plumbing size for 120 gallons

[CEReefer]

Hi, I am planning a 120 gallon, 48x24x24 reef tank, it is made of acrylic will be using an external overflow with 3 drains (plumbed as a bean animal). What size drain pipe would you use? 1.5"? And for the return? 1"? I am trying to wrap my head around ratings for gravity fed flow through pipes, but maybe I am not doing a great job at it..

 

[Shirak]

How many gallons of water are you planning to circulate through the sump every hour?

 

[CEReefer]

How many gallons of water are you planning to circulate through the sump every hour?

I'd like it capable to run 1500gph (It will have about 30 gallon as a sump, so 120+30, times 10)

 

[Shirak]

I'd like it capable to run 1500gph (It will have about 30 gallon as a sump, so 120+30, times 10)

1.5" would give you around 2000-2100 gph max. 10x through the sump seems like alot though. Isn't the usual around 3-5x? Any reason you want to send that much water through the sump every hour?

 

[CEReefer]

1.5" would give you around 2000-2100 gph max. 10x through the sump seems like alot though. Isn't the usual around 3-5x? Any reason you want to send that much water through the sump every hour?

To be honest, that's what's recommended around (even BRS and Triton do) and that's what I have been doing for a while (not necessarily a good thing)..

I was thinking the same, 1.5" drains, and 2 1" returns (2 Varios 6 or Sicce SDC 7.0 behind those)

 

[Shirak]

You can certainly go with 10, BRS says 5-10 on their website and I think I remember hearing recently on some of their videos 3x is fine. I think it kinda depends if you have any special need for that much flow through parts of the sump. 1.5" is almost 2" in OD but if that's not an issue then no matter. You will need to dial the syphon in with a gate valve on the main drain either way.

I like the 2 - 1" returns.

 

[KStatefan]

Hi, I am planning a 120 gallon, 48x24x24 reef tank, it is made of acrylic will be using an external overflow with 3 drains (plumbed as a bean animal). What size drain pipe would you use? 1.5"? And for the return? 1"? I am trying to wrap my head around ratings for gravity fed flow through pipes, but maybe I am not doing a great job at it..

The bean animal website used to have a great calculator to show flow rates of a full siphon drain. The formulas used are in the article I used these formulaes to design my full siphon drain.

I have always been surprised at the wide range of flow recommended I think innovative marine is recommending 20 times. what do you gain by have 10x over 3x?

 

[DCR]

I don't think a 30 gallon sump could handle 1500 gph going through it. That is enough flow to fill it in about 60 seconds. There would be a torrent. If you really want 1500 gph, you need a 1-1/2" return or two 1" returns and 1-1/2" drains, but I think a single 1" return and the three 1" drains is more than adequate for a 120.

 

[CEReefer]

I don't think a 30 gallon sump could handle 1500 gph going through it. That is enough flow to fill it about 60 seconds. There would be a torrent. If you really want 1500 gph, you need a 1-1/2" return or two 1" returns and 1-1/2" drains, but I think a single 1" return and the three 1" drains is more than adequate for a 120.

That's what I wrote, 2x 1inch returns with 2 pumps, and 3x 1.5 drains (which in a bean animal are not all 3 working at same time).

 

[Sleepingtiger]

my tank is 95 gallons and I use a vectra s1. Even then I have it dialed back to around 60%. I use a 1" drain and have it closed around 50%. The flow I am mainly concerned about is the flow in the tank. I just don't see the benefit of 10x.

 

[nereefpat]

1.5" drains and 1" return is reasonable in a 'rule of thumb' way for that size of tank.

Do you have the overflow kit yet?

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I have that tank size. I’m using 1 1/4 bean animal drains and 2 returns 1 1/4. Single pump but it’s only at 65%. I wish I could tell you the turnover. Water is moving pretty fast in my 34gallon sump. To fast for my af-1 roller mat

 

[ReefDreamz]

I am doing a very similar build right now. 150 gallon 49.5x31x23 display. I went with 3x 1.5" drain holes in an external overflow box and 2x 1" return holes on the back wall of the tank.

 

[CEReefer]

1.5" drains and 1" return is reasonable in a 'rule of thumb' way for that size of tank.

Do you have the overflow kit yet?

no, but the overflow will be built on the tank

 

[DCR]

That's what I wrote, 2x 1inch returns with 2 pumps, and 3x 1.5 drains (which in a bean animal are not all 3 working at same time).

In a bean animal only the full siphon and the normal overflow are normally working. The emergency overflow is normally dry and most of the load is handled by the full siphon with only a trickle going over the normal overflow.

 

[X-37B]

On my 120 I have 11/4" drain plumbed to a 1" to the 40 breeder sump.
1/2" return.
I only run 2-300gph through the sump.
Works well with a 7" filter sock, carx, and a Tunze 9430dc skimmer.
3x your tank volume through the sump is plenty, imo.

 

[Kazumi]

From what I have seen the 10x turnover is from the old days, when you got most of the flow in the DT from the sump return. Now a days with everyone using powerheads in the DT to create flow, the turnover through the sump can be lower, that's where the 3x-5x estimates come from.

My 120 was originally plumbed with 2each 1" drains and 2each 3/4" returns, I ran it that way for years with a 1200gph mag drive pump without any problems. I have changed it now to dual herbie drains. So it will be 2each 1" emergency drains, and 2each 1" full syphon drains. For the return I am planning on a single 1 1/4". If the old way could keep up with that mag12 pump I am confident that the herbies will be able to do at least that also, if I so chose, but I am only planning around 5x turnover.

 

[Wyvern]

I would just build it with the largest plumbing possible regardless of what flow you end up with.

I'm running 1" for all drains and 1" return with 2X .5" outlets for 1000gph pump in my 109 bow and 40G sump.

Drains are a straight shot into sump so I could flow way more than 1000gpm running bean animal, but crazy bends and angles will demand larger tubing.
Doubling returns will halve the impact of all bends after the first T.

I build water cooled PC's and work on hydraulics so it was pretty fun plumbing my first sumped aquarium.

I think 1000-1200gph would be plenty.