Dual Standpipe Idea

[Dana]

Howdy ya'll!

I have an ongoing project I'm working on...looking to 'do it right' the first time and not find myself trying to upgrade 6 months down the road. By this I mean go big now or spend more $$ doing it again.

Anyways, I've decided to go with 2 standpipes. My goal is to get the best of both worlds. I would like one to pull water off the surface and another to pull water from about midway in the tank. Through my personal experience, I get pretty good mechanical filtration when pulled from midway or closer to the bottom (Eheim 2215 with intake about 2" from the bottom).

So the standpipe on the left is the standard setup. But the one on the right, I would place a 3" pipe over the standard standpipe and the 3" pipe has holes drilled a couple inches off the bottom (making sure not to suck up the DSB but still pull some of the suspended junk).

Well, what do you think?

Constructive critism is welcome!

Dana

 

[wrightme43]

How do you plan to deal with power outage? wouldnt the short one drain 50% of the tank? Just my thoughts.

 

[MAKO]

The short one would drain no more than the other becouse the main pipe in it is the same hieght.

 

[Kensn]

It looks to me like the top of the short one was sealed by the outter pipe and that would create a siphon I think...

 

[wrightme43]

Sure looks like it would to me. It could probley be fixed by a vent to air.

 

[Kensn]

Now if ya vent it it won't work at all will it, it is dependant on the siphon to operate, unless ya mean hole just below the water level.....

 

[wrightme43]

I think that would work. I am not 100% on it though. Will it restart reliabley?

 

[bc_slc]

you would just leave the 3" pipe without a top on it. Then it functions like an overflow.

 

[Dana]

Thanks for the replies!

I should have erased the top of the 3" pipe. The one on the right is the same thing as the one on the left, however it will be drawing water from midway in the tank. The 2 standpipes are the same height but the 3" pipe is about 1 1/2 taller than the inner pipe so it pulls water from midway, goes up the inside of the 3" and down the 1 1/2". They both should be gravity flowing and not siphoning.

Dana

 

[big t]

That should work, did you get the idea from the AGA Megaflow overflows? That is how they are setup, on the same basic principal.

 

[Dana]

My friend told me something about the one on the right, but I also wanted to pull water from the surface, so I thought about employing both types of standpipes. I do wonder if the one on the left will pull more water or maybe I need some pretty decent sized holes in the 3" midway standpipe.

Dana