Plumbing remote sump: 90s ok?

[Myka]

Originally Posted by smokinreefer

Ok, I'll run atleast 3 x 1.5" lines...

And I will probably put a check valve in near the sump to prevent too much backflow.

I would suggest skipping the check valve. They don't work very well anyway, and just another thing to mess up/need cleaning.

I'd also suggest considering making your siphon line a 1" line, not a 1.5" line. You'll probably be able to get around 1700 gph through a 1" line with that amount of drop. The horizontal section will mess it up a bit, but a smaller drain is often better than a big drain because it runs faster and flushes the air out.

Originally Posted by smokinreefer

Hmmm... no horizontal runs...
I have a roughly 14' horizontal run with maybe 8" of play in height...

Is there another quiet drain set up more suitable for my situation?

Yeah, in an ideal world. That 14' of horizontal run will affect the head pressure of the drain and it will not drain nearly as fast as it would if it was straight down. Make it slope as much as possible.

A Bean Animal drain has two drains flowing, and one dry drain. Maybe something to consider, though I don't think you need it.

Have you seen this website? Very good information on drains. http://gmacreef.com/

Here's the link to the Herbie page: http://gmacreef.com/herbie-overflow-...method-basics/

Also, check out this thread, there is a guy ("Eud") that has a similar system as yours already plumbed up. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2531606

Originally Posted by smokinreefer

Pretty much only the vertical height impacts it, the almost 20' horizontal runs are near negligible?

That's correct, for the return line only.

Originally Posted by smokinreefer

Would it be recommended to have the return line into the tank be 1.5" as well?

Or tee it off into 2x 1" lines before it gets to the tank?

Bring your tee up so it's level with the return bulkheads. That will save you some 90s. I'd run 1.5" to the tee, then 1" out of the tee to the elbows right by the bulkheads, and then 3/4" out of the elbows and into 3/4" bulkheads. You'll get enough flow out of two 3/4" bulkheads, you just need the 1.5" to get the water there. Make sure you support the lines really well as there will be a lot of water weight in 1.5" lines.

[sphelps]

Horizontal pipe won't add to static head pressure, it will add to total head pressure from frictional forces only. Friction is directly dependent on the velocity of the fluid so if the flow rate is kept low enough for the pipe size, horizontal runs will add negligible head pressure since frictional forces are low. This is whole purpose of using a larger pipe size, to reduce fluid friction. Same goes for the drain, with flow rate and pipe size equal to the return you won't have any friction on your horizontal runs either, slope for drainage is a good idea but no harm will come from large horizontal runs. You're just adding more volume that will require consideration for outages.

Also note when you use the head loss calculator choose a pump that results in the flow rate you're looking for given your tank size. This will give you an accurate total head pressure and flow rate to aim for when selecting a pump.