Half inch drain line?

[Fishstiks]

Hey all,

Ok. I have decided to go with a pre-built tank rather than have a custom one made. I found one with the dimensions I am going for so that's the route I am taking.

I am having them drill the tank with 3 holes so I can run a herbie system. They can promise me room for a 1/2 inch drain, 1 inch emergency, and 1/2 inch return. I am not sure about the drain only being 1/2 inch. I know with the full siphon of the herbie I will get better drainage than a durso, but I am terrified it won't be quite enough.

Thier glass cutter will be in this next week and is going to see if he can give me (2) 3/4 inch drains and a 1/2 inch return instead, but it guess it just depends on the room there is.

So.....I guess my question is......if the 3/4 won't fit, will a 1/2 inch drain be ok with a 1 inch emergency?

Or........should I maybe ask him to do 2 larger drain lines and drill the 1/2 inch return on the back wall of the tank instead?

Just really wanna get it right, and if they can't to what I want, I may end up having to go back to my original idea of a custom tank ?

Forgot to mention the tank is 40 gallons

[gulfsurfer101]

Don't do half inch drains. Drain out the 1 inch or at least 3/4" drain line. Drill through the backbif you must on your return but half inch is flirting with disaster.

[braaap]

Do a 3/4 inch main drain and a 1/2 emergency. The chances of a main drain getting 100% clogged are so slim if you keep up on your maintenance.

[Fishstiks]

Ok. Thanks guys. I thought about making the 1/2 in the the emergency drain, but man, that scares me. I will use a strainer and keep up on maintenance, but I feel like the general consensus is to use a larger drain for E drain.

Really hoping they can make 2 3/4 inch drains fit....

[AZDesertRat]

Why even do an emergency drain? Keep it simple, overflows such as the Durso and Stockman have been used in singles for decades and are extremely reliable. I have been using a single 1" Stockman in my 100G mixed reef for 13 years and never once had any issues. Everyone gets caught up in the multiple overflows and they really are more a fad than anything. Design it properly and keep it clean and it will not fail or flood.

[aquakevem]

Even having a float switch at the top of your overflow box to disable your return pump(with an alarm) if the water level is too high is better.

[Fishstiks]

The float switch is a great idea! Thanks!

I prefer to run a herbie vs a durso because of the noise level. I have not ever been able to tune my durso enough to get rid of the noise. I really love the silence I get from a full siphon drain.

[braaap]

My herbie is completely silent. I haven't cleaned my strainer once on my overflow in 5 months and it is completely clean. The emergency having a trickle of water down it makes it silent. Cant hear it running at all.

[JR!]

ive been running the herbie for a few months now. couldnt be happier. wish i would have went with smaller drain lines. i have a 1in drain and 1in emergency

[ajmckay]

One thing I don't know is whether a 1" herbie is easier or harder to tune than a 1/2"... I have a 1" and a Jebao DC4000 return pump (guessing 600gph or so ?) and my full siphon drain is just barely open. If it's not adjusted perfectly I get flushing and noise in general in my plumbing.

 

So I can't say for sure whether a 1/2" drain is enough. It's not very east to upsize drain size though once you set up so it makes sense to maximize within reason. Plenty of people successfully run dual 1" drains in a herbie. If you're space constrained though dual 3/4" or even a 3/4" and a 1/2" emergency would suffice? Use a DC pump for your return so you can more easily control the flow,

 

As for the regular dursos and stockman - no worries there as plenty of people have used these. While they're fine I do think that there are certain situations where they're more difficult to pull off.

 

Good luck.

[Fishstiks]

Just got word from the tank people, The tanks come standard with a 1" drain and a 1/2" return, and there is only room for another 1/2" hole.

So..............

I think I am going to use the 1" as the siphon, and the 1/2 inch as the emergency drain. I will also add a float switch as suggested above to shut the return pump off in the event the water level gets too high in the tank. Does this sound ok?

 

I am sure I am probably just way over-worrying about the emergency drain, but I truly don't want to flood my house. Lol

[gulfsurfer101]

Been running a 1" drain with no emergency on my 75g and never had a problem draining. You can also using a reducing fitting to expand from 1" to 1.5" and that should remove any doubt you have as far as drain ratio. I did this on my 150 with 1200gph gong in. The water came out faster from my return pump than a high pressure water hose.

[GlassHouse]

Just got word from the tank people, The tanks come standard with a 1" drain and a 1/2" return, and there is only room for another 1/2" hole.

So..............

I think I am going to use the 1" as the siphon, and the 1/2 inch as the emergency drain. I will also add a float switch as suggested above to shut the return pump off in the event the water level gets too high in the tank. Does this sound ok?

 

I am sure I am probably just way over-worrying about the emergency drain, but I truly don't want to flood my house. Lol

 

I'd do the 1/2" as the full suction and then the 1" as the emergency. The 1/2" in full siphon will move a fair amount of water and then any additional water will quietly flow through the 1", which is the way the herbie drains are supposed to work. There should always be some water going through the secondary drain during normal operation.