Plumbing 2 Return Lines to One Pump

[JohnnyCheats]

Hi guys. Going to creat a build thread soon but I would love some direction on which fittings to use to connect the two 3/4 return lines to 1 pump. Is a t-fitting or wye fitting a better way to go with this? My thinking is wye fitting but I see pictures but not threads on this. Thanks in advance.

~Cheats

 

[Cory]

A t fitting would be good, but i think youll reduce the flow a lot. Get a t with a larger output hole than input. Maybe it will cause a lot of back pressure too and cause the pump to overheat.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

a y would be better as it flows more easily and reduces head loss.(back pressure) also look up aquarium manifold.

 

[mcarroll]

Ditto.....Wye

 

[redfishbluefish]

Tee or Wye would be just fine. The biggest issue is using the largest diameter pipe that you could. The larger the diameter pipe the lower the frictional loss. Now if you have a pump that is over-rated or adjustable to turn it down, pipe size isn't as critical. But to get the most flow, big pipes. I'm thinking 1 1/4 or 1 inch coming off the pump and either sticking with 1 inch or drop to 3/4 after the wye/tee.

By the way, I ran a single pipe up to a tee at the top of the tank which then feed a total of four wye Loc-Lines.

The tee coming up from the pump is right above the center of the overflow. Each of those open pipes (a total of four) had a wye LocLine installed.




Here you can see the LocLine installed...and running.

 

[tcarter1936]

Here's mine
1-1/4" to 1-1/4" tee. To 3 3/4" returns with individual ball valves just in case. The pump is a waveline dc 10,000 on my 180 gallon reef but only just above half power, I have great flow and utilized all four overflow holes for a dual herbie setup. I hope this helps

 

[JohnnyCheats]

Big thanks to all of you. The pump is a deep water aquatic pump with I believe a 1 1/4 outlet. I was planning on using spa flex which I'll grab 1 and 1/4 to the same size WYE. Then reduce to 3/4 reducer to the returns. Hmmm...

 

[JohnnyCheats]

Nah manifold it is. Hmmm doh...

 

[mcarroll]

You guys always get me reading - even when I don't have time!

From what I can see, it looks like you can expect 2-3 times the headloss from a Tee as compared to a Wye.

Best/most direct explanation I found that included a reference was this:
http://communities.bentley.com/products/hydraulics___hydrology/f/5925/t/68891

...for branch flow the minor loss coefficient, k, for a tee is 0.75-1.8, while for a 45 degree wye it is 0.5.

Nah manifold it is. Hmmm doh...

I don't know if you can find that stat for a manifold, but I have to imagine their K value is worse, not better....I think they are designed for compact space utilization (e.g. inside a hot tub)...not flow.

 

[JohnnyCheats]

A manifold seems really smart as a means to add on addition equipment like reactors etc. but I see how this design can cause the pump to be pushed harder and some design flows in creating big time head loss and pimp strain. I will look into some more designs and think about more.

 

[tcarter1936]

When I bought my pump I over sized it and went with dc so I had greater control and the ability to not have to max it out,it also saved me the hassle of determining diameter, fitting,and length loss calculations.

 

[mcarroll]

A manifold seems really smart as a means to add on addition equipment like reactors

It may seem neater as an idea than it really is. In most cases, I would rather have individual pumps per device and a right-sized return pump.

There are plenty of smaller pumps that have built-in controls or come with small ball valves to control flow, as well as smaller, controllable DC pumps.

 

[JohnnyCheats]

I'm with you on that. I'm gonna stick with a WYE and just connect the two returns. Thank you. Look out for a build thread soon. Thanks again to all of you.