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mystyce

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Nov 1, 2010
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ive got a 75 gallon with a 60 gallon for a sump im looking to set up my plumbing and not sure what size of pipes to use. im going to use a mag 7 for a return pump. the 75 is a glass tank that cant be drilled.
 
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no need to go past 1 1/2"

But since your not drilling that creates its own set of problems.
Siphon is ok till you get your first spill, then you never want to do it again.
 
Welcome to RF!! :D What are you using for an overflow? Do you have one yet or do you plan on getting one or was your initial plan to drill and create your own overflow? Let us know...With an overflow like these http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supply/CPROverflow.html or even these http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supply/MLA.html (top 3 rows), you won't have to drill your tank and it comes with the appropriate plumbing that you just connect to. Makes life easy. With the mag 7, you can just buy some good quality hose to save you from all the hard plumbing and run it from the pump to a return nozzle that you can either make on your own or you can buy them as well. Just a few thoughts for starters. Let us know what your plans were :)
 
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I woud stay under 3/4 or better 1/2"for the return since thats all that will be on the tank 1" for the drain I say !/2" over 3/4 as it will give you more pressure on the out put rather then 1" for a return. and depending on your over flow set up. and pump size with head pressure. that would be good IMO
 
I have a 75 and a 50 gallon sump. I used 2X1" drain lines (overflow boxes.)

I run one drain at a full syphon (no air in the line) and crank the flow down with a ball valve to do this. The second drain is full open, but just takes a trickle of water. It maintains the water level and is there as a backup incase the main drain gets plugged up.

Check out the kind of drain system they call 'herbie'

It runs completely silent. Here's pics of my plumbing. My return pump is an eheim 1262. about 650 gph at head pressure, 900-950 at the pump.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jrgilles/AquariumConstruction?feat=directlink
 
ive got a 75 gallon with a 60 gallon for a sump im looking to set up my plumbing and not sure what size of pipes to use. im going to use a mag 7 for a return pump. the 75 is a glass tank that cant be drilled.

Since you wont be drilling then your going to be forced to go with a siphon of some sort. As Krish pointed out there are many overflow boxes on the market. You can also go with a straight siphon and make your own box, its up to you.
You will find alot of folks complaining that they are unreliable and flood. When set up and maintained properly this is not the case. Decide which box you intend to use and we can help you set it up properly.
As far as plumbing your return use whatever size the Mag7 has if its, 3/4 then use 3/4.

Don
 
You will find alot of folks complaining that they are unreliable and flood. When set up and maintained properly this is not the case.

Don

Then the power cuts out, and then back on. Hopefully he wont have his sump return chamber containing more than his tank needs to topoff.
 
flood

Then the power cuts out, and then back on. Hopefully he wont have his sump return chamber containing more than his tank needs to topoff.

This has much more to do with the return line back siphoning rather than overflow configuration. Whether you have a drilled tank with internal overflow, or a J tube syphon, or a CPR Continuous Syphon, doesn't have as much an effect on flooding as the return line. In the event of power failure, an overflow that is properly set up will not have lost its syphon and will resume flawlesly once power is restored. The flooding usually happens because once power goes out, the return line which outputs well below the DT water level back syphons into the sump. To stop this from happening simply drill a small hole in the return line 3/4 of an inch below the water surface. This hole will break the syphon on power loss, just make sure you have room in your sump for the volume of water that is 3/4"xLxW..
Check valves work too, but are prone to failure...
As for overflows, a properly sized J-tube for the flow of your system will not get bubbles in it and will not loose syphon in a power outage. CPR CS overflows are notorious for building up bubbles and eventually have to be bled with the use of the aqualifter, I prefer the J Tube, works perfect every time.
Ichthys
 
on my first tank I have the hob drain worked perfect I had to get it set right with a sharpie marker and the sump I just unplugged the power from the tank to simulate a power outage watched it drain then marked it turned on the power watched it fill up then marked it when it fills a few things should happen one the over flow u-tube sits below the teeth in the box it stops there as no more water is coming in but the water still sits in the box as it cannot escape most of the time faulty box's, so when the over flow box fills back up the siphon should kick in again. but like don said maintenance is key. and topping off the system with 2 or 3 if possible top off switches. the return great advise was given to drill a small hole to stop the back siphon. this is where most flood the tank come from. easy but not as easy as a drilled tank.
 
Then the power cuts out, and then back on. Hopefully he wont have his sump return chamber containing more than his tank needs to topoff.

Wrong. A properly working overflow will restart as stated. There are measures a guy can tank to insure that the overflow will restart. Almost everyone that runs a hang on overflow uses a aqualifter but almost everone also forgets to install the check valve. Again, installed properly and maintained properly.:)

Don
 
also how far you have your return output under the water determines the amount of water you siphon back into your sump when power cuts out if you dont have a proper siphon break or it gets clogged for some reason.
 

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