Plumbing 90 gallon

[calabasas]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and had a couple questions about plumbing.

I'm plumbing a 90 gallon with 1'' drains and have no idea what size diameter my lines should be. My return pump is 3/4''.

I thought it's be as simple as doing a 1'' line to my sump then a 3/4'' return line but I was told that increasing diameters by 1/2'' would be a good idea. It would reduce noise, save electricity, increase flow, etc etc. Then I read the exact opposite on another site.

Any suggestions/ideas/diagrams would be appreciated

 

[jsoong]

Your pump output size would determine your return line - 3/4" in this case. I don't see any advantage in using anything bigger since the 3/4" outlet at the pump would act as the bottle neck to flow anyway.

The drain back to the sump must be sized to safely handle your pump flow. An oversized drain will add some margin of safety. Also a Durso or Stockman attachment works better with bigger pipes. A 1" pipe should handle 600gph. If your pump puts out more than that, you need a bigger drain.

 

[Ziggy953]

What kind of pump is it?

I use a Mag7 that has a 3/4" outlet and I have it plumbed into 1" return lines. Believe me it pushes a lot of water.

If this is a reef ready tank then it should handle the 600gph that Jsoong was talking about. There should be a 1" bulkhead and a 3/4" bulkhead. The smaller is the return and the larger is the drain. Make sure to continue the drain line in 1" pipe.