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When plumbing, who has the right-of-way?


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Hello, I am in need of the opinions of some experienced tank builders. I am currently working on connecting my new display tank on the main floor to my sump in the basement.  The drain and return lines all want to inhabit the area that is roughly 1”-2” from the back surface of the tank and  Stand, but that means that they will intersect. So either the drains or the return will have to have a series of 45 degree elbows that will divert them around the space inhabited by the other.

My question is this:

Is it better to bend the drain lines and risk more trickling noise (avoiding noise is a very high priority for me), or bend the return line(s) and risk adding more head pressure loss?

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One other thing to consider is that all of these lines have to go through a 4x12 hole in the floor, and they all will have to bend a little. So it’s really a question of whether each group would have one set of bends or two. I suppose that if I used more braided vinyl and less hard pvc This wouldn’t be an issue. I just wanted to avoid as much vinyl as possible.

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I am of the other camp, I believe the return should have as few elbows and restrictions as possible. For every one you add the flow is reduced, depending on how much could mandate a larger pump. I try to use sweeping elbows and flexible lines as much as possible to reduce this decrease.

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Well, the plumbing is done. I decided to do what was best for the pump and keep those return lines as direct as possible. I’ll be diverting additional pump power through the manifold to power reactors, so I wanted to conserve as many gph as possible for display turn-over. The bends in the drain lines also served to align them with the hole in the floor.

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