Hole placement for new tank set up.

[Raistlin]

I'm setting up a 180 gal (reef) side by side a 60 gal (refugeium). I'm putting a deep sand bed in the 60 and I want to gravity feed it to the 180. I would like to do this without having to raise the 60 higher than the 180. I'm thinking if I have a hole drilled high on the back of the 60 and a hole drilled low on the 180 this might just work.

Do any of you have any additional insight into this problem? Who do you recommend for drilling holes for bulkheads here in Springfield?

Thanks,
Chad

 

[triggerjay]

The water level in one tank will have to be higher than in the other, to get any drain action out of it. If you poke a hole in the 60g up high, and the 180 low, but have the same water level in each tank, it won't drain....

Jason

 

[hambandit]

how do you want to get water into the 60?

 

[Raistlin]

I have a 1700 GPH pump going from a sump in the stand that the 180 will drain into. How much higher will the 60 gal have to be to get the right drainage rate. What size hole do you suggest? Thanks for the input thus far...

 

[ledford1]

So what kind of head pressure (what's the distance from the pump to the top of the tank) will you have on your 1700gph pump? If you need it, there's a head loss calculator on the front page: http://reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php

The vertical distance between the drain on the 60 and the hole into the 180 doesn't really make much difference. Rather, take whatever flow rate that will make it into the tank (from your head calculation), and have a hole drilled for your drain that will handle more than that number. You can use this calculator for that step: http://reefcentral.com/calc/drain.php

Hope that helps get you going.