Drill holes and Overflow

[Benja]

I plan on drilling a 60"l x 18"d x 24"h tank going to be used as a reef.

I was planning dual 1.5" returns?

I don't really know where I am going to place them... both corners?
I also don't know what to do about the overflow box... what I should get...etc

I plan on using a 75g sump

Your input is appreciated.
Thanks

[lost_at_sea]

http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

Definitely worth the read.

Don't quote me on this but dual 1.5' returns seems like a lot. maybe a 1.5 that splits into two 1' returns on either side???

personally I have a 1.5 drain w/ a 1 inch return and my drain is virtually silent.

A common thought is not to blast flow through the sump, let it sit there so teh refugium and skimmer can do it's thing.

[Benja]

I too have a single 1.5" drain and a 1" return In my 75g reef tank setup.

However, mine makes a hell of a noise.  The quiet one 3000 pushes a tonne of water.

I have already read about bean animals 3 standpipe system, I have also read his mega thread on RC also.

3 Standpipes + coast-coast seems like a lot of work... though.

Has anyone here tried it?

Is the drain clogging a real issue?

[lost_at_sea]

It's a Murphy's law issue.

You'll talk to thousands of people who have used 1 drain and never run into a problem.  me personally I just put a snail guard on top of my overflow so critters can't get into it.  There' sprobably 0.5cm space between the bottom of my overflow box and the start of the 90' elbow leading to the drain pipe... nothing will get in there that will clog that so i'm not worried.

I use a mag7 and it's virtually silent (save the hum of the pump) pushing about <700gph a height of about 4ft. which is also good for teh sump, you don't want 1000's gph through teh sump or the refug and skimmer are useless.

My overflow/drain starts to sound like a "straw blowing bubbles in a milkshake" when either:
1) my drain air pipe is blocked by salt
2) my Mag7 needs a clean (every 6months)

both good warnings in my opinion.

[Robbie]

I too have a single 1.5" drain and a 1" return In my 75g reef tank setup.

However, mine makes a hell of a noise.  The quiet one 3000 pushes a tonne of water.

I have already read about bean animals 3 standpipe system, I have also read his mega thread on RC also.

3 Standpipes + coast-coast seems like a lot of work... though.

Has anyone here tried it?

Is the drain clogging a real issue?

Im in the process of completing my 55G using the beanimal with coast-to-coast overflow. I have tested it and its very quiet...I will post some pics and my experiences very soon.

I'm hoping to set it up this weekend...


I'm using the 1" overflows and 1" return with a quiet one 3000...when i run the test this setup was pushing a lot water...with the valve turn almost half way...is pushing 650gph (after head lost)maybe if i had a bigger pump I would open the valve fully.

this "beanimal" overflow is just insane...a little more work put into it but its worth it, safe, quiet and very efficient

[Hookup]

Many external return pumps are fitted with 1.5 or 2" inputs (from your sump) and 1.5" returns.

There is only one cat.        How will you skin it?


I've posted before, decisions like these cannot be made in absence of an understanding of what flow does, why it's important and what you are trying to achieve.  Same with lighting, filtration, etc, etc...

This is NOT a guess-work hobby.  It's simple science and biology meeting technology.  There are loads of options and many paths to success.