determining water flow out of overflow

40galreefman

40galreefman

AC Members
Feb 21, 2007
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Buffalo, NY
i'm building a sump and was just wondering how you figure out the gph from the overflow to the sump, so i can match a return pump, anyone with any ideas please help. i'm using one inch pvc plumbing if that helps, my tank is also a 37 gal. thanx
 
When you buy an overflow box if going that way, it will be sold stating the GPH flow rate. What you need to do then is buy a return pump that matches, or slightly less, than the overflow box to keep a good balance.

On drilling, a one inch overflow is rated at about, i think, 350 GPH. The ratings given for some bulkheads are, in my opinion, highly over rated..I found out a lot of plumbing process when i recently built my DIY system..

Hope that helps a little..

Niko
 
i'm fabricating my own overflow and was just curious, i figure i'm just gonna put a ball valve on the overflow and return lines and play with them until it seems right, thanks for the word of wisdom tho joseph and atnixon
 
You don't want to restrict your overflow. For the return alot of people place a ball valve and T fitting and if needed redirect some of the return flow back into the sump/fuge area.

Here is a calculator for recommended drain size, based on what GPH you want going out of your overflow. I put in 600 gph, and it calculated a 1.01 inch pipe diameter with at least 9 inches linear.

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/drain.php
 
thanx again joseph i figure im gonnna go with 3/4 pvc which gives me about 300gph on my overflow, can't wait to get this thing up and runnin
 
I think that the bulkhead rateings are made under pressure, not on a gravity flow like our tanks use.
 
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