Plumbing Question

[BranchingHammer]

Hi everyone,
I currently have a 65g mixed reef, and I am working on plumbing in a new 25g clam/sps tank. I am using a Small Eshopps Eclipse Overflow box for the 25g, which has two 1" drain bulkheads. I I am planning on adding a gate valve to the main drain, and leaving the emergency drain without any valves. For the return, I am taking out my current Mag 950 return pump that feeds my 65g reef, and replacing it with a CoralBox 9000 DC Return (2300gph). The return pump has a 1.5" threaded output that I'm converting to 1.5" slip.

I then have to split the 1.5" return between the two tanks, and my question is if I should split it into two 3/4" lines or two 1" lines? I was also planning on adding two Cepex ball valves on each of the returns after they split.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I myself would do a 1 inch to the 65g and a 3/4 to the 25g keeping it at 1.5 for as long as possible.
Also I know they are not cheap, but go with a gate valve, at least on the 25g. You will need more flow for the 65g and that should be unrestricted. Your 25g is not going to need as much so you will need to fine tune with a gate. Ball valves should really just be used for on/off.

 

[wsoldier]

I'm in a similar boat. I'd think 3/4" return lines would be plenty for a 25G, esp. if you only have 1" drains.

What'd you end up doing @BranchingHammer ?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I'm running the same overflow on a 30g frag tank. 1" drains and a single 3/4" return. That is plenty as the return of throttled down to maybe 20% capacity.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

One 3/4 return is plenty for a 65g

 

[BranchingHammer]

I'm in a similar boat. I'd think 3/4" return lines would be plenty for a 25G, esp. if you only have 1" drains.

What'd you end up doing @BranchingHammer ?

Decided to go with 3/4" return to the 25g and 1" return for the 65g. Picked up all the supplies today and putting together this week. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[JS1290]

We use a 1" threaded bulkhead feed to our clam tank with a ball valve on it. The other bulkhead is not threaded because I haven't needed to use it yet. I just got a 1" to 3/4" reducing bushing and slipped it on the end of our 1" line to go to our clam tank. A 3/4" line feeds the water pump and skimmer in our sump, which is over where the tank is. I'm no plumber, but I think it sounds like you have everything figured out. If you want to do it right, you can use a 1" glue-in bulkhead for your feed to the clams but you may have to place the overflow higher than the top of your tank so that the water does not start to spill onto the floor. You can then use a 1" return on your clam tank and a 3/4" return line from your sump to the clam tank. You should use a gate valve instead of a ball valve on your clam return to run the return slower or faster to fine-tune the water level in your clam tank.