plumbing question?

[LightsAreBright]

If i took a 1.5"bulkhead, and then reduced it so that i could put a locline on it, will the flow be reduced, or increased? Thanks,
Bing

 

[Ed Hahn]

I believe a reduction due to restriction. I think another thing to consider would be what type of pressure pump is operating your Bulk head and loc line (high pressure pump or low pressure pump).

 

[reedman]

You would certainly have increased velocity with the reduced output size. Like Ed said though, make sure your pump is OK with the back pressure before you go this route.

 

[wrightme43]

If its a 1.5 wouldnt it run three 3/4" locklines with no problem. Maybe you could split it with a 3 output one input from lowes in the plumbing section. Might help and just a Idea. HTH Steve

 

[CarlaW]

Got any pics of what you are trying to do? I have to agree with Steve tho. 1.5" should drive at least 3- 3/4" lines. What type of pump are you using?

 

[LightsAreBright]

I dont have anything yet. I ordered my tank and its going to come in 3 weeks. I have 2 1.5" outputs for a closed loop and one 1.5" drain for the closed loop. I went with 1.5" for more flow.What do you mean 3 3/4" lines? I was going to use a blueline 40hd-x or a Velocity T4.
Thanks

 

[CarlaW]

We are saying that you could split that 1.5" line into 3 separate 3/4" lines to split up the flow in your tank. How many gph do either of those pumps produce?

 

[LightsAreBright]

around 1270-1275 gph.

 

[CarlaW]

I hate to keep asking questions, but are you doing this in a reef tank? What type of corals would you be keeping. With 1200 or so gph, probably the best way to go, IMO, would be to split it 2 ways. With head loss and such, you would probably end up pushing about 500+ gph thru each 3/4" line. HTH

 

[LightsAreBright]

I am going to be keeping SPS. Its a 29 gallon BTW.
Thanks.

 

[CarlaW]

Oh and by the way, WELCOME TO REEF FRONTIERS, this place is the best!! There are some great people here that are more than willing to help.
Split the return to either side of the tank to produce some random currents. Is the tank drilled for more than one return?

 

[LightsAreBright]

Thanks for the welcome
Yes, i have 2 returns on the top. My return is a mag 9.5.
with this much flow, do you think my sand bed will get blown up? I have about 30 pounds of sand from my old tank, and i dont want it to go to waste. But, if it will get blown around, i think ill go barebottom.

 

[reedman]

Your sand will probably blow all over the place if you have enough current for the SPS. What they are trying to tell you about the 1.5" to 3x3/4" is almost correct. If you don't want any back pressure on the pump then you should be able to go from 1.5" to 4 individual 3/4" return lines. It's an area calculation to ensure there is no reduction in cross sectional area of flow thru the pipes. If you run 3 individual 3/4" outputs it will work, but you will be restricting the flow a little and thus be putting back pressure on the pump. I believe the Mags are OK for this, but I would check.

If you are just setting the tank up, I would really consider barebottom for an SPS tank. Having sand gets to be a hassle. And this is coming from someone who has sand because I like the look. That said, all of my sand has migrated to the back of my tank where I can no longer enjoy looking at it. Just my experience.

 

[CarlaW]

If you do go bare bottom, maybe you could put the old sand in your sump or refugium, if you are gonna go that way. It would be a great biologic start.

 

[LightsAreBright]

Yeah, i like sand because it looks natural. Already in my old tank it was moving around too much. My sump is only a 10 gallon right now, but i plan to make a fuge out of some sterlite tubs that i have. Could i put a baffle in there so i can put my mag in there too? I want my skimmer before the fuge right?

 

[CarlaW]

That is kinda hard for me to answer because all of my periferal stuff is fed from the sump and returned to the sump.
I don't see any reason you couldn't put a baffle in there for your mag.

 

[LightsAreBright]

Could i go with a sequence reeflo dart, and put 4 outputs? On RC, i did a headloss calculator using the Sequence3600Seq12.
Is that around the same gph as the dart?
i got 2412 gph, and then if i divided that by 4, i would get ~603 gph out of each output. I would have the extra 2 outputs go over the top of the tank, and swing back, pushing water back at the rocks. If thats too much, I could put the pump on the floor, that way its pumping up against 3 feet of head. Would you have it at tank level behind the tank, or pumping from the ground? Or is that overkill?
Thanks

 

[Ed Hahn]

Lightsarebright,
What would you think of a sea swirl in the middle of your tank returning flow? I see a 3/4 inch Sea Swirl in the Equipment for sale for a unbelieveable price.

 

[CarlaW]

As far as the placement of the pump, either way is gonna be good. If you could get a minmum of 500 gph out of each, that's not bad for a 29 gallon. The more you can turn over, the better. (IMO)

 

[LightsAreBright]

Ok cool.
If i went with a fuge, how could i drain my sump into the fuge and then keep the sand in the fuge from going into the mag? I would drill my sump, but its a glass tank.