Do I need a valve on sump plumbing?????

[windcoast reefs]

Im not fully sure what type of system it is called. But I have elbows facing up that attach to the bulk head for the drain and the return. For the Drain it leads into a t joint with a cap on one side with a small hole to stop the gurgling and then drains down to the sump on the other side.

Thanks for the advice, I will put a valve on both the lines.

[Funky_Fish14]

I think putting valves on overflow/drain lines is insane myself. The amount of water that would drain down any one that is properly designed should be miniscule, and obviously a sump should be able to handle it (in the case of a power-outage, etc...). I've seen people make the mistake of closing drain lines and having tanks overflow, or a partly-closed valve just allows opportunity for stuff to clog it. Risky IMO. The only exception is something like a herbie or beananimal overflow... but in those cases you have unobstructed back-up drains.

Just my 2 cents,

Cheers,

Chris

[windcoast reefs]

Okay, well thats a consideration. I can always add the valve later if I need to i guess.

[sphelps]

A valve on the return line for sure but not the drain unless you have two drain pipes in a herbie configuration.

Your drain size is fine

[mark]

with an external return pump handy a valve/union on both sides for servicing

[monocus]

i would probably go with a bigger drain.i'm using a stockman with a 2" drain

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by monocus

i would probably go with a bigger drain.i'm using a stockman with a 2" drain

I'm not sure how easy it would be to change out a 1" bulkhead to a 2" bulkhead, you would have to redrill the hole and even then there will not likely be enough clearance for a 2" bulkhead in the overflow box of a 50 gallon tank. a 1" drain will run up to 700 gph without an issue, and more than likely this is not the actual flow rate it will receive.

windcoast, what pump are you using or plan on using?

[windcoast reefs]

Originally Posted by monocus

i would probably go with a bigger drain.i'm using a stockman with a 2" drain

Thats pretty much impossible for me to do. I already have the largest bulkhead that I can get for the hole. And I can't drill it out anymore without affecting the structure of the tank.

I can maybe step up to a larger pipe ( 1 1/4" or 1 1/2"), but I don't know if it is a benifit considering the bulkhead restricts the flow.