Durso or Herbie?

Geebs19 · Jul 22, 2018

Hey all, working in the plumbing on my tank that I got and was wondering what would be best, Durso or Herbie drain. The tank has 3 holes in the bottom, the previous owner had it set for 1 drain and 2 returns. I was speaking with an owner at a fish store and he said to leave it as a Durso. Also my bulkhead is 1 inch, if I do go with the Herbie can I use the 1 inch pipe or should it be increased like most do on the Durso?

Thanks in advance!

Bayareareefer18 · Jul 22, 2018

Bean animal and return over the back

JoshH · Jul 22, 2018

A lot of systems do the Herbie and use the third for a return. Red sea, waterbox being the largest manufacturers that do it. Obviously the BA setup is the safest but out of the thousands of Red Sea tanks out there I haven't heard of one overflowing

you could do the Waterbox style with a herbie drain and 1 return split in two for two separate nozzles. Oh and if you go with the herbie the 1 inch should be fine, what size of tank is it?

hwntunda · Jul 22, 2018

I’m running a herbie, all plumbing is 1” except the return loclines are 1/2”. And works great

Geebs19 · Jul 22, 2018

It’s a 100 gallon half moon. I’m probably going to do the Herbie and then split the return pipe to run 2 returns into the tank.

Flippers4pups · Jul 22, 2018

@Geebs19, can you post a picture of the tank and hole location?

Geebs19 · Jul 22, 2018

Geebs19 · Jul 22, 2018

Wondering also if I can put 2 90 degree angles to move the emergency pipe over a bit?

hwntunda · Jul 22, 2018

I don’t see why not, Are you planning to run your returns through the overflow box ? You could just shorten the emergency to be just below the return horizontal section.

Geebs19 · Jul 22, 2018

hwntunda said:
I don’t see why not, Are you planning to run your returns through the overflow box ? You could just shorten the emergency to be just below the return horizontal section.

Yes, I plan to use one of the holes as a return so everything is hidden. Didn’t think about making the emergency line shorter but I don’t want the water to have to fall a great distance making sound.

JoshH · Jul 22, 2018

The water cascades about 2 inches in my setup with no noise but that really depends on the volume of water going over the weir and the length of it.

Lonely reefer's · Jul 22, 2018

Geebs19 said:
Wondering also if I can put 2 90 degree angles to move the emergency pipe over a bit?

I have the same setup like your
I got the tank used with no plumbing
Here what I came up
3/4 return
1” emergency
1” drain with a 45 degree T(I heat the main drain pipe to ~ 45 degree to clear the 2 pipe other pipe
Been working well for me

Geebs19 · Jul 22, 2018

Would I be better off doing the emergency line as the 1 inch or 3/4. There are 2, 3/4 holes and 1, 1 inch.

Lonely reefer's · Jul 22, 2018

I’m not 100% sure, but probably 1” for a main drain
Highly recommend use gate valve for the main drain much easier to dial in for noise

ca1ore · Jul 22, 2018

Always better to use the larger hole as the emergency because an open channel handles less flow. 3/4" siphon will handle more than enough flow for a 100 gallon tank. Also, rather than using two 90s to shift the emergency see if you can do it with two 45s.

Glenner’sreef · Jul 24, 2018

I’m just about to set up my 150 gal. Got all the plumbing. It’s predrilled with 3 holes. But to save space in the overflow, I’ve purchased 2 maggie mufflers for both the main and the emergency pipes. And yes a gate valve is a must as well. Good luck bud.

Gary Inwood · Jul 24, 2018

Geebs19 said:

Middle one the return and right emergency drain and left herbie drain.

DaSurfa · Jul 24, 2018

My new 75g CD tank I got used has same overflow design with 3 holes. Spent last 2 months designing and working on my build and end up doing a somewhat modified Herbie with the return split inside of the overflow box. Here's what I finally came up with and ran it for over a week with water to test for leaks and any issues. I've removed the ball union valve for main drain cause it was almost impossible to dial in the exact flow. Now I've put a gate valve.