Looking for advice, new to saltwater

[Raul Navarro]

Hello everyone, so I'm new to this saltwater thing. I've have done freshwater before but have always wanted salt so I'm going for it.

I just picked up an 85gal tank that was used for saltwater. It has a weir with one drain pipe and the return coming up inside the weir to the side up top, both coming from drilled bottom. Is this a good set up? I have been researching and people have me paranoid about having a single drain in case of a clog. How often does this happen? Should I drill to add a back up or dual drains?

Another question is how do I calculate the flow rate of my weir and drain?

Weir measurements -
7Wx6Dx35H
1in x .25in slots
20 slots total
.50in apart

Drain pipe it has now is a 3/4 inch but hole is big enough for a 1 inch bulkhead. Should I up size? Return is 1/2 inch and can be upsized to 3/4?

Tank is 30Wx36Hx18D

Any tips and help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hello everyone, so I'm new to this saltwater thing. I've have done freshwater before but have always wanted salt so I'm going for it.

I just picked up an 85gal tank that was used for saltwater. It has a weir with one drain pipe and the return coming up inside the weir to the side up top, both coming from drilled bottom. Is this a good set up? I have been researching and people have me paranoid about having a single drain in case of a clog. How often does this happen? Should I drill to add a back up or dual drains?

Another question is how do I calculate the flow rate of my weir and drain?

Weir measurements -
7Wx6Dx35H
1in x .25in slots
20 slots total
.50in apart

Drain pipe it has now is a 3/4 inch but hole is big enough for a 1 inch bulkhead. Should I up size? Return is 1/2 inch and can be upsized to 3/4?

Tank is 30Wx36Hx18D

Any tips and help would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to R2R!!

With a single drain and a single return you could set up your overflow durso style. However if you have the capability to drill another hole I say go ahead and do the herbie style. It'll be more silent and has the emergency drain in case of a backup or clog on your main drain. This website has a very good overview on all the drain setups give it a good read
#WelcometoR2R

http://gmacreef.com/aquarium-overflows-durso-herbie-and-bean-setups/

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

Welcome to R2R

 

[Raul Navarro]

Welcome to R2R!!

With a single drain and a single return you could set up your overflow durso style. However if you have the capability to drill another hole I say go ahead and do the herbie style. It'll be more silent and has the emergency drain in case of a backup or clog on your main drain. This website has a very good overview on all the drain

Thank you, I have been reading into different drains and stuff just not sure which I should do. My tank had the back drilled also on the upper left corner. I think they had a reactor running there. It has 2 holes for a 3/4 inch bulkhead. I was actually thinking of using those as my returns and use both holes in the overflow as the drains to go with a Barbie style. I definitely want it to be as quiet as possible and would like to avoid clog issues.

Is there any where to find what my flow rate is for my overflow?

Thanks for the tip

 

[Raul Navarro]

Welcome to R2R

Thank you, excited to be here

 

[Raul Navarro]

Thank you, I have been reading into different drains and stuff just not sure which I should do. My tank had the back drilled also on the upper left corner. I think they had a reactor running there. It has 2 holes for a 3/4 inch bulkhead. I was actually thinking of using those as my returns and use both holes in the overflow as the drains to go with a Barbie style. I definitely want it to be as quiet as possible and would like to avoid clog issues.

Is there any where to find what my flow rate is for my overflow?

Thanks for the tip

I meant HERBIE haha