is the hole for the bulkhead already drilled? You can get away with it, but I would recommend going bigger if you can.

 

[Tuffloud1]

Is the hole for the bulkhead already drilled? You can get away with it, but I would recommend going bigger if you can.

It’s not already drilled because I don’t even have the frag tank yet.

It will definitely be a herbie style overflow.

 

[Tuffloud1]

I’m really tight on space and want to use the 3/4 for the siphon. Here is a pic of my sump so far.

You can see the 1 inch emergency drain for the frag tank in the middle skimmer section.

The frag tank 3/4 siphon drain will go to the open bulkhead behind my display drains.

 

[KrisReef]

How much drop over the 15' run?
Also, If you are going to have a 1" safety, why not just run the 1" as the drain and 3/4' safety?
There are formulas for figuring out flow capacity, I don't know them.

Edit: Posted before I saw your sump. 3/4" is going above the emergency and to the socks.
I wouldn't put a gate valve on the siphon, and I would guess that pipe & drop would easily handle +200gph. GL

 

[Tuffloud1]

How much drop over the 15' run?
Also, If you are going to have a 1" safety, why not just run the 1" as the drain and 3/4' safety?
There are formulas for figuring out flow capacity, I don't know them.

It is my understanding that with a Herbie style drain, you want your emergency drain larger than your siphon.

The frag tank I was looking at had a Herbie overflow with 3/4 siphon and 1” emergency.

This is also how I’ve always ran my 6 year old 90 gallon display.

 

[theMeat]

How much vertical drop ?

 

[Tuffloud1]

How much vertical drop ?

16 inches

 

[Tuffloud1]

How much drop over the 15' run?
Also, If you are going to have a 1" safety, why not just run the 1" as the drain and 3/4' safety?
There are formulas for figuring out flow capacity, I don't know them.

Edit: Posted before I saw your sump. 3/4" is going above the emergency and to the socks.
I wouldn't put a gate valve on the siphon, and I would guess that pipe & drop would easily handle +200gph. GL

Why no gate valve on the siphon?

 

[KrisReef]

I don't run a Herbie, I like my drains "wide open & unrestricted" to move water. They can be noisier this way but I worry less about water overflows. So it is a personal preference and nothing else.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

When I do plumbing I make the main lines bigger then the emergency ones.

 

[WVNed]

I have a 1 inch drain that goes 15 feet and has 5 turns and a 24 inch drop that flows 500gph. The valve is closed quite a bit. I expect at 200gph you will be fine

 

[theMeat]

16 inches

With a gate valve you create a full siphon and can move nearly twice the gph silently.
Good thinking to use 3/4 for full siphon and one inch as emergency because of that.
Either way you should have enough.
The drain pipe will need to be pitched down, at least 1/4” per foot, to work without having to manually create a siphon whenever the pump goes off. Meaning, no parts of the pipe pitched upwards that a siphon would be needed to fight gravity

 

[Tuffloud1]

Thanks everyone, my main concern was doing the horizontal run with 3/4 pvc. I’ve never ran pipes horizontally. I run my 90 with a 3/4 siphon and 1 inch emergency but it is straight down to the sump. No way would I use the 3/4 for my emergency and 1 inch for main drain. As it is my 3/4 siphon gate valve is open only a 1/4 - 1/2 and that tank is a 90. The frag tank will be only 40.

The frag tank will be running to the same sump as my 262 gallon display. 2 return pumps running the 262 and the frag tank.

 

[WVNed]

Home Depot had flexible PVC sections with ends on them. I glued them in and that allowed me to put a slight downward slope on the long horizontal sections without stressing the piping.

 

[Tuffloud1]

Home Depot had flexible PVC sections with ends on them. I glued them in and that allowed me to put a slight downward slope on the long horizontal sections without stressing the piping.

I’m just slightly angling my elbows when I cement them, no issues with stressing the pipes. The unions also help to fine tune the slope of the pipe going in/out of corners.

 

[ca1ore]

As long as you can maintain the plumbing code/standard of 1/4” drop (slope) every foot you should be ok. That should avoid any air locking.

 

[Tuffloud1]

As long as you can maintain the plumbing code/standard of 1/4” drop (slope) every foot you should be ok. That should avoid any air locking.

Yep, I’m going more than 1/4” per foot.