Water circulation help!

[reefchile]

Hi All,

I am planning build a reef aquarium 200 cm x 90 cm x 76 cm (80x36x30 inches) with about 1350 Lt (356 gal). My problem is I have not space below the aquarium and my only possibility is have a room for the equipment (sump, skimmer, refugium, pumps, etc.) outside the house. So, the equipment room will be at almost one meter below the level of the tank but around 15 meters away.

Could you help me with some ideas to create the water flow/water circulation? (The idea is have a two central overflows in the tank).

I really apreciate your help

Best regards,

 

[Dkuhlmann]

You will use powerheads in the tank and a larger than what you would normally use return pump due to the distance.

 

[reefchile]

You will use powerheads in the tank and a larger than what you would normally use return pump due to the distance.

Thanks

 

[Dkuhlmann]

There is a used Like New Mag 24 in the for sale section if you're interested. The seller is asking $100 shipped. Had this for a backup pump

 

[mcozad829]

Hi All,

I am planning build a reef aquarium 200 cm x 90 cm x 76 cm (80x36x30 inches) with about 1350 Lt (356 gal). My problem is I have not space below the aquarium and my only possibility is have a room for the equipment (sump, skimmer, refugium, pumps, etc.) outside the house. So, the equipment room will be at almost one meter below the level of the tank but around 15 meters away.

Could you help me with some ideas to create the water flow/water circulation? (The idea is have a two central overflows in the tank).

I really apreciate your help

Best regards,

I am curious why you wouldn't have space below the tank? Is it going to sit on the floor or something?

 

[reefchile]

Hi,
Is a big tank and after do some reserch I can see there is not enough space. However, the tank will be seated in the middle of the living room and I dont want to have noices there.

I think did not a good question. The real question is how can I send the water to the sump 15 mts away? By gravity is ok, but the return pump will be faster than the gravity I think.

 

[NJAB]

I wouldn't worry too much about the pump being faster then the water traveling out, a 1" inch in diameter return pipe can move about 960 gallons per hour and 1.5" can move about 2100 gallons per hour assuming you also have a emergency return pipe in case of something getting stuck in the main return line you will have more then enough water leaving the tank but if you would also like to play it safe you can get a DC pump as they can be dialed down or up

 

[jrr98002]

I wouldn't worry too much about the pump being faster then the water traveling out, a 1" inch in diameter return pipe can move about 960 gallons per hour and 1.5" can move about 2100 gallons per hour assuming you also have a emergency return pipe in case of something getting stuck in the main return line you will have more then enough water leaving the tank but if you would also like to play it safe you can get a DC pump as they can be dialed down or up

What he said. I've worked with people who've had similar situations like you and you'd be surprised how fast/much water will flow down a drain pipe, but if you're overly concerned definitely go with a 1.5" drain and a dialable pump. Just remember to oversize the pump a bit as also mentioned above due to the loss of pressure you'll get. It'll work great, don't worry.

 

[CStrickland]

You want your drains to be able to accept more water than the pump delivers. Otherwise you have a flood risk if it gets partially blocked, or a layer of slime grows inside. This will be easier to understand when you learn about the different styles of drain that are possible. I like the nearly flood-proof bean animal, which is a very effective drain system when combined with a coast to coast overflow as here: http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx
much better than the dual overflows IMO

You will need to research the 'head loss" on a long vertical like that to get an estimate of the gph you will lose, and then decide how much you want to move through your sump. That will decide the diameter of your pipes. Once you are in range you can fine tune with one of these after the pump

 

[CStrickland]

Oh my bad, you want the center overflow so the tank can be viewed from all sides in the middle of the room. I was imagining the standard 2 overflow like my tank has. Idk of the bean would work for you, but the valve is the same no matter which drain you chose.

 

[reefchile]

I wouldn't worry too much about the pump being faster then the water traveling out, a 1" inch in diameter return pipe can move about 960 gallons per hour and 1.5" can move about 2100 gallons per hour assuming you also have a emergency return pipe in case of something getting stuck in the main return line you will have more then enough water leaving the tank but if you would also like to play it safe you can get a DC pump as they can be dialed down or up

Thanks!

 

[reefchile]

What he said. I've worked with people who've had similar situations like you and you'd be surprised how fast/much water will flow down a drain pipe, but if you're overly concerned definitely go with a 1.5" drain and a dialable pump. Just remember to oversize the pump a bit as also mentioned above due to the loss of pressure you'll get. It'll work great, don't worry.

Thanks, as you say, I have been reading a lot of this and nobody is worried about this issue. I just need to know how many elbows I will put in order to calculate the head loss and finally the pump size.

 

[reefchile]

Oh my bad, you want the center overflow so the tank can be viewed from all sides in the middle of the room. I was imagining the standard 2 overflow like my tank has. Idk of the bean would work for you, but the valve is the same no matter which drain you chose.

Thnanks CS.

I definitely will put that valve in my tank.
However, I couldn't understand if bean animal can work in my overflow layout? If yes, must I put bean animal for both of overflows?

 

[CStrickland]

Both drains?
I was thinking you had one drain at the center of the tank, for viewing from 4 sides. Do you have 2 drains on the rear wall of the tank? Also, are the holes for the drain on the floor or the wall of the tank?

 

[reefchile]

Both drains?
I was thinking you had one drain at the center of the tank, for viewing from 4 sides. Do you have 2 drains on the rear wall of the tank? Also, are the holes for the drain on the floor or the wall of the tank?

Hi Cs,

Remember is a project, so I am thinking about how build the tank. However, untill now, the idea is have two central overflows (like reefkeeper2 have https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXlnNycoiJ0). So, my doubt is if I must to do the bean animal in both. The holes will go on the floor.