Plumbing question

Adam_J · Feb 10, 2015

So I have a 55 gallon non drilled tank, I got a 700gph overflow from glass holes. It's bulkhead is 1 1/2" but wanted to run it 1 " is it ok to bush down to 1" or would that just cause problems?

d2mini · Feb 10, 2015

1" PVC will flow around 600gph when just gravity fed.
So yes it will work, you just won't be able to run the overflow at it's max capacity, which I wouldn't want to try anyway. Better to leave a little room for error.
Just size your return pump accordingly.

Now if you are running a bean animal or herbie where you will have a siphon, the 1" pipe can pull a lot more.
You can use this nifty calculator to figure out your flow rate.
http://www.beananimal.com/media/6840/flowcalc.swf

mcarroll · Feb 10, 2015

Hard to answer theoretically - water will still drain obviously, but...

Presumably they designed it with a larger vs a smaller size in mind. What's the reason for circumventing their design vs getting or making something to fit your needs? (We can give you a better answer knowing this.)

Adam_J · Feb 10, 2015

The sump I was planning on getting has i 1" bulkhead in it already but I could look around for a different sump 1 1/2 just seems a bit big for a 55 but I will just keep it that so I know I'm safe . Haven't got a pump yet but will be 3/4 and thinking of getting a 700gph pump to match theoverflow

Adam_J · Feb 10, 2015

and won't be a Herbie or anything just one 1 1/2" bulkhead and one 3/4 bulkhead for the return

mcarroll · Feb 10, 2015

There are ways you can modify the sump too, but again if you can just find or make one that fits to begin with, that's always better IMO than hacking a new product.

Some recent posts in these threads should help answer the pump/flow questions:

In a nutshell, you should only need the flow through the sump to feed your skimmer/filters. That will translate to about 2x-4x your display's volume - or about 100-200 gph for your tank. More is just a waste of power and pump size. (If you already have a big pump, throttling it with a valve is a reasonable solution that also will save power.)

Check out those discussions above for more info!

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/club-cube/190539-60-gal-cube-flow-question.html

redfishbluefish · Feb 10, 2015

First off I'd check that 55 to see if it's tempered glass. Tempered glass can not be drilled and I've been told that all 55's are tempered.

The only thing I can tell you are the instructions from Glass-Holes.....no change to the diameters of the pipes.

Adam_J · Feb 10, 2015

I've also been told that 55s are all tempered but I checked with polarized glasses multiple times and it seemed normal? I've also searched everywhere online and can't find anything. The tank is made by fluval. I haven't got my pump yet mcarroll but like I said I was gunna get a 700gph and put a tee in the return line with a vale to throttle down any access so it's not hard on the pump. Should that work fine? And thanks for everyones help getting very excited to start this new hobby

Adam_J · Feb 10, 2015

Definitely very nervous to drill my tank hearing that there all usually tempered but it doesent seem to be . Any info on the would be awesome as well

d2mini · Feb 10, 2015

It's just an overflow box.
If you reduce the pipe diameter you reduce the max flow.

Adam_J · Feb 10, 2015

Contacted fluval and my tank is non tempered

so it's getting drilled tonight

Eld4nte · Feb 10, 2015

For future reference you can look at a laptop monitor through your tank using 3d glasses from a movie theatre. Black lines = tempered and clear screen = drillable.