Plumbing for my circulation pump?

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jamal-188

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Okay so if anybody has been following my new adventure lately I decided to use a Quiteone 4000 High head for my overflow/sump.

I just picked up a Little Giant 4-MDQX-SC which is a circulation pump, which is rated at 1225@3' and 1080@6'. I"m not 100% sure what size piping to run to get it into my tank.

The input and outputs are 1" so I figured I'll run 1" PVC pipe from the overflow box or from the tank and run that down to the pump. For the output I was thinking of 1" pipe run up to the top of the tank, then T off into two 3/4" pipes one going to the left side of the tank, one going to the right side. Then each 3/4" pipe would split off into two 1/2" pipe. One 1/2" would go in at the top of the tank and the other at the bottome on each side of the tank.

Does that make sence and would this work? I was told that these pumps should not be throttled back with a ball vavle, will the reduction in the piping be okay that I'm planning on? I was also thinking of using a SQWD like Logan suggested but that might be too much flow comming out of just two returns at a time?
 
Your overflow drain will need to be much larger. The pump returns water alot quicker through a 1" hose than water will drain from your tank through the same size hose. A 1" drain does 600gph max, but usually much less. A 1.25" drain does 900gph max, usually less. 90 degree elbows not only slow the return water, but also the drain water. I'm running a 1" return line from a pump that'll do about 1500gph give or take. I'm running two 1.25 drain holes and will be cutting it close at 1800 gph drain, max.
 
You also do not want to run your overflow directly to your pump. There will be alot of air also going down that tube mixing with the pump imepellers and thus not very goood for the pump. The best thing to do is if your using an overflow is to put a sump between the overflow and the return pump.

If your going to use a scwd device then you should plumb 1" pvc up from the pump thru a one way gate valve and then reduce it to 3/4" just prior to the scwd. This is because as of yet they dont have a 1" scwd out on the market. THen run 3/4" plumbing out of the scwd to your tank. YOu dont need to drop to 1/2". Your not trying to acheve pressure or force from the outlets. In fact a concentrated jet stream of water is not as desirable as just a good steady current.

If they had a 1" scwd device I would suggest that and then plumbing the entire thing in 1" pvc.

I use the exact same pump at approx 4' head and I have an overflow with two 1" drains.
 
So how should I get water from the tank to the circulation pump? Do you mean you have a seperate overflow box for the circulatoin pump that goes to a second sump then to the pump?
 
imo i would make out of pvc ya pick up tube out of your main tank to you little giant and then out back into the tank !! drill a bunch of little holes then your closed loop is easy and no need for another overflows which would only add a ton of bubbles that way !! :!:
 
Well if you want to make a closed loop then you coudl do as steve suggested or you could have the back of your tank drilled a few inches below the water line. Insert a bulkhead and a cone strainer. Then plumb that line in 1" pvc down to your pumps intake. Then turn around and plumb your return from the pump thru the scwd and into the tank.

If you where to use a hang on overflow then I would not run that directly into your pump as you will have alot of issues with air bubbles and the pump impeller.
 
I really would like to avoid a hang on back skimmer however I just filled my tank and I"m not even sure where I could get it drilled around here? I guess I could just use a cone Strainer and make the 1" PVC just go into the tank :roll:

This is more complicated than I though. I really wanted to do it this way to make the tank look cleaner but a few powerheads may actually look better than PVC pipe everywhere?
 
I really would like to avoid a hang on back skimmer however I just filled my tank and I"m not even sure where I could get it drilled around here?

think your missing something here !! not sure were the hang on skimmer came from but thats diff then trying to run a closed loop !! also imo the look of pvc in the tank the first month might not look good but after algaes coat it it looks fine and alot better to set up a closed loop than a few ph !! and you will be happier in the long run !! not hard just put some creative thought into it !! if ya have the will ya will find the way !!!
 
Maybe I am confused...I"m just trying to figure out how the water will get from the aquarium to the input side of the pump? I'm pretty sure how I'm gonna pump the water back into the tank but getting the water to the pump is my problem now, that's what I meant when I said couldn't I just run 1" PVC and just hang it over the back of the aquarium creating a siphon and just hook that end to the input side fo the pump so the pump would draw water directly from the aquarium?
 
ya dont really need a syphon !! if ya have the 1" pvc dropped into the tank the pump will suck the water out and then back into the tank !!! but ya dont want the 1" pvc to be all open other wise any poor fish swimming by will be sucked up for sure !! why i said to cap it and drill holes into it so ya dont suck up anything to big to damage ya pump or suck in a fish !!!
 
Yeah, I mean to put a cone type plastic filter on the end, or I can just drill the pipe like you said! Here is rough pic of what I'm thinking, except the piping will go behind the aqurium instead of around the sides :wink:

Does this look good, any suggested changes?
 
yea that would work !! id go with the drilled pipe my self its easy !!

i did the same thing but set up the returns to run under the sand and then up each corner of the tank with a bunch of holes !! mixes the water alot better than a ph in the corner of the tank if ya ask me :)
 
Will I need to put ball valves anywhere or anything, I'm guessing equal water will not go from the scwd to each output but I guess that won't really matter huh?
 
never used a scwd but from what i gather all it does is switch from one side to another so id guess ya gonna get 100% flow to the left then a few min all to the right !!! ball valves are up to you imo
 
For the two dollar price of a ball valve I would stick one somewhere. Even for the unlikely event that one of your seals in your plumbing springs a leak, a fast shutoff is good peice of mind.
 
My other concern is that most of the water will exit the top outputs and barely any will reach the bottom outputs on each side. Do you think this will be a concern?

My last question is, how should I face these 4 outputs? My return from teh sump is in the top left corner and faces the middle of the front of the tank and aggitates the surgace pretty well.
 
Ball valves and true unions. The true unions are a little expensive but if you ahve to change out parts its better than having to saw the PVC in half and then having to join the PVC back with a coupler.

You could put 1 return in the front corners and 1 return in the right back corner and another return right in the middle. You could position them so they returned at different heights or different angles.
 
Thanks fishfreek, I do have unions and ball valves on both sides of the pump in case I need to remove anything as well as flapper valves in case of power outage.
 
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