Custom Tank Plumbing Question

[bee505]

I am in the process of building a 130g custom tank. The tank will have an external overflow going down to a 40b sump. I need to provide the builder specs on the hole size soon.

Here are a few ideas I am debating on.

(4) 1" drains (2 emergencies / 2 drains) plus (1) 1" return
or
(3) 1.5" drains plus (1) 1" return
or
(3) 1.5" drains plus (1) 3/4" return (will the 3/4' return be enough for this size tank?)

I do not have much experience in plumbing. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RocketEngineer]

I would have (3) of either 1" or 1.5" drains and have the return go over the top of the tank. In my 125g system, I use 1" and maxed out my return pump. I still have more capacity in the drains so 1" worked for what I was going for. Larger wouldn't hurt.

Either way you go, make sure you provide the correct HOLE size as that is larger than the PIPE size.

 

[laverda]

You really need to provide more information to make an informed decision. First you need to decide; How much flow are you planning to have through your sump? 5-10 times tank volume is recommended in most cases. So that would be between 650 and 1300 GPH. The pump your using will make a big difference in determining your return line diameter. You usually don't want to go any smaller then the what pump output is. Will you be feeding anything else with your return pump? Every fitting, union, valve and especially 90 degree angles reduce your flow. What is your pump capable of flowing after head lose? Is your overflow capable of handling that much flow? If so then use the RC calculators to calculate head loss and see what the minimum drain size is, then go bigger or reduce your flow.

 

[bee505]

Thank you for the input. The pump that I will be using is the Jabeo DC9000, the flow rate for this pump is 713 to 2377GPH. I will most likely dial this down. The idea was originally go with the 3x1.5" drains and reduce size if needed.

I will also check out the RC calculator to calculate the head loss.