Larger drain / More flow capacity from return?

[tonep]

I have to dial back my pump return to the tank because it will overflow due to not enough water draining to the sump.
1" drain
3/4" return

If I increase the drain to 11/2" can I assume I can increase the flow.
Is this correct?
How much flow through the sump is to much?

 

[autoponicz]

lets just say the 1" drain should handle about 600gph..
and you need to throttle back you pump so looks like your pump is too strong..
600gph through a sump is too fast IMO...unless its a very large tank..
use powerheads for circulation inside the tank if theres not enough water movement..

what size tank is this anyways...
some equipment listing would help


but yea changing the drain to a 1-1/2" pipe would definately let you drain more water and increase the flow on the return

 

[tonep]

It's a 65g
the sump is a lifereef clf1 with a genx pump

 

[autoponicz]

yea i would say change to a smaller pump...
right now your wasting more electricity on a bigger pump that doesnt even see its full power

 

[juiceguy]

you can just put a valve on that pump and throttle it down to match your drain

 

[NYreefNoob]

larger drain pipe means nothing if the over flow cant handle that flow, if you got a few days, i'll be posting pic's of my build using a grn x pc 40 to power return through chiller, feed cal reactor and 2 phos reactors and only using 110w :hug:

 

[House of Laughter]

if the tank is a stock reef ready tank from any manufacturer (All Glass or Perfecto) then the overflow box WON'T Handle more than 600gph through the slots. if you dremel out the slots, then yes it will handle more flow, BUT . . . . .

Larger problem is if the tank is factory made reef ready, you won't be able to increase the size of the hole to 1.5" because the bottom is tempered after drilling - don't try to drill tempered glass.

if the drain is on the back panel of the tank, then, yes, by all means, you can increase the size of the drain - but then you'll have 1.5" PVC in your tank.

Auto's reply is likely best bet remedy - decrease pump size and increase internal flow with power heads.

HTH's

House

 

[tonep]

Actually I am thinking about getting a 55G from tenecor with the larger drain.
I was hoping to get more flow from the pump to reduce the need for powerheads in the tank.
I am just not sure about what negative effects more flow through the sump has.
I quess I could check with lifereef to see if what they recomend.

 

[rookie07]

If you dont want to listen to advice from others...then why ask?

 

[NYreefNoob]

higher flow through the sump allows for less reaction time for the skimmer as well if you have a fuge in there, a return isnt meant for circulation within the tank but as a mean to return water from sump\filter, ive never ran a return over 500 gph myself, if you get proper powerheads you dont need as many and buy correctly

 

[tonep]

So I will have to keep the pump dialed down and decide on the powereheads.
Actually I have a wavemaker that I will try.
Thanks for the info.