Drain Location

[jeffreylam1132]

Hi SoCal reefers,

I was wondering what's the pros and cons of having a drain in the middle of the tank or in the corner of the tank. Let say the tank is 72"x18"x24" or 72"x24"x24". In the process of thinking of ordering a custom tank and was wondering which is a better location for the drain, middle or corner. Thanks.

 

[ReefMeister2]

Jeffrey,
I don't think the actual location matters from a functional perspective. The things you need to think about are:

1) aesthetics: Where is the tank going to be located in the room would indicate what is the best "looking" configuration

2) Maintenance: What location is easiest to reach for cleaning, retrieving wayward fish, working on the plumbing, etc.

3) Clearance: what type of rockscaping will be used inside the tank. Internal overflows unfortunately take up alot of space inside the tank...make sure the location you choose will not interfere with your inhabitants/rockscaping, etc.

4) Capacity: the more linear inches of overflow teeth, the more gallons-per-hour your overflow can handle. for instance, a single overflow in the middle of the tank will handle more flow than the same size overflow in a corner (the center overflow has 3 sides as opposed to only 2 sides for the corner) That is why there are usually overflows in both corners...to compensate for the lack of surface area/linear inches. Likewise, a center overflow will usually be "stretched" to be wider (not square shaped) to increase the linear inches

The capacity issue is probably the most important. Be certain that whatever configuration you choose has enough linear inches of overflow space to match your desired gph.

RC has a calculator to use for this purpose:

http://reefcentral.com/calc/drain.php

Simply enter how many GPH you wish to achieve and the calculator will tell you what the minimum pipe (drain) diameter is required AND the minimum linier inches of overflow teeth needed.

I hope this helps

Kevin

 

[jeffreylam1132]

Thanks a lot Kevin for some very good info. I was just wondering, for all the people that has this type of measurement on your tank, where are your drain located? And why? Just want to make sure before I order my tank. Now I have to think, should I have the drain in the middle of the tank, in the corner or two drain, one in each corner. Hm...................

 

[Yinger]

I have a 1.5 inch drain drilled in the middle with 2 3/4 inch returns on the side of the drain. so my drain and returns are all in one overflow

 

[ReefMeister2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7717476#post7717476 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jeffreylam1132
Thanks a lot Kevin for some very good info. I was just wondering, for all the people that has this type of measurement on your tank, where are your drain located? And why? Just want to make sure before I order my tank. Now I have to think, should I have the drain in the middle of the tank, in the corner or two drain, one in each corner. Hm...................

Jeffrey, my tank is a bent-corner glass tank; it did not come with any built-in overflow. I use the next best thing which is a LifeReef overflow. I then modified it "Reefmeister style" (you know I can't leave anything alone!) to handle 2,000 gph.

Center or Corner mount is just a matter of preferance, but if you do corner you'll want both corners installed with overflows for a 6-foot or larger tank. A 1-1/2" drain in each corner should work fine. If you do a center overflow, then you'll probably want either a single 2" drain or two 1-1/2" drains

 

[ReefMeister2]

As an example:

according to the calculator....
If you want a minimum capacity of 2,000 GPH then you need at least 30 linear inches of overflow teeth and 1.85 inches of drain.

So, for a "center mount" you'll most likely want a 20" x 5" overflow box with either a single 2" drain OR dual 1-1/2 drains

for "corner mount" you'll want an 8" x 8" overflow in BOTH corners with a 1-1/2" drain in each corner.

 

[jeffreylam1132]

Thanks again, Kevin. If you were building your tank, which would you prefer? Two corners or one center.

 

[ReefMeister2]

Three choices (again, depending where your tank is going):

1) If you want your tank to be visible from three sides, then I would definitely go with a center-back overflow (more precise term*)

2) If the tank were an "in-wall" installation or partially obstructed where only the front panel is viewable, (picture frame style) then I'd go with two corner overflows.

3) If the tank were mounted end-to-wall: where front, back, and one side is visible (similar to mine) then I'd get one large overflow on the hidden end of the tank. By "end" I mean it covers one entire side panel from front to back.


* Be careful when ordering a "center overflow"...it can mean direct, middle of the tank (front-to-back too) as with some cube tanks. Center/back overflow is more descriptive