wil0311 270 tank build

mseepman · #1 05-29-2009, 07:25 PM

Wow, the way this thread is put together, it sounds like you filled the new tank and 20 minutes later it looked that great after moving your old stock in. I'm assuming if you gave us the details there were days and days of work and stress there, right?

By the way, it does look great!

wil0311 · #2 05-29-2009, 08:52 PM

Actually I picked the tank up from Saskatoon on May 9. So I have put in quite a few hours in the last 3 weeks. Some things still don't work right. I have to change my overflow plumbing. I have a herbie style overflow with 2 x 1" drains that join into an inch and a half pipe that goes to the sump. Can't turn the return pump on full, so I'll have to try 2 x 1" drains that go directly to the sump. Pics probably explain it better.

wil0311 · #3 05-29-2009, 09:04 PM

Just glued the pvc and am going to try the new plumbing after I get off the computer here.
From this

To this

And I better organize this

Full shot

mseepman · #4 05-29-2009, 10:27 PM

Looking good.

I'm not sure how your change in plumbing is going to alleviate your problem. The whole point of a Herbie if I'm not mistaken is to handle the flow with the main drain and only handle "emergency" flow with the 2nd pipe. If you direct plumb both, I'm assuming you must be trying to take flow with both pipes which really changes you over to dual overflows and leaves you without the "emergency" backup.

I may be wrong though as I'm not an expert...I put a Herbie in my nano and made lots of mistakes so I've been trying to brush up on my knowledge a little more before my next build.

wil0311 · #5 05-31-2009, 01:23 AM

I still have one overflow working as a siphon. I just thought maybe the 1 1/2 inch line might not be able to handle the return. So instead of joining them before the sump I just run each to the sump. But I still can't run my return pump wide open. Oh well I guess I'll just have to throtle it back a little. It's a dart pump about 3500 gallons per hour. Does anyone have a return set up for this kind of pump?

Chowder · #6 05-31-2009, 01:28 AM

Nice.... I like the open look to the tank.

Chris

Blom · #7 05-31-2009, 01:46 AM

From what I was able to find online the 1 1/2 PVC drain line will be able to handle 2100 gph based on a gravity feed. Depending on how high your water column is above the intake you will get some added flow due to the weight of the water, which in turn creates pressure. But it will be a modest gain at best. Im not sure which Dart pump your running (Ill assume the 1/8HP due to its 3600gph at 0' Head) or the hight the water has to be pushed to (Again Ill assume between 4-6 feet). With that pump at 4feet you will get 2800gph roughly, and at 6feet it will reduce to 2400gph. Based on those numbers your right, you would have to throttle back the pump a bit. Im not sure but I think that would shorten the life of your pump (due to the added resistance). But Im not sure about that.