Drain Line Manifold?

[Wrasse-cal]

Plumbing gurus:

Right now I have a dedicated pump powering my reactors.

Last night I had a thought: Has anyone run a manifold off of their return drain line?

Is there a reason not to do this?

I was thinking about putting a Y on my drain line and using one side to run my algae reactor. The flow to the reactor would be regulated with a ball valve, the excess (majority) would flow through the existing drain line back to the sump. The exit for the reactor would flow into the same chamber of my sump, so net flow through the sump would be unchanged.

On first blush, why not take advantage of gravity?

 

[Ocelaris]

The main issue is there's very little pressure, and secondly balancing the level in the tank against a variable flow return manifold would be difficult. The restrictions on the different reactors over time would be a challenge.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Most manifolds require pressure to operate. Water will always take the path of least resistance. So there wouldnt be enough to run a manifold off of a drain line. Most of it will flow right past the manifold and into your sump.

 

[Gareth elliott]

First I would be worried about a clog in the manifold or a reactor ever occurring. Clog in the return flow slows, clog on the drain, aquarium overflows.

Second it will be almost impossible to get the flow right. For both quite overflow and any reactors getting the flow they need to operate properly.

 

[Wrasse-cal]

Thanks everyone for the thoughts.

As to the clog issue, I have an emergency drain (like most) so if a clog emerged, the emergency drain would handle it, right?

As to the flow issue, I’m not understanding the physics. Let’s say I have 1000gph running through my drain line. I want 200 gph through my reactor. If non-branched portion of the Y runs to the reactor, wouldn’t that be the path of least resistance? I suppose that would change though once I put a valve on it.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Personally i went with separate pumps for each reactor. More pumps to clean but my main objective was making sure the flow to and from the sump was constant and controllable. I dont have a controller with flow meters and manifolding my reactors anywhere would mean multiple places that would reduce the overall flow. If a reactor pump starts slowing while i am away no biggie, my return starts slowing because my carbon reactor is clogged, big deal. I could have over thought this but was my reasoning for how my tank is plumbed.