Plumbing help on 90g corner flow

[pjsonnentag]

Has anyone plumbed a 90g marineland cornerflow (bulkheads to sump and back)? The bulkheads are 1 1/4" threaded and my return pump has a 1" threaded output. I want to incorporate unions and ball valves in both lines for control/ maintenance. If anyone has any pics of their setup it would be really helpful. Thanks!

[pjsonnentag]

Ok- a more directed question. The bulkeads are 1 1/4", so the drain and return tubes that fit into them are both 1". My concern is that a 1" drain tube will not be able keep up with the overflow in a 90g Marineland cornerflow tank (overflow rated to 700gph) with a Quiet One 3000 return pump (550 gph at 5' of head) especially if I incorporate a PVC union in the 1" drain pipe, which would introduce an even narrower section. Think I'll be OK?

[ErikS]

550 is quite close to the 600gph of 1" - doesn't leave much room for error. You could run both as drains & do a return over the top?

[pjsonnentag]

Hmmm, an interesting idea, but I think I'd like to stick to the 1 and 1 overflow/return I think. I'd rather not drill the tank or have anything hangging over the edge. Thanks though- not even something I had considered!

[pjsonnentag]

Maybe this is a fluid dynamics question......but the overflow tube looks at least 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" in diameter (water surface to bulkhead span), but narrows to 1" when it goes through the bulkhead. Will this effectevely make the drain 1"? or could I get more than 500 gph drain from a wider drain pipe even after the 1" bulkhead bottle neck?

[ErikS]

Maybe this is a fluid dynamics question......but the overflow tube looks at least 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" in diameter (water surface to bulkhead span), but narrows to 1" when it goes through the bulkhead. Will this effectevely make the drain 1"? or could I get more than 500 gph drain from a wider drain pipe even after the 1" bulkhead bottle neck?
Hard to say w/o pictures...........but yes, they often narrow at the bulk head - slows down the flow & cuts down on the flushing sound. Yep, will flow only as fast as the narrowest restriction. Easyiest solution is to restrict the flow of the pump, won't hurt the pump & give some room for safety.

Also, put some mesh over the drain - might keep stuff out & prevent a clog.

[pjsonnentag]

Thanks. In that case I think I'll stick with the 1" PVC all around since my return shouldn't push more than 500 gph at 5' head anyway. I'll be running a fuge, so medium flow might be a good thing. I'll just make sure to have some strategically placed circ pumps for the high flow corals. I appreciate the advice!

BTW- nice powder blue tang!

[Pdandy]

I am in the process of plumbing my 90g cornerflow as well. I wanted to keep the stock drain and stock return inside of the overflow but I also wanted to use my mag12 as my return. With the stock overflow rated at 700gph max I knew I'd be way over that even at 5' of head loss. So I decided to drill another hole in the side of the overflow and run a fully siphoned drain (herbie method) Below the stock durso and use the durso as my emergency back up. I have read a fully siphoned 1" pipe is capable of up to 1400gph. So I should be good!!

http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa478/pdandy88/FOWLR/DSC04221.jpg

http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa478/pdandy88/FOWLR/DSC04222.jpg

[pjsonnentag]

Nice! What type of tank are you planning with that kind of turnover? will that all be feeding one return as well? I don't think I'll drill another hole in the tank, but just out of curiosity, what did you use to drill the side??

[pjsonnentag]

Dan- I'd love to see more pics for ideas as your build continues, do you have a thread for the build?