Loko Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 hi all just seeking for some advice. a while back, i bought a tank, cab and hood. i then got a different LFS to drill the tank for me and install an overflow. recently, i ask another LFS for advice on plumbing my mini reef to the tank. they informed me that the hole is too small for a 6x2x2 tank. the outlet (tank to minireef) is about 30mm and the inlet (minireef to tank) is about 20mm. is this correct? at the moment, i'm waiting for the water to clear in my tank. i have a pondmaster 1000 which only does 1000 L/hour. can you please advice how many litres per hour should be enough to handle a 6x2x2 and can you please suggest a quiet, inexpensive submersible water pump? thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nannat Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 yea,i reckon the outlets too small.mine are 45mm holes.id think the pump of 1000l/h is too small as well.best to do is drill again and use a bigger pump of about 3000l/h at least.try AOA for value.or a more expensive pump eheim or oceanrunner could last but cost double. you might have to block the smaller hole with a glass piece and move the weir if youve got one,as you cant drill a larger hole around a smaller hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loko Posted February 28, 2005 Author Share Posted February 28, 2005 thanks for the reply nannat. my other problem is, i've already siliconed a latex background, rocks on the side to fill in the gap and the overflow which is shaped like a half hexagon has faked grass. the tank is also full of water already with gravel. if the hole is too small, is it possible to drill from underneath the tank and make the hole bigger?? is there an alternative i can do to fix it? i don't really want to drill another hole elsewhere or even buy a canister filter. it defeats the purpose of having a mini reef. but i'm looking for other alternatives. i also wonder if the LFS that drilled the hole could fix it.. problem is they've drilled the hole in august last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catcher Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 My 6x2x2 display tank has two drain back holes, one in each top corner about 100mm down from the top edge and the holes are 50mm each. I have a HQB-3900 submersible pump that does about 3500/lph at ground level and I'm thinking I'd like to bump that pump up a size to aide water clarity. So, to answer your questions: IMHO, yes the hole is too small and the pump is way too small for adequate water turnover. The pump I've mentioned is very quite and runs like a top (so far) It's on special at the moment from one of our supporters Age of Aquariums. I reccommend it and it is very affordable. Here's a few pic's on the sump I set up. You'll get the idea, you can see the strainers in the back corners in the last pic cheers and goodluck glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nannat Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 youd need to pull the tank down to redrill it.maybe then just drill an 45mm outlet at the surface level of the tank. or you could experiment with a larger pump and use a line tap[to restrict] to maximise the flow you can get through the current hole.is the 20mm hole adaptable as an outlet,try use that as well.maybe then you get use of a minireef. there is a large 2800 cannister out now with inlinme uv that could be run with the minireef,you could put anything in the tank youd like then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyme Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Well, I disagree with everyone. I use a 35mm hole to take a standard 1" (25mm) plastic tank outlet, it is more than sufficient with a 4000 lit/hr pump attached to it. The size of the tank makes no difference. I do this setup on an 8x2x2. Before you go doing anything dramatic, get a 3/4" standard plastic tank outlet and see how it goes. It will be more than sufficient for a 1000 litre pump. More than likely it will accomodate a 2000 litre or even bigger pump. (A 3/4" TO uses a 28mm hole, but 30mm will be OK.) What I do think it that a 1000 litre is probably too small for a 6x2x2, I recon you need 2000~2500litre pump. Rememeber especially with cheapies you never get the flow they quote on the box. If you have had a weir retro fitted, fill the weir first and make sure it doesn't leak, they very often do. Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trofius Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Hey I have an 8x2x2 with 2 32mm hole each fitted with 25mm outlets... this only allows 1400lph to leave the tank, which is way to slow.. Get biger holes drilled. Also it was mentioned that you cant drill holes over existing holes , how true is this as i have been told that it is posible by several people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyme Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Interesting why the 80 or so large tanks I have made in the last year all work perfectly with a 3000 litre an hour or bigger pump, 35mm hole and 25mm TO?? And yes, 10mm glass can be safely re drilled. Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 I use either a 35mm or 50mm drill bits. I would rather put a 50mm hole in one corner of tanks 6x2x2 or bigger. That way you can use 40mm pipe and fittings and run what ever size pump you want. Also it gives you the ability to use a 40mm spinning arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trofius Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 I did a bit of calculating, and: Water depth,.......................diameter of hole,.......flow rate to hole centre 2.5cm.....................................25mm..................1116lph 2.5cm.....................................32mm..................1987lph 3.0cm.....................................45mm..................4320lph of course this does not take into consideration the turbulence created by air water interactions, and by corners in pipes or length of pipes...which will all just slow down the discharge rates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyme Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 I really am curious as to your calculations Mick? By observation, I know they not correct. Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrOrange Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 I just set up a 48x18x18 with a corner box and standpipe arangement. I'm only using a 1" bulkhead with 2 90 deg bends b4 the sump and atm is handling 1600lph easy as (i measured the output at that head height 1.1m). This same 1" bulkhead and standpipe during testing handled the full output of the pump (2500lph) when i removed the head height no worries as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trofius Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 this is were i calculated the flow rates flow rate calculator Does anyone else know a formulae, i think depth has a huge impact on the flow rates.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyme Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 OK, I'm confused! Are we talking about holes in the side of the tank or holes in the bottom of a tank. THe above mentioned calculator refers to flow perpendicular to gravity and it may be correct, although is seems conservative. What I am talking about is a 25mm outlet in the bottom of a tank which very easily gets 3000 litres an hour (4000 lit pump) away. Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trofius Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 I was talking holes in the sides / upper corners, as per the calculated flow rates i posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 Nigel has the right idea. What ever sized hole you need, go a size bigger and plumb it down. That way, you won’t get caught out like you are now. The plumbing sized hole has nothing to do with the size of the tank. The hole size needed is dictated by the inlet/outlet size of the pump you use. However, the size pump you use IS dictated by the size of your tank. You want a tank to turn over 3-4 time (some like more than this). So that means, the bigger tank you have the more water you need to move, the bigger pump you need, and this will normally mean, the larger plumbing size you need. I’m not aware that you can’t redrill a hole (what do you think Nigel?), I imagine you'd be left with a donut shapped piece of glass? However, you can’t do it with the tank set up. It would need to be emptied, and turned upside-down. If you don’t want to do that, you need to make sure what ever pump you use, matches the hole size that are drilled. If you want more water turnover, perhaps you could use walking sticks to get water in and out of the tank? Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyme Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 THe tank must be emptied, but it does not need to be moved. Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 drill the tank for me and install an overflow This implies to me there is a weir. If that is correct, the person drilling the hole cannot access it from inside the tank, and it will need to be turned upside-down. Also, when ever I have been present when a tank was drilled, water was used as a lubricant. Personally I wouldn’t want my tank drilled inside my house with water going everywhere. This I feel would necessitate the tanks moving to an outdoor location? Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyme Posted March 12, 2005 Share Posted March 12, 2005 I also got the impression from the discussion it was a weired tank, it is not. I can drill a hole like that and with aid of a few towels make no mess. Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loko Posted March 21, 2005 Author Share Posted March 21, 2005 hi all thanks for the reply. i bought the HQB3900 from AOE. it's great by the way and it's a bargain. the water going into the mini reef is now better. now i have a new problem, the water returning to the tank is like a spa! the outlet is pointing towards the front glass. this is a 6x2x2 tank. is there a way to slow down the water current? if i divide it to two outlets by using a T plumbing pipes and elbows - would that do the job? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catcher Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 Hi Loko, That is exactly how i have my 6x2 using the same pump, my return to tank is located hooking over the rear wall at center of the tank with a "T" then two 45º elbows directing it slighty down. This direction creats a current that also helps lift any rubbish off the bottom and to the strainers. Cheers glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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