40 br bulkhead size for Beananimal

[orucco]

Would 3 - 1" bulkheads and a 3/4" return be ok for a 40 br with a 20 or 30 gal sump using a Eheim 1260 or would the drains have to be 1.5"? Was planning on using sch 80 bulkheads or would sch 40 be ok? I did read all pages of "silent overflow threads"............Thanks!

[cryptic_grower]

Bean used 3 1" bulkheads on a 75g (as did I and many others). I think you'll be ok with that.

[NanoReefWanabe]

also there is no need for the sch80 fittings, those are pressure rated and bulky, you don't need either on a tank…if you support your plumbing properly you should never have to worry about breaking a fitting or the glass…

if you haven't bought your pump yet you may want to consider a DC pump instead of the one you are thinking about...

[orucco]

Any recommendations on a DC pump?

[adova]

I run a Jebao DC 12000 - pretty quite. Just a slight hummmmm when running.

[sleepydoc]

also there is no need for the sch80 fittings, those are pressure rated and bulky, you don't need either on a tank…if you support your plumbing properly you should never have to worry about breaking a fitting or the glass…

if you haven't bought your pump yet you may want to consider a DC pump instead of the one you are thinking about...

+1 on schedule 80 plumbing. Schedule 80 plumbing is heavier, more expensive, and has a smaller inside diameter, so you get lower flows for any given size. The only advantage is with the valves - the schedule 80 valves have better seals and are more durable.

If you like the color, get a can of Krylon Fusion paint and paint your plumbing.

re: DC pumps, check out this thread (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2485859). It seems the DC pumps are not all they are cracked up to be.

[dkeller_nc]

I'd also recommend staying away from DC return pumps. There's nothing inherently wrong with a DC pump, and in principle they can be more efficient than an AC design because the impeller will only turn one way in a DC pump, and can have a more efficient "boat prop" form factor than the typical "works both directions" AC submersible pump design. The issue is that all that seems to be available for the hobbyist is either Chinese manufactured pumps of questionable quality and reliability, or extremely expensive German manufactured pumps.

With respect to your application, there's no question that eheim universal hobby pumps have a well-deserved reputation for being bulletproof and incredibly long-lasting (I have a 1250 that has been in continuous operation for more than 10 years with the same rotor).

But in my opinion, a 1260 is really overkill for a 40g breeder. It uses 65w, and produces 640 gph at zero head, with a shut-off head of 12 ft. For that size tank, I'd use a 1250 if you wanted to stick with Eheim's universal hobby pump line. Perhaps a better choice from the standpoint of absolute silence, low wattage and still maintain high reliability operation would be the Sicce Synchra Silent 1.5 - 25w, 357 gph, 6 ft shut-off head. You could also consider going with the Sicce 1.0 - 251 gph @ 16w, shut-off head of 5 ft.

If you want extra flow for reactors, I'd suggest buying a separate Sicce 0.5 - it has more than enough flow for 2 TLF phosban reactors, uses 8w, and allows you to service the reactors without having to shut off/valve off the main pump. In an emergency, it could also be used as the return pump for the tank until you got the main pump fixed/replaced.

[orucco]

Thanks so much for the replies! On those using Eheim pumps do you remove the prefilter if you have a filter sock?

[uncleof6]

Most of the problems associated with DC pumps where the direct result of abuse by the end user. The controllers were overheating, because the end users where blocking the fan. The design was changed. RLSS changed the design, and replaced/repaired ~ 100 pumps, some replaced with the Gen II pumps. A good company. I would not mess with Jebao.

The problems with DC pumps are old news. If you have not run one, recently, the bad mouthing of DC pumps is little more than hearsay, and is misleading. I run first gen RLSS DC5000, and DC10000 and have never had an issue with them. No one I know, (around here) has had an issue with one either. The bottom line is: if you don't take care of a pump, of any make/model, it is going to fail.

[orucco]

Should I use threaded or slip bulkheads? When it says abs bulkhead is that te same as sch 40? Sorry for the dumb questions, not much of a plumber!

[NanoReefWanabe]

sch40 is the size of the bulkhead they come in ABS and PVC

ABS are fine, PVC only marginally better…that said if you use ABS slip bulkheads be sure to also buy transitional cement, which will bond PVC pipes to the ABS bulkhead.

Slip fittings are better, as too many people mess up threaded ones and tend to break them by over tightening them or by using teflon tape…

slip fittings are easy to work with, cut your pipes square, debur them and cement…you are going to have to cement threaded fittings on anyway, you might as well reduce the fittings, reduce the frictional losses, and reduce the required space and forgo the threaded fittings…there should be no need to take your pipes or bulkheads apart anyway…IF you need to, simply glue in a union when the time comes, again no need for extra fittings, resistance, leak potential...