[parapetenia]

I know this is a reef bb (my questions aren't even saltwater related, I hope you guys will excuss this), but this bb seems to have more experienced people on it then others.

A little background. I have a 125 gallon with various large Central American cichlids in it. Up until very recently I have not had a problem keeping my water parameters up to par, but water quality has started becoming an issue (kept in good condition with way too frequent water changes). The tank is definitly over stocked but it is the only way to keep the fish I have in a community setting (too aggressive).

Now what I want to do. I want to put a sump (55 gallon) into play in this tank. I already have the sump design worked out, but plumbing is what I need help on. This is what I have planned (no detail is shown in sump).

Light Blue = pvc piping Red = soft piping White = connectors

The inlets would look like this.


What size bulkheads should I use (inlet and outlet) to get about 1500 gph? What pump? Any other suggestions? Thank you.

[kevinpo]

Hi Jason,
The delivery can be 1" and the returns 1.5". The pump I recommend is Model 18 Mag-Drive Pump 1800gph. Only one moving part no motor seals to wear or leak. Submersible or inline use. 3/4 inch npt theaded inlet/outlet 145 watts. It can be purchased online from here: http://www.customaquatic.com/customa...wp&brandID=DM#

HTH,
Kevin

[dattack]

Is this an acrylic or glass tank?

So are you going to drill holes in the back of your tank?

You can always get an overflow box if needed to skim the surface. However, I can tell that the two bulkheads that drain to your 55 gallon sump will lose a lot of flow if it's connected to the same diameter T. For example, two 1" PVC piping converging on a 1" T would drastically reduce flow. You might want to separate pipes going into the sump or have a T whose outlet is larger than the PVC you connect it to.

For the elbow that is in the main tank, have it facing upwards so you can skim the surface of the tank. You can add a strainer to the end of the PVC for that if needed.

This is just an estimate from experience and from the manufacturers flow rates for overflow boxes.


1" bulkhead->600gph
1.5" bulkhead->1600 gph

GPH decreases with more elbows/plumbing length. etc.


If you use a submersible pump, then a Mag pump is probably a good choice. A Mag 12 does around 1200 gph and Mag 18 at 1800 gph. You have to look at the Mag chart to determine flow loss due to head pressure.
If you use an external pump, might look into Mak4, Iwakis, Blueline pumps.

You can buy online to say money for both plumbing parts and pump.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ or any of the sponsors on this board.

[parapetenia]

Thank you guys for your prompt responses.

The tank is a glass tank. I have been practicing on 1/2" glass with a carbide tip from hd(plan to use a diamond core saw for actual drilling though). It seems pretty easy. I planned on having larger diameter piping(2" or 2.25"?) after the T to allow for flow. Will having the elbow facing up cause alot of noise? Since I will have two outlets and only one inlet, would I be able to use all 1.5 bulkheads so I can get the gph I want? Or will I still need to use larger diameter on the outlets? Once again, thank you.