Below is my 50g with the BA drain system. As some have mentioned here and BeanAnimal has in his threads, Horizontal is not how his system is meant to run. Vertically is the best way to make his system run optimally. There are no bends/elbows for the water to hit, causing friction, hence slowing down. Unfortunately, this isn't always possible, as you will see below.
In the first image from left to right- Secondary drain | Siphon Drain | Emergency
I have a slight horizontal run, about 4", before it 45's down to the sump. I tried to avoid this but the way the Oceanic stand is built with the center brace, I couldn't. While this isn't the way the system is designed, it does work and is quite.
If you have to go horizontal at all, it's best to make it as short as possible.
On my 75g image (SPS tank in the works), the Siphon line isn't completely vertical, but it still lets gravity do it's job. I could have drilled at the upper back corner for all 3 drains, but I didn't want my mini C2C to be offset to one side, and opted to drill at the upper center, just under the brace.
In all honesty, the "reef ready", Herbie and BeanAnimal all work with the same thing in mind, drain the water to the sump. The BeanAnimal has the advantage of a failsafe channel and +3000gph through 1.5" plumbing on a completely vertical system. I'm sure that a Herbie through 1.5" could probably do the same, if not close to gph.
When it comes down to it, do we all really need the BA system? The answer is no. I really think it's more of a "reef geek" thing. Just like PC lighting, to HO, to Halides, to T5HO, and now LED's, it's the latest/greatest thing since sliced bread
