Finally going to switch over to a sump, need help on overflow setup

[Egkid]

Due to battling diatoms for the past year I'm getting ready to break down my 40 breeder. I've always used HOB skimmer in the past, but I figure why not drill it and go with a bigger skimmer and make the tank look cleaner while it's empty.

As far as drilling it goes I'm a little overwhelmed with all the options for and overflow setup. I was originally thinking of drilling 2 holes on each side of the back of the tank, one being a drain, and the other a return. After some research I learned that's not a great idea, as the drain could get clogged and cause flooding.

So I'm back to square one with what to do. I prefer to drill the back of the tank, doesn't matter if it's in the center or corners though. I would also like to keep the overflow as small as possible cause I think they're an eye sore and a pain to clean underneath. Sorry to beat a dead horse but I can't find a thread that talks about the different overflow setups, just build threads that I have to go through all the pages to see what setup that person went with.

 

[rogergolf66]

2 holes in top corner with bean animal. The larger the surface area of the overflow box the better a job it will do surface skimming

 

[MJNTWise]

Go to faois and let them do it right the first time.

 

[Egkid]

How unreliable is having just one drain though?

I'm at Faois almost every week, I may go this route. But I get more satisfaction out of doing things myself. I'm not worried about drilling the tank just the layout from personal experience of you guys.

 

[rogergolf66]

Never do 1 drain. There herby over flow uses 2 and it will be silent.

Mis typed In 1st post the bean animal uses 3 holes the herby uses 2 holes both r the way to go.

 

[Egkid]

Herby overflow it is! Thanks, looks like I can get away with a smaller overflow box with the herby as it seems a lot of people use a coast to coast overflow with the bean animal.

 

[rogergolf66]

Glad I could help but I still stress the larger the overflow the better

 

[Egkid]

Okay so I've done a bit of research and my plan is to have 1" drains with 3/4" returns. One 1" return should be able to drain the tank fine (from what I've read) and the other serving as emergency back up. And I chose 3/4" returns for a mag 9.5. Sound good? Just double checking everything.

 

[rogergolf66]

Yup will be good

 

[Egkid]

Any of you guys still running the Jebao return pumps? Are they still quiet? Thinking I may go this route instead of a mag drive. Can't decide between a dc3000 run at 100% or a dc6000 at 50%.

Can't find any reviews from long time users though.

 

[CrazyEyes]

What size tank is this for?

 

[Egkid]

40 breeder

 

[CrazyEyes]

I think 1" drains would be a good size. A bean animal with a coast to coast is probably one of the best options around imho.

 

[Egkid]

What makes the bean animal the better option? Asking out of curiosity not being a smartass just in case it sounds that way. I'm really not a fan of the coast to coast setup though, I like to have an open front sandbed and feel that I'd have to have my aquascape pushed towards the front with a coast to coast.

 

[CrazyEyes]

Well, either a herbie or bean animal will both be super quiet. I know some people can make dursos quiet by oversizing it. I've never been successful in making a durso quiet. Only reason I personally like the bean vs the herbie is the emergency drain. Chances are, if you run 2 decent sized drains on a herbie both aren't going to clog at the same time. I went with a bean for the simple that, I live on the top floor of an apartment and last thing I want to deal with is them both clogging for whatever reason. I'll use this as an example since both our tanks are 18" wide. My overflow box is 36x4x4. This gives me a decent amount surface skimming, gives me enough room for the elbows and doesn't force me to have my rocks pushed up against the front glass.

 

[Egkid]

So I'm moving a lot faster than anticipated, got the tank drilled at FAOIS cause it was only a few bucks more than ordering the bits, bulk heads, and shipping. I gotta clean the tank and get some proper pictures cause it looks amazing.But for now just checking the plumbing.

This is just a mock up, still have to add the ball valves and union joints. I'm running vinyl tubing from the return pump to the T joint to hopefully cut out any noise from vibration.



Since I'll be running a DC return pump should I bother with any ball valves on the returns? I think I might be able to get away with just running one on the main drain.

 

[CrazyEyes]

Looks good man. I'd think you'd be fine not running a ball valve on the return. Just a heads up, if you go to Lowes, they sell true union ball valves that are so much easier to open/close than a traditional ball valve you'd find at local hardware stores. I see two drains, I take it you went with a herbie design.

 

[djsmallz]

Any of you guys still running the Jebao return pumps? Are they still quiet? Thinking I may go this route instead of a mag drive. Can't decide between a dc3000 run at 100% or a dc6000 at 50%.

Can't find any reviews from long time users though.

I have the dc6000 and mine is silent

 

[Egkid]

That's good to hear. I'm hoping my DC3000 will be here on Friday so I can finish up the plumbing and water test it.

 

[nctinter]

Do you already have a sump? I have one from my old 40g breeder if you're interested. It has 3 chambers. Middle section is the return. One side was for my skimmer and the other for a refugium