Drilling tank for closed loop... help.

[sfsuphysics]

I want to add some flow along the bottom of my tank as my vortechs just are not cutting it as far as getting flow right at the bottom, there is flow but I can see all the dead spots where all the crap collects. I want to use one of the ocean motion squirts I have and come in through the back rather than the top. Now some of the holes are going to be low, so that means I'm going to have to pretty much drain my whole tank, and hope my fish don't freak too much with much shallower water, corals should be fine however.

My question is the squirt has 3/4" fittings, but I'm wondering if I should go to 1" bulkheads on the tank or not. Basically I want to know is there any advantage/disadvantage with the 3/4" bulkheads. I'm guessing the smaller diameter means more restriction, however I'm guessing that's put in place by the OM already so opening up the size shouldn't make too much of a difference (not to mention if I want to use my loc-lines they're 3/4" )... also I'm thinking the smaller diameter might get more velocity out which will end up moving more crap around.

Also what size should I use for the intake? Should I make it larger than 1"? Is there any "ideal" place for it?

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[tuberider]

What kind of pump do you plan on running, IMO the bigger the better for less flow restriction.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Don't really have a pump in mind, the squirt maxes out in the range of 1300 gph so I'm a bit limited, I'd like to keep it as energy efficient as possible, I know Eheim gets high marks, but damnit if they aren't expensive suckers.

 

[Raddogz]

No pain no gain Mike

Used 1262's run about $100 to $125 used. My return, skimmer pump, and calcium rx pump all Eheim - very hard to swallow brand new but worth every penny.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Well it's hard to swallow just from a power consumption aspect too, 900gph @ 80W is quite a bit, who knows maybe I'm just used to pumps that are a tad more energy efficient, so equate that as "the norm" (no relation to El Presidente')

 

[Raddogz]

900gph is really what it puts out.

Fwiw - the Eheim 1262 kills the Quiet One 400 (rated at 1000 gph) and/or the Mag 9.5 hands down. My Eheim runs at 65w - why? I have no idea but I like it all the same.

 

[Mr. Ugly]

Wouldn't a couple Korallias or 1600 gph MJ Sureflows be more efficient than a closed loop squeezing through an OM?

You probably have a couple MJ's laying around. Just get a couple cheap Sureflow kits and set them down low in the tank, and you're all set.

 

[Raddogz]

Yes, but my guess would be Mike is itching to use the OM he's already sitting on and wants to try something different.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Well first, I have never had a maxijet So none of those sitting around, I have a few seios sitting around and yes I'm sure they would be more efficient if it wasn't for the fact that I really don't want a big ass powerhead with a cord hanging in my tank, I mean it's only 18" front to back, so there's not a lot of wiggle room to play with as far as getting something non-obtrusive.

And second, I have two squirts just lying around, one I never used! I disconnected the squirt when my pump died, then when I hooked the new pump up I decided to discharge directly into the tank (more flow), hell I might just hook the squirt up to the return pump and aim the nozzles down, although I don't know how effective that'll be.

 

[Elite]

Sell your squirts and get some Tunze 6025s. You can mod it to get a lot more flow.