How far can your drin line be?

[Buford25]

I am in the process of adding a frag tank to my display tank. I have decided it will be easier for me to plumb it directly into my main display. I would like to have the frag tank about 6 feet from the main display. This is because any closer I would be under a window which I want to avoid. The frag tank is going to be 20x20x8. My question is how long can your drain pipe be going into a sump? It will be a straight shot across with a bend at the very end. I am going to hard plumb it in and will avoid 90 degree turns at all costs. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[DJ Monty]

As I see it the length of the drain is not an issue. You need to be sure that you use the correct return pump. It needs to push water the correct distance & height..

 

[recess62]

Are you sure you want to plumb them together? If you get a crash in your main display you will also get a crash in your frag tank. Plumbing them separately seems like a good insurance policy

 

[Buford25]

As I see it the length of the drain is not an issue. You need to be sure that you use the correct return pump. It needs to push water the correct distance & height..

This is what I'm not sure on. If the drain length actually does not matter or not. I know I need to have a return pump that pushes water that far, which shouldn't be an issue. I would love to have the frag tank in this spot. However I was looking everything over again and if that just won't work I can always put it right next to my tank on the left.

 

[Buford25]

Are you sure you want to plumb them together? If you get a crash in your main display you will also get a crash in your frag tank. Plumbing them separately seems like a good insurance policy

I think it would be nice to have them plumbed separately I would just need double the equipment and that would get a little out of hand in my opinion. If I frag then together, I would have more water volume, less equipment, less testing etc. having that extra insurance would be great though..

 

[Buford25]

Here are my plans that I would like to do. This is just a very rough sketch. I would like to put the frag tank on the right, which as you can see is already 6 feet from my main display. Add some bends and a few inches for the drain to make it to my sump, and you can get a good idea on why my question arises. If this just isnt a possibility. I could put the frag tank directly to the left of my DT. Even though this wouldn't be my first choice the drain line would be around 2 and a half feet and the return about 3 and a half feet. Obviously for this option the measurements would be 20 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 30 3/8.

My main reason for wanting to go with the first option is to keep both tanks a good distance from eachother so the corner does not look crowded. The DT would be the only tank you saw if you were looking directly in the corner.

 

[DJ Monty]

If your frag tank is draining into your sump & your sump is the lowest piece then gravity will do it's job no matter how far away.. Then the return just has to get the water back again..