# Sumps, drains and overflows



## anthonystraus (Apr 14, 2009)

Hi everyone,

I'm in the early planning stages of my SW upgrade and was looking to learn a little more about sizing of the drain pipes, sumps etc.

I have had my DIY AIO 23 gallon L going for a while now and want to start up a new bigger tank when I move in a few months. The display aquarium will be a 65 gallon tall and my dad and I will be building the stand for it. I'm thinking I'll do a herbie style overflow down into my sump.

Now that I have my basic plans I was hoping for some advice or maybe some links where I could read up on sizing my drain pipe, bulkheads, return pipe/pump etc. I've been told to aim for 5-10x turnover through the sump, which would place me in the 325-650gph range. What size pipe/bulkhead would I need for this type of flow?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Tony


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

the best is the Reefcentral. you can read there without registering, but it is easier to register and you will be able to run search for any attributes

also go here trough Marine photography section and there are many set ups with explanaitions

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## ihavecrabs (Jul 17, 2012)

I'm new to this forum. But this is my 2 cents. I have a 80 gallon display, with a 50 gallon sump. I use 1.5" pvc for outflow and .5" for inflow. Have you thought of drilling the back of the tank for outflow, instead of the bottom of the tank. My concern was if there was any leakage. If i drilled the bottom i would have to tear everything out of the tank to fix any leak. If in the back 3/4 of the way up the tank, i would only have to drain to that point. If you want to remove noise for drainage with drilling in the back. All you have to do is put a T joint on dry side of tank with a cap that has a hole in it. It's not as pretty, but is sure is more safe IMO. Something else to think about is the sump water height. If you need to turn power off or a power outage, make sure there is enough height in sump to handle extra water drainage from display tank. I would also have two overflows incase one gets clogged with a dead fish or something like that. You would probably be fine with 1" outflow, but i would go 1.5" to be safe. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will make a suggestion.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

Search Herbie overflow and Bean animal overflow on here and on reef central. On my tank I have a 3/4 main drain that is full syphon and a 1 inch back up drain and 3/4 return. I decided to do it like that because I had 2x 3/4 holes (holes that fit 3/4" pipe that is and one hole that fit 1 inch pipe. There us no need to drill the bottom as stated above.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

Bean Animal overflow is the same as a Herbie with an extra redundant emergency drain.

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

Here's a drain flow calculator for syphon systems, using this I found out that my 3/4" drain will give me over 900 GPH at full syphon without restricting the drain with my gate valve:

http://www.beananimal.com/articles/hydraulics-for-the-aquarist.aspx

hope that helps.


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## PsychoFishy (Nov 26, 2011)

anthonystraus said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I'm in the early planning stages of my SW upgrade and was looking to learn a little more about sizing of the drain pipes, sumps etc.
> 
> ...


Feel free to build me a tank at the same time man. I'm in need of an upgrade


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## anthonystraus (Apr 14, 2009)

Thanks all for the replies!


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## anthonystraus (Apr 14, 2009)

PsychoFishy said:


> Feel free to build me a tank at the same time man. I'm in need of an upgrade


You provide the funding I'll help with the building.


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## Windowlicka (Mar 5, 2008)

Depending on the head-height required from your basement to your DT, you're going to need a pretty sizeable return pump to give you your desired flow rate.

I'd also perhaps recomend further research into the 1/2" return pipe while you're still in the 'design phase' - at that diameter, your inflow to the sump will be ~much~ higher than your return feed is capable of managing, so your control ball/gate* valves on the primary drain line will be all but shut to retain the integrity of your full siphon (and to prevent your sump from over-flowing).

A slightly wider diameter return might make all the difference?

Reef Central has a couple of good calculators that might help with some of these types of considerations:

*Drain/Overflow sizing:*
http://reefcentral.com/index.php/drainoverflow-size-calc

*Head-Loss Calculator:*
http://reefcentral.com/index.php/head-loss-calculator

* recommendation: go gate valves on your main drain - more expensive than ball valves, but MUCH easier to fine-tune. I -wish- I'd gone this route!


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

Windowlicka said:


> Depending on the head-height required from your basement to your DT, you're going to need a pretty sizeable return pump to give you your desired flow rate.


where it says about basement 

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## anthonystraus (Apr 14, 2009)

sig said:


> where it says about basement


Haha, sump/fuge will be in the stand.


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## Windowlicka (Mar 5, 2008)

Duh. Sorry - completely misread the OP! I'm "having a Monday"


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

do it in the basement. It is very good idea




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## anthonystraus (Apr 14, 2009)

sig said:


> do it in the basement. It is very good idea


The whole setup is going to be in my basement, so technically it will be

PS: Nice set-up!


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