Overflow and pump

pastelball · Feb 10, 2017

I am going to order a pump. Buy, not sure on his many gph i may need. Setting up a herbie overflow. Will have. 3/4" drain through the bottom of the tank. Its a 34 gallon frag tank going to be display. It will have a 3/4 return and 1" emergency drain. I am thinking it will be around 300 to 400 gph through the 3/4 drain. Does this sound close?

mcarroll · Feb 10, 2017

Return pump are sized based on return plumbing, not based on the drain rating. (Unless you're running an ultra-high-flow return like it's 1990, then a standard drain system should be adequate.)

Can you post the details of your return plumbing, as least as much as you have planned?

You at least need to know:

total length of plumbing
size of plumbing
total vertical height between the sump and the return outlet
target flow rate (300 GPH)
display tank size (guessing 75 gallons from the flow rate?)
list of fittings you'll use

You can then calculate how much additional head loss there will be from friction using a calculator like this:
http://www.freecalc.com/fric.htm

pastelball · Feb 10, 2017

OK, will look into that. I am going to run 3/4 for my return. It will be about 4 ft vertical run to a 3/4" 90 into the tank. Its a 34 gallon frag tank. Going to make it a display.

mcarroll · Feb 10, 2017

70-140 GPH is all you need.....hardly worth a fancy drain.

3/4" plumbing or even 1/2" ought to be plenty.

And at that flow rate, there's virtually nothing to worry about from friction loss:

Pressure Loss (psi): 0.01 Head Loss (ft): 0
Line Number:
Date: 2/10/2017
Nominal Pipe Size: 0.75
Pipe Schedule: SCH 40
Flow Rate (gpm): 1
Viscosity (cP): 1
Specific Gravity (water=1): 1.025
Temperature (F): 79
Pipe Roughness (ft): 0.000016
Actual Pipe ID (in.): 0.824
Fluid Velocity (ft/sec): 0.6
Reynolds Number: 3934
Flow Region: Critical Zone, Results are Suspect
Friction Factor: 0.04
Overall K: 4.44
Piping Length (ft): 5
Short Radius Elbows: 1
Pipe Exit : 1

http://www.lifegardaquatics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Q1-AQUARIUM-Lit.pdf
A Quiet One 1200 would be right on target. You can use the builtin control to turn it down to minimum flow for minimum power usage and still have good flow, or just leave it wide open for a good stronger flow. Either setting is good and will keep your sump and sump-gear functioning well.

Quiet One's are very inexpensive so I still like them as a go-to, especially on moderately sized systems. But I'd also consider equivalent Eheim, Sicce and Mag models. Like the Eheim 1048 or 1250...Syncra 1.0...and Mag 2 or 3.

pastelball · Feb 11, 2017

Thinking of going with the quiet one 2200. I know is 594 gph but, i may tee off for other equipment in the future.
Would this be a good idea?

mcarroll · Feb 12, 2017

It's not a bad idea, especially if it makes perfect sense for your situation, but it's not how I like to do it generally speaking.

Keep the return pump the return pump. If you need flow for another application later, get another little pump.

pastelball · Feb 12, 2017

so after looking at what I need for pluming. Looks like am and going to need 4 ft of 3/4 pvc and 3 90's. looks like the 1200 will still work.

Pressure Loss (psi): 0.01 Head Loss (ft): 0
Line Number:
Date: 2/12/2017
Nominal Pipe Size: 0.75
Pipe Schedule: SCH 40
Flow Rate (gpm): 1
Viscosity (cP): 1
Specific Gravity (water=1): 1
Temperature (F): 78
Pipe Roughness (ft): 0.000016
Actual Pipe ID (in.): 0.824
Fluid Velocity (ft/sec): 0.6
Reynolds Number: 3838
Flow Region: Critical Zone, Results are Suspect
Friction Factor: 0.041
Overall K: 3.87
Piping Length (ft): 4
Short Radius Elbows: 3