Chrispar Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 so im getting ready to break my tank down and get it all ready to drill and plumb, the question is, how do I determine the proper size for my holes? Its a standard 29 tall. im planning on doing two holes for two small corner overflows running to about 15 gallons of sump\refugium. also, its about 4 feet from where im planning the holes on the display to the sump\fuge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wryknow Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Dpo you have over flow boxes or are you just drilling a hole in the back for a drain? Is the tank glass or acrylic, if it's glass have you drilled glass before? How many GPH are you running through your return pump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzobob Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 As Wryknow has indicated your gph will help identify what size plumbing you will use. This will give you the bulkhead size and type you will need which will identify the size of the hole you will want to drill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrispar Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 Im in the process of making my overflows, Im a very DIY person and im not at all scared of drilling glass, i also have several old 10 gallons to practice on. I dont have a return yet, im trying to figure all this out before i go and buy any pumps or bulkheads. I just need help figuring how many GPH to put through my sump and the size holes i need to drill, bulkhead types and size and what kind of return pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzobob Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 OK, just real ballpark, 29 gallon tank you'll want approx 290 (10x tank volume) turnover in the sump. If you're doing a refugium you will want the refugium flow to be considerably less. (usually between 3-5x) Using the drain/overflow size calculator on Reef Central that gives you two overflows plumbed with 1/2" pipe as the minmum. That gives you your minimum bulkhead size. You may want to bump that up to 3/4" if for no other reason than the fittings are more common. Your flow (10x tank volume + flow for refugium if any) will be combined with your head height (pump outlet to return point in tank) to determine your return pump needs. This will be ballpark as pipe size and fittings impact GPH at the top of the return which is where you want your 290gph. ReefCentral has a nice calculator which will get you in the right ballpark. Let us know what level of detail you are looking for as I don't want the post getting overly long if this isn't what your needing. Russell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wryknow Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 What Russel said except that I try to stick with a 3-5 times tank volume return regardless of whether or not there is a refugium just as a matter of personal preference. I find it easier to control noise and micro-bubbles with less flow through the drain. For the pump on my new 34 gallon tank I went with an E-heim 1250. It is within my target flow range at that head pressure and I have always been very happy with the E-heim pumps that I have owned in the past. Mag drive pumps would be another reasonable choice IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzobob Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I went with the Eheim 1262 for my new tank. Among the reasons I picked the Eheim were low noise, good power consumption and for me the biggest reason they deal with back pressure well so I'm able to 'tune' the output with a ball valve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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