Drilling, bulkheads, flow rate, etc.

[lilredwuck]

Ok 90 gallon tank I have decided to drill. Unsure on brand, glued wood trim on with gorilla glue over the plastic. I don't think it said anything anyways. There is a sticker underneath that says "Assembled by PAT 3Q99", but unless I find "PAT" I will assume it's tempered on bottom.
I am going to order the glass drilling bit from glassholes. From what I have read I should put a 1.5" bulkhead for the drain line, and a 3/4 or 1" for the return line? Does the amount of pressure matter on return line? Is there a big difference in pressure from 3/4 to 1" return line? Wouldn't more pressure be better up to a certain point for water flow? I know too much flow wouldn't be good, like filling a bathtub with a fire hose!
Here are some more questions for you guys. Do I buy thier kits, bulkheads overflows etc. Couldn't figure it out. One drain line in the center and the returns on the left and right side of the tanks.. Or do I have 2 internal overflows one in each corner and put return lines in the middle. I was looking at maybe the overflow on the back left, possible a corner or triangle one, with the return line being far right. Should I buy "their" overflow kits, or do I just get the bits and make my own baffles out of acrylic?

 

[scsinet]

I made my own overflow, but unless you have the tools to manipulate the acrylic it's easier to buy. The "teeth" in the overflow are not easy to make without a router table, but there are ways to fake it.
As for pressure... you can ram an awful lot of water through a given sized pipe with enough pressure, but in the aquarium world, more pressure means larger pumps and more wasted electricity. I've got a couple of sequence pressure rated pumps that push 1600gph through a 3/4" line, but I always upsize to 1" coming out of the pump.
For a 90g, two 3/4" or one 1" return should be sufficient. You want to drill the back of the tank, not the bottom because from the sounds of it, your tank was built by AGA so it almost certainly has a tempered bottom. With the returns, I'm not sure I'd drill... I'd go up and over, because siphon breaks will be hard to do if you are coming in below the waterline.

 

[lilredwuck]

I like DIYing stuff, even though buying it would be quicker. Ok I have an ehiem 1250 or 12?? pump, and 2 mag drive 18's. I want the pump to push less than the overflow, right? I'm looking at about 4 1/2' of head pressure, 2 90 degree elbows if I go over the top. I was going to put a bulkhead as close to the top as it would let me if I drilled the return line. Opposite the OF. I pulled the OF out of my 125. Would it work for the 90 gallon. It's 7 7/8"L x 4 1/4"W x 24"H. It is for use in the left corner. As for the drain line, it would be a standpipe into a 90 degree through the bulkhead to 90 degree down to sump?? Would the 1 1/2" line have enough flow? Or what would be the flow rate on that? You said 2 3/8" hole for the 1 1/2" bulkhead, but what about the 1"? Would it be better to have a center drain, with (2) 3/4" return lines in each end? Also, haven't researched it totally, but should I look at doing a closed loop system? I know it adds flow and that's about it.

 

[eric b 125]

the placement of the OF is totally up to you. i personally like the even-ness of either two corner OF, or a single center OF. for the drain line do some research into a durso standpipe. i'm drilling my 125 and was told a durso standpipe quiets things down big time.

 

[lilredwuck]

yeah I was going to build a standpipe (unsure of name) where it's pvc up to a T the a 90 degree street and the t capped off with a small hole, Or should I but one in the center with 2 return line coming up shooting out both sides ? how much does that slow it down with a mag18 pumping it.

 

[posiden]

Originally Posted by lilredwuck
http:///forum/post/3174671
yeah I was going to build a standpipe (unsure of name) where it's pvc up to a T the a 90 degree street and the t capped off with a small hole, Or should I but one in the center with 2 return line coming up shooting out both sides ? how much does that slow it down with a mag18 pumping it.

Durso is the name.