Help with BeanAnimal Overflow system

booth2010 · Apr 1, 2015

I am going to be doing the BeanAnimal style overflow for my new setup. It is a 40G Breeder with a 28G NRS-30 sump. The head height will be around 35ish inches + or - a few. I really only have 2 questions. First would 3/4" PVC work or should I go with 1" to be safe? I feel like 1" might be too much flow for the setup. Second what size return pump should I get? Im thinking an Eheim Compact 3000 would do the trick or do yall think it wouldnt be strong enough?

Arron209 · Apr 1, 2015

I'm using the compact 3000 pump for my 57g 2with 20g sump. I think it's more than enough flow and I actually have it turned down a bit.

booth2010 · Apr 1, 2015

That would be great if I can get away with one of those... Save me a few bucks

FrankAbagnale · Apr 1, 2015

I used the 3000 on my breeder and loved it. I actually had it turned down some as well. That pump was so quiet!

I am by no means an expert, but I think you would want 1" for your overflow pipes. Hopefully someone else chimes in.

booth2010 · Apr 2, 2015

Yea I am going with 1"... For my pump I am still not sure... I would love to go the cheaper route and get he Eheim Compact 3000 but the Sicce Syncra Pro 1000 or the RLSS DC 4000... IDK lol

FrankAbagnale · Apr 2, 2015

booth2010 said:
Yea I am going with 1"... For my pump I am still not sure... I would love to go the cheaper route and get he Eheim Compact 3000 but the Sicce Syncra Pro 1000 or the RLSS DC 4000... IDK lol

I'm totally with you. I've never used the Sicce or RLSS. DC pumps are nice and I actually switched to a DC on my new tank, but I still give the Eheim major props. I went through a few different pumps before I landed on the 3000+ for my breeder, and I was VERY happy with it.

Thunderfan · Apr 2, 2015

I don't know why you would need 1" returns in a 40b, i have 3/4 returns on my 75 and it is plenty. I run a bean with 1" drains and dct8000 pump. Silent pump if you thought about dc pumps. You could go with dct6000 on yours probably.

booth2010 · Apr 4, 2015

Thunder the 1" just has a less chance of cloggin

saltyhog · Apr 4, 2015

booth2010 said:
Thunder the 1" just has a less chance of cloggin

I would think you would have to restrict the gate valve so much with 1" that it would be a wash in regards to clogging risks? Isnt' the smallest point going to be the limiting factor? I don't know just asking.

I'm running 1" with an approximately 950 gph after head loss flow and have my valve cranked down 2 1/2 turns.

booth2010 · Apr 4, 2015

saltyhog said:
I would think you would have to restrict the gate valve so much with 1" that it would be a wash in regards to clogging risks? Isnt' the smallest point going to be the limiting factor? I don't know just asking.

IDK thats just what I was told from the official BeanAnimal overflow thread over at ReefCentral lol

Windy · Apr 4, 2015

I thought the Bean animal system was three drains. One a nearly full siphon, a second drian for the remainder and finally a third safety drain. What is the risk of clogging?

booth2010 · Apr 4, 2015

There really is no risk if it gets clogged thats the point of the 3 drains, but a 3/4 drain would get clogged easier and possibly more frequent than a 1" is what they were saying.

thejuggernaut · Apr 8, 2015

I would probably use 1". The larger the pipe size on your open drain, the more water it can flow before it starts to make noise. I'm afraid that with a 3/4" you might be surprised how little water it would be able to handle before it gurgles. Plus, you can always neck down your siphon to a smaller pipe. Your siphon drain is really the only pipe you can make too big. If the water velocity going through the pipe is too low, it won't have enough speed to purge all the air. Startup would be come very long or even impossible. Using a 1" siphon on mine, I was able to startup with about 700 gph in a few seconds. I made a video recently showing mine starting up using 3 different flow rates. The last is with 700 gph with a 1" siphon. HTH

[video=youtube;oya6X3aLUOo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oya6X3aLUOo[/video]

Thunderfan · Apr 8, 2015

For some reason I thought he was asking about using 3/4 or 1" for the return. If you are talking about the drain them I agree to use 1". I used 1"all the way, it starts easy and can handle more flow than I'll ever use. I wouldn't make the syphon smaller unless you are planning on doing a low flow system because it is supposed to have all the flow through it. The open channel is spars to have a trickle of water at most and if you make the syphon smaller you will get too much flow through the open I would think. This is an extremely easy system that I see people try to over think or try to reengineer it then they just have problems and wonder why.

Thunderfan · Apr 8, 2015

thejuggernaut said:
I would probably use 1". The larger the pipe size on your open drain, the more water it can flow before it starts to make noise. I'm afraid that with a 3/4" you might be surprised how little water it would be able to handle before it gurgles. Plus, you can always neck down your siphon to a smaller pipe. Your siphon drain is really the only pipe you can make too big. If the water velocity going through the pipe is too low, it won't have enough speed to purge all the air. Startup would be come very long or even impossible. Using a 1" siphon on mine, I was able to startup with about 700 gph in a few seconds. I made a video recently showing mine starting up using 3 different flow rates. The last is with 700 gph with a 1" siphon. HTH

[video=youtube;oya6X3aLUOo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oya6X3aLUOo[/video]

Nice video by the way.