Questions on my custom Tank build.

[fishstick41]

I just completed my tank design with the FINAL dimensions... I was jumping around the size of the tank. but now I know for sure what I want. My tank is going to be 30" x 30" x 14". For the thickness I'm going with 3/8ths but if he has glass that is 10mm I'll ask for that. The internal overflow is going to be 10" long and 6" wide is 6" too much? I am drilling 2 holes into the back of the internal overflow, one as the main drain and the 2nd as the emergency drain. I'm making a educated guess on this.. I believe for the water height I cut the teeth down to where I want the water height too be at. I don't understand how far apart the teeth should be. My last question for right now is I am planning on getting a Mag 9.5 and I want to have 2 return pipes, will this pump have enough juice?




p.s. here are some pictures of the tank I made in Google SketchUp

Front:

 

Back:

 

[RK_tek]

6" is too much. 4" is more appropriate. I cant answer your pump questions. Either someone else can chime in, or you can look up the specs at the head height you will run

[Chris!]

6" is what Miracles is using on my 30" wide tank, I trust their judgement... and 4" doesn't give anyone with man sized hands to do much in the box if you ever needed to say catch a fish that magically appeared inside the box lol

[fishstick41]

the stand is 28" High forgot to say that.

I was thinking the same thing about my hands Chris. I'm going to wait and see if anyone has any other info.

[Chris!]

the stand is 28" High forgot to say that

 

I would highly suggest going with a taller stand. I build all mine at 40" to give a better viewing height (I am 6'5 tho). But a taller stand say 32-36" would be ideal for most IMO as it gives ample room for a decent skimmer as well.

 

I was thinking the same thing about my hands Chris. I'm going to wait and see if anyone has any other info.

 

The 2" difference isn't going to make a huge difference in a 30"tank, in an 18" or less tank I'd say yeah go for 4, but you can spare a couple inches for ease, and it will also allow the overflow box to be able to handle more flow too Hell my box from Miracles is 18" long even and some would say thats crazy, I say thank you I can fit my man hands in it while plumbing the tank, and I can net or grab any fish that may make their way down there lol

 

 

 

 

Who is building your tank?

[reefone]

go over to rc and use the headloss calculator to see how much flow a mag 9 will provide. also make sure your overflow will handle the flow.

[masterbuilder]

IMO...Stand height depends on if your spending the majority of your viewing time sitting or standing. My tank is only 14 inches high as well and my stand height is 30". I only really look at my tank while sitting at my desk and I can say 30" is the minimum height I could possibly live with. 32' would have been ideal. As mentioned earlier, the inside needs to be tall enough for EASY assess to your skimmer.

[fishstick41]

I went over to RC and the total losses are 6.25. When the water returns the pump is glowing 694 gph. Then I went over to the "Drain/Overflow Size" calculator and put 694 in and it told me I need a pipe that is 1.09" with a linear overflow size of 10". Do you think i should make the PVC a little bigger? Also I'm guessing the linear overflow is the size of the overflow in all. do you think a 10" x 6" will work?

[Chris!]

I went over to RC and the total losses are 6.25. When the water returns the pump is glowing 694 gph. Then I went over to the "Drain/Overflow Size" calculator and put 694 in and it told me I need a pipe that is 1.09" with a linear overflow size of 10". Do you think i should make the PVC a little bigger? Also I'm guessing the linear overflow is the size of the overflow in all. do you think a 10" x 6" will work?

 

1.09" would be if you were using 1 pipe, I would use both as effective drains and not worry about an emergency drain, 2 pipes even if one managed to get a slight clog would still handle it (and in all honesty 1 should handle it fine, I believe tests have shown they can support around 800gph...)

 

10x6 would work great, oversized compared to what is "needed" but again going smaller is going to make the box more cramped and harder to do anything if you need to. Your not giving up much in the tank by going slightly larger then required, and it is in an area where most wouldn't really use that space for much anyways

[fishstick41]

Thank you . Do you think the return pump has enough juice for pipes? I'm afraid if I have just one. The other corner will be dead. Oh yeah also how far apart should I cut the teeth for the overflow?

[Chris!]

You will be fine with that pump... there are better/ more efficient options but flow wise would be around what I would go with.

[hey]

1.09" would be if you were using 1 pipe, I would use both as effective drains and not worry about an emergency drain, 2 pipes even if one managed to get a slight clog would still handle it (and in all honesty 1 should handle it fine, I believe tests have shown they can support around 800gph...)

 

10x6 would work great, oversized compared to what is "needed" but again going smaller is going to make the box more cramped and harder to do anything if you need to. Your not giving up much in the tank by going slightly larger then required, and it is in an area where most wouldn't really use that space for much anyways

Problem with 800gph through 1 inch is its under full siphon and ideal conditions. realistically gph through a 1 inch is more like 300gph gravity fed. Even a full siphon isn't likely to be safe with an 800gph return.

[fishstick41]

After the head loss the pump will be pushing 695. If I have 2 pipes then I should have around 600 going to the sump. I'll have to turn down the pump. But I'll see once the tank has water is in. I could go with two 1.5" pipe.

[fishstick41]

Wich would be better because I could upgrade the pump if needed. MmmMmmm every time I post something something is holding me back from buying the glass and wood.. lol well time to think about it..

[hey]

Wich would be better because I could upgrade the pump if needed. MmmMmmm every time I post something something is holding me back from buying the glass and wood.. lol well time to think about it..

 

 

Flowrate= area x velocity

 

hmm 184800 cubic inches per hour =.785 in sq x 235414 inches per hour thats the theoretical for 800gph in a 1 inch

 

theoretical flowrate of a 1.5 inch pipe at 1799gph or 415741 cubic inches per hr.

 

theoretically 1 1.5in pipe gives more flowrate than 2 1in pipes.

[Chris!]

Problem with 800gph through 1 inch is its under full siphon and ideal conditions. realistically gph through a 1 inch is more like 300gph gravity fed. Even a full siphon isn't likely to be safe with an 800gph return.

 

I've ran 800gph (after head loss) through 2 1" drains for years, the OP will be running shy of 700..... They max around 800 gph capacity for 1 1" drain and OP will be running 2.

 

I'm actually running about 1100gph through 2 1" pipes on one system right now and it handles it just fine but the 800gph or less is alot safer for sure and I wouldn't really recommend most to exceed what 1 pipe can handle by itself but mine has a concrete floor directly underneath the tank so no worries if a little water gets on the floor

[hey]

I've ran 800gph (after head loss) through 2 1" drains for years, the OP will be running shy of 700..... They max around 800 gph capacity for 1 1" drain and OP will be running 2. I'm actually running about 1100gph through 2 1" pipes on one system right now and it handles it just fine but the 800gph or less is alot safer for sure and I wouldn't really recommend most to exceed what 1 pipe can handle by itself

well 2 1 inch drains puts you at 1600, what type of overflow are you using, if it in any way creates a siphon that is way more flow than a gravity fed is what I was trying to say.

[fishstick41]

But as you are saying it would be saver. I could use one on full and the other one half way gated. Would this be wise? Also how far apart should I have my teeth on the overflow?

[Chris!]

well 2 1 inch drains puts you at 1600, what type of overflow are you using, if it in any way creates a siphon that is way more flow than a gravity fed is what I was trying to say.

 

 

I dunno the technical name for it but I have a t with a 90 degree elbow turned down that draws water in, and a cap on top with a hole in it lol

 

 

The down turned elbow is inside the box in the tank....

 

 

But as you are saying it would be saver. I could use one on full and the other one half way gated. Would this be wise? Also how far apart should I have my teeth on the overflow?

 

 

 

I'm not a fan of restricting/ valving a drain, seems riskier then trying to push the pipe closer to its limit lol

 

 

I believe I have 1/4" wide slots every 3/4" on center.

[hey]

I dunno the technical name for it but I have a t with a 90 degree elbow turned down that draws water in, and a cap on top with a hole in it lol

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not a fan of restricting/ valving a drain, seems riskier then trying to push the pipe closer to its limit lol

 

 

I believe I have 1/4" wide slots every 3/4" on center.

 

that elbow once water reaches a certain height in it actually creates a siphon. You can achieve very close to a stable 800gph barring interference from any water level fluctuation with that setup.

 

Now if it were like a glass holes overflow you can't get near 800gph because the water level in the overflow section would fluctuate wildly. 800gph rushes over the overflow wall and raises level completely submersing the hole and flow rate jumps to 800 because a siphon gets created (after it causes a shitton of toilet flushing noise lol).

 

Then what happens is the water level within the overflow lowers unsubmersing the hole and flow slows down and the cycle of what I just said starts over again.

 

Not sure if that makes complete sense but I am kinda sleep deprived today the little dudes were up at the butt crack of dawn.

 

edit: with that said glassholes uses a 1.5" tubing on a 700 gph overflow for that style which is less than half of what was capable at full siphon.

 

edit 2: just saw your pic lol, inside the overflow box has downturned 90* elbows right?

[fishstick41]

that elbow once water reaches a certain height in it actually creates a siphon. You can achieve very close to a stable 800gph barring interference from any water level fluctuation with that setup.

 

Now if it were like a glass holes overflow you can't get near 800gph because the water level in the overflow section would fluctuate wildly. 800gph rushes over the overflow wall and raises level completely submersing the hole and flow rate jumps to 800 because a siphon gets created (after it causes a shitton of toilet flushing noise lol).

 

Then what happens is the water level within the overflow lowers unsubmersing the hole and flow slows down and the cycle of what I just said starts over again.

 

Not sure if that makes complete sense but I am kinda sleep deprived today the little dudes were up at the butt crack of dawn.

 

edit: with that said glassholes uses a 1.5" tubing on a 700 gph overflow for that style which is less than half of what was capable at full siphon.

 

 

so just one 1.5 pipe would be best for me?

 

 

I believe I have 1/4" wide slots every 3/4" on center.

 

 

thank you Chris for answering my Teeth question that was the only question no one was going to answer.

[Chris!]

edit 2: just saw your pic lol, inside the overflow box has downturned 90* elbows right?

 

Correct

 

 

so just one 1.5 pipe would be best for me?

 

 

 

I personally never suggest 1 drain pipe regardless the size... It'd be my kinda luck you run a 4" drain and have a 5" fish make its way back there and block it....

 

thank you Chris for answering my Teeth question that was the only question no one was going to answer.

 

No problem, I made mine as well (looks horrible but functionable atleast lol), and I wouldn't suggest larger then 1/4" slots as they start getting big enough many fish can swim through at that point

[fishstick41]

If I have two pipes would there be any problems with the water level in the overflow? and if anyone can tell me how big and how far there teeth are I would be cool with that . lol I see pictures of other peoples overflow but I can't tell how they made them. I going to ask the glass guy if he can make them.

[Chris!]

If I have two pipes would there be any problems with the water level in the overflow?

 

If you make it the same style as mine, no. Apparently other ways suck tho lol

 

and if anyone can tell me how big and how far there teeth are I would be cool with that . lol I see pictures of other peoples overflow but I can't tell how they made them. I going to ask the glass guy if he can make them.

 

I already told you how mine are, but the teeth are routered out 1" long, and its made from black acrylic.

 

If you are making the whole thing and the bottom isn't tempered you could drill the bottom of the tank and have the whole thing inside the overflow box instead of the main pipes outside like mine (which has a tempered bottom).

[fishstick41]

the other way I was thinking about was just cutting the glass short and then put like a black netting around the edges.. I seen a couple of people do this.