# Plumbing 101



## dmartin72 (Oct 9, 2004)

I am about to plumb my 65 gallon tank and wanted run a few questions by any plumbing gurus out there. I am going to run two seperate canister filters in two seperate closed loop systems through 4 holes in the bottom of my 48"X18"X18" tank. The guy at the reef shop suggested I use 1" bulkheads for the inlet holes and 3/4" bulkheads for the outlet holes. He didn't mention why and I forgot to ask while staring at all the beautiful corals. Anyway, anyone know why and if this is a good idea? When having the holes drilled, should I use what size is recommended from the bulkhead manufacturer recommends or just measure diameters? Again, this would be for two seperate closed loop systems for each canister that will have a Hydor inline heater and GLA inline diffuser on the outlet side of the canister. Does that sound feasable?

Thanks,

David


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## JustLikeAPill (Oct 9, 2006)

Why not just use glass lily pipes and skip drilling? A set on each side would be great! I like how you are opting for two filters instead of one as well. 

He was telling you how to drill for a sump. Dumps are very common in saltwater, and it sounds like this store may have specalized in saltwater. A canister filter is essentially a small enclosed sump. A sump like he was describing does use a large bulkhead and PVC piping with a valve Inline that let's you control the flow if you need to regulate it. This large pipe lets water drain down into an open tank below your aquarium inside the stand, and baffles and media are installed. At the other end of the sump is a pump which pushes water back up into your aquarium through PVC piping and into a second bulkhead, with a valve Inline to control the flow if you need to.

When I had a reef and was setting up a sump, my return pump was 1000 GPH (IIRC) and I had a 1.5 inch bulkhead IIRC. It took all day long to measure the water levels and tinker with the valves to make sure the amount of water flowing into the sump was the same as the amount of water being pumped out. In a saltwater aquarium. The heater, protein skimmer, chemical media and refugium/ macro algae can all be included into a sump.

Its just overly complicated and necessary for all but the largest freshwater tanks.

The biggest hose a canister filter uses that I'm familiar with is 17 mm... But I'm sure they make bigger ones, but on that size tank with two filtersnyou are going to probably be using a filter that uses 17 mm hose. If you wanted to you could drill a hole and install a bulkhead small enough so that a 17 mm hose can attach to the other side. I don't know how water pressure would affect the canister. It could break a seal for all I know.

I really suggest you either go with a sump, something which isnt necessary for this size tank and isn't the best idea in my opinion, or just use glass pipes and use the canisters they were meant to be used: with an intake and outflow pipe. 

Dont overcomplicate things or else you could run into trouble.


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## dmartin72 (Oct 9, 2004)

Well, I'm a do'er and need to get my hands on things to figure them out. That being said, I hate the lily pipe look because they get nasty looking unless you're willing to clean them and the plastic hoses on a regular basis. I'm too lazy for that. I just had 4 holes drilled to fit four 1" bulkheads and thus you can't see anything in the tank...no pipes...no heaters...no CO2 diffuser disks...just two low profile intake posts (just above AS) and 4 loc-line nozzles split between two bulkheads that are also low profile and hidden behind wood and plants. I'm running two canister filters with inline heaters and diffusers on both that just don't have the flow that I want and will probably upgrade to the largest/strongest ones I can find. Any suggestions there? I plumbed for two closed loop systems so it has to be two canister filters to do the job.


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## JustLikeAPill (Oct 9, 2006)

OH you said you just had holes drilled? I didn't realize you already had them drilled...

What model canister filters will you be using? You want about 8-10x circulation, so you want optimally a total of 520-650 GPH between both filters. I suggest you buy two filters (assumng you havn't bought them already) that are rated at 260-325 GPH each, or you could have one stronger filter and one weaker one.

You aren't going to find a canister filter at that flow rate with 1 inch hosing. You are going to have to go to home depot and buy reducing parts so that you will be able to fit the proper size hose n the bulkhead. Let's say you end up using two Eheim Classic 2217's, which is what I would use if I were in your shoes. Each intake uses a 17 mm hose, so you will need to find reduces that reduce down to 17 mm. The outflow of the Eheim 2217 is 13 mm (IIRC) so you will need to find parts to put on the bulkheads where your outflows will be going.

With a one inch wide bulkhead, your outflow pressure will be weak, so you will need to put on the bulkhead fittings used in reef tanks that direct flow and narrow down to increase the pressure. I dont know the name of them b I'm sure you've seen them before. 

I don't know where at n your tank you has holes for bulkheads drilled, but If your intake bulkheads are low in the aquarium I would be scared all of that water pressure would force the canister open and spew waterout at worst, or leak in the best of bad scenaros. If you had the holes drilled high in the tank it should be ok.

Just wait until others chime in on that water pressure thing.... I am no expert.


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## Jim Miller (Feb 3, 2003)

A water column exerts 1/2 psi per foot of height. 

Jim


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