Herbie or Durso

JohnnyRedd

New member
Hi folks, moving up from a 125/180 to a 240 and am trying to get my ducks in a row.

I will have to double check the volume on the new pump but the tank is a standard 8 foot long by 24 by 24 240. Four holes drilled, two at each end.

If I go Herbie all of my return volume is at one end. Am I not restricting my volume here? I have no idea how much water 1 one inch pipe can flow, just don't want to get into a flow issue there. I would assume max outbound volume is around 1400 gph.

I was imagining the Herbie at one end and then plumbing a return to about mid tank along with the standard one at the far end.

But I am completely open to suggestions. The standard durso kit seems like it will leave a lot of tank between the two ends with little flow.

Thanks
 
Both Herbie and Durso are good, solid, reliable designs. The primary difference is noise. If the tank is in a location where a little chug and gurgle doesn't matter, durso is easier. I changed to Herbie after months of trying to quiet my durso... and am overjoyed with the results.

2x 1" holes on each end of a 240. The usual accepted flow rate for a 1" gravity flow drain is 600 gph. If you want 4x tank turnover per hour, that's just under a thousand gallons per hour, which is within the normal limits for 2x 1" bulkheads. I don't think it matters that much if you use durso or herbie, either should handle that flow, both would need one drain setup on each end.

If you really want 1400 gph, you're likely to need at least 3 of those bulkheads as drains. that's nearly 6x tank volume turned over every hour. With the wavemakers available today, that kind of flow through a sump really isn't necessary anymore.

With a herbie, you're going to need all 4 holes as drains, with a durso, you'll only need 2 of them, so you could use the other two for returns. If you don't want over the back returns, you should probably go with the durso style drains.
 
There are lots of flow charts and calculators on the web. Just Google. A 1" drain will carry up to 960 gallons per hour under low, gravity-fed pressure.

If you were looking at a 5x return rate that would be 1200 gph. A Durso at either end would easily accommodate this. I have never had a problem getting a correctly built Durso to run smoothly and quietly. You could then use the second pipe at each end for a return.

If you wanted to go with a Herbie you could put a full siphon on both ends and then set one end as your secondary overflow and the other as the emergency overflow. This would require a separate method of return; say, over the top, for example.

Lots of ways to plumb a tank, with many proponents for each method.

Dave.M
 
Id go Herbie. One on each end. My tank is the same dims as yours and its peninsula style with a 1.5" hole used as a drain and 1" used as emergency. I have what I feel is plenty of flow with two eductors and three additional pumps. I would never go durso again as I could never quiet the drains enough.

I know one guy running a dual durso and for some reason his is dead quiet


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My two 2 inch durso's are very quiet. I want low flow through the sump and the durso's do great. I also don't submerge the drain in the sump so I don't have any salt splatter. I regulate flow with my doc return pump. I use the 1 inch holes for returns. The herbie needs the fail safe, like Dave mentioned. I just didn't want to control a siphon. Lots of choices. Sound control on Durso is based on diameter of the drain pipe and vent hole. Start hole small and enlarge until noise is negligible.
 
I run a modified Herbie, I have a 90 on the short pipe and a 45 on the longer pipe. I have just a little water going into the 45, it is super quiet and the 45 tube is an emergency tube just in case.
 
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