Plumbing Question

[DrBoxedWine]

Hi everyone,

Question about plumbing... I'm going to be running about 550 GPH through my sump, and the RC Calculator says i need about 1" pipe. I'm getting ready to order the stuff, and i'm wondering how the T joints effect this. I'll be running GFO and Carbon at a later date, so I want to have a T-joint leading to a gate valve, and then to a line running back into my sump for now. So, since the T-joint fits inside the tubing, does this constrict flow considerably? Do i need to go up a size on all my pipes and fittings so that the T-joint will be closer to 1" and thus not restricting flow? Your tubes are only as free flowing as the smallest point, i'm assuming?

Thanks!

 

[DrBoxedWine]

Anyone?

 

[RocketEngineer]

If this is a single pipe, you will likely need to go with 1.5" to run that much flow. If you are running a siphon system (Herbie or BeanAnimal) the main siphon can be 1" without a problem at that flow rate. BTW, the RC calculator doesn't apply to either Herbie or BeanAnimal setups.

 

[rocsec1]

I used couplers that were one size up to keep the same size inside the pipe. So for valves I would get the 1 1/4 valve and coupler (i think, it was a while ago) of the same size. The pipe goews into the coupler and the coupler into the valve and the inside pipe size remains the same.

 

[DrBoxedWine]

Thanks people, I'm using a life reef overflow with 600 GPH.

So 1" from the overflow, and then 1.5" from the return pump back to the tank. Is there a drawback to going too big on the line back to the tank? The price difference is negligible.

 

[DrBoxedWine]

Does a life reef overflow fit into an overflow category like herbie or beananimal?

 

[RocketEngineer]

No. It is a hang-on-back (HoB) one that is added vs one that is built into the tank. Both are overflows which can cause confusion. Most commercially available overflows are rated much higher than you want to run them because at the rated flow they are very noisy.

Given that you are using a HoB overflow, why are you adding a tee?

 

[DrBoxedWine]

Thanks for the explanation, that makes sense. I'm adding a T from the return pump so i can branch off of it to run GFO and Carbon in the future. Is there another way?

 

[RocketEngineer]

AH, I thought you were talking about drains from the display down to the sump. You're talking about returns. My mistake.

Adding a tee does add a little bit of resistance to flow but overall it is very minor. I recommend sticking with 1" for everything if possible, changing sizes isn't necessary.

 

[DrBoxedWine]

Thanks for the input. Is there a drawback to using 1.5"?

 

[RocketEngineer]

Not if you stay with it as far as possible. Changing sizes is the problem, going smaller is worse but even going bigger adds turbulence which increases resistance to flow.