Plumbing/Pump Questions

[Itchy Trigger]

I'm in the process of setting up a 270g tank (84x24x31). I should mention that it will actually be a CA cichlid tank, but I need help with water pumps, plumbing, etc., which you saltwater guys are so familiar with...

Anyhow, first of all I plan on having the tank drilled in the bottom with two overflow boxes, one on each side. I believe the drain holes are to be 1". Am I correct that the drain rate for a 1" hole is approximately 600 gph? If so, then that would be an overall drain rate of 1200 gph. The drains would be plumbed to a wet/dry via 1" PVC.

My next question concerns the pump. What would you guys recommend as the best way to match that flow? I need a very quiet pump. The top of the tank will be about 5 ft. off the floor. Quiet Ones? Little Giants? Please give me some suggestions on that... I suppose the size of the return holes will depend on which pump(s) I use, but will probably be either 3/4" or 1"?

And lastly, would you all recommend using the Durso standpipe on the drains? I want this tank to be as quiet as possible.

Thanks so much!
Itchy

 

[tenshi]

First of all welcome to Reefs.org!
As to your question regarding the flow rate on a 1" bulkhead, I believe the maximum flow you can get will be 800gph, but this is relevant to the waterside length + width of the overflow box. For example, CPR makes two hang on overflow boxes with a single 1" bulkhead. The 8" wide one will drain 600gpm and the 10" wide one will drain 800gpm. If you want, you can reference CPR's Overflow Page.

As to your question regarding the Durso Standpipe, I WOULD ABSOLUTELY RECOMEND IT!! I installed one this weekend on my 75 gallon Oceanic Systems Reef Ready Tank. I was amazed at how much noise the tank was really making before I added the standpipe. Now I can hardly here the overflow. Now I just gotta get rid of the noise coming from my skimmer.

As to which pump to use, I'll leave that to someone else since my experience is limited to the Mags, Rios, and Azoo's. The quietest one of the three is the Mag. I'm using a Mag 5 to run my skimmer and a Mag 7 for my return. I run them inline outside of the sump. All I hear from them is a very quite low frequency hum. Some retailers suggest you only run these in the sump though and they do add heat to the tank, even inline.

Reefs.org does have a Pump Selection Guide in their Library. It's a very useful tool that's available. Well good luck and let us know how things go.

Tenshi

 

[Itchy Trigger]

Thanks, Tenshi! I'll check the links you posted. I appreciate the help!
Itchy