Spray bar design

[jbittner]

I am looking to put a spray bar on my Mag 5 return. I am looking for pic's and advice. I wondered if I could just Pvc the entire return line. Then put 12" or so of the pipe along the back wall---drill holes in it (along the straight pipe and a small one just below the water line) and cap the end. Only problem is this seems to easy.

 

[werew]

That's because spray bars are easy!

Just start with small holes... even tho with a Mag5 pump you aren't going to get monstrous pressure... the smaller and more holes, the less turbulence. I thought it'd be the other way around with mine and used large slots which created too much turbulence using a Mag9.5 return pump in a 65gal tank.

I'd start with 3/16" holes every 1.5", and 1/8" holes facing towards the glass, to prevent dead spots. If you're getting too much flow then increase the number of holes. I'm thinking you're going to need more than 12" of horizontal spray bar though.

Best way to learn about this is dive in and try it out. Build a prototype and play around with it. PVC is cheap.