Drain Size

[ksohal]

I'm in the process of getting a 470 gallon (84Lx36Wx36H) glass aquarium built.

The aquarium is going to be a FOWLR.

It will have an overflow built on the outside back of the aquarium.

How big do the drain holes need to be? I read that alot of hobbiests' complain about their small drains.

I am going to plumb the returns up to two Ocean Mocean 3500's or two Sea Swirls in each corner.

My return pump is a Reeflo Barracuda Gold (5500/gph)

My sump is approx. 90 gallons

Thanks for your time

[MR HONDA]

I would go with 1.5 drain..

[ksohal]

How many of them?

[MR HONDA]

what kind of overflow are you going to use?

[iamwrasseman]

5500 gph ? that's a big pump , whats the head height ? i would suggest at least two overflows and they will need to be large .yes you need the flow rating of each particular drain as they work differently so you will need some assistance to get it correct .

[ksohal]

iamwrassman- I read on marinedepot.com that the Barracuda was rated for a 300-500 gallon aquarium for the return. It says max shut off head 23'. Would you suggest a different pump? This is the department I do not have a whole lot of knowledge I am waiting to hear back for the aquarium manufacturer to see what they say.

MR HONDA- I'm having the aquarium company make an external overflow out of glass.

[MR HONDA]

I use the bean animal drain set up on my 265 and it is great there is a thread in the do it your self section on it i would do some reading on that type of over flow.very good over flow design..

[iamwrasseman]

hey Honda i do alot of trial and error with alot of planning so i cant say for sure but i have a 12 tank system and it has a 5200 gph pump rinning them all .with approx 12ft. of head height that i have it works out perfect . thats why i was wondering you head height and drain configuration was to try and research it for you .yes check out the DIY section out and they also have a head loss calculator too ..............just seemed like a big pump for one or two drains ,thats a pool pump buddy ! lol, do some research etc.

[Daimyo68]

I would recommend the BA drain system for use with that return pump.

Here's the thread, it's been split, so grab a gallon of coffee and start reading :) Far as I know people have had that system to 3000gph and beyond using 1 1/2" pipe. You could always go to 2" pipe and then who knows what the gph ceiling would be.

Part 1 - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1310585

Part 2 - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1541946

[ksohal]

iamwrasseman.. LOL! i will. I'm still trying figure all this stuff out.

Thansk for the readin' material Daimyo68

[iamwrasseman]

awesome ,it is a large pump so be sure to run a return loop right back into your sump so you can bleed of pressure if you need to and that will take a lot of the guesswork out of it .i hear ya man !

[ksohal]

that's a good idea.

Would a reeflo dart gold work better, or be more appropriate?

I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to all the terminolgy about plumbing. I have alot of learning to do!

Thanks for all the help!

[iamwrasseman]

where are you pumping the water from to where .10 ft head is cellar to upstairs ? 4ft head is sump under tank . these are approximate numbers but in the ballpark .what are your plans ?" head " refers to where the pump is to where it pumps to ,in vertical feet .

[ksohal]

from the sump

the tank is going to go in the basement. I am building the tank in the wall and having a room behind it to house all the plumbing, rodi and quarantine tank.