Adding RedSea ReefMat - 1.5" overflow to 1" intake flow reduction?

Gho5t · Jul 17, 2024

Hi all,

I have a tank with a single 1.5" overflow and a custom sump. I am thinking of adding the ReefMat 500 and saw that the input is only 1". My question is does anyone have an idea of how much of a reduction in flow would adding a 1.5" to 1" reducer would create?

My return pump is a COR-20 running at 100% and the flow meter on the return reads 570 gph. The tank is a 80g cube so I feel like I'm already on the lower side of return flow.

Also the return line coming off the pump is 1" so is there even any advantage to have a 1.5" overflow?

Is it negligible? Am I overthinking it? Probably overthinking it.

Thanks for any input.

C_AWOL · Jul 17, 2024

You can tee the drain towards the end and use a 1" union to feed a reefmat 1200 from both ends.

Assuming the plumbing is the same for a 500, theres no reason why that won't be possible for the 500.

You mentioned that this is a single 1.5" drain, does that mean there are no other drains at all or is there others that will not be in use for the reefmat?
The reason why that may matter is because a 1" full siphon will handle a cor20 at 100% post head pressure (just reduction, no tee required) but it's not wise to run a full siphon with strictly 1 drain of any size.

Gho5t · Jul 17, 2024

There are no other drains. The tank was custom built glass tank and is 10 years old. If I was redoing it now, I would definitely change the configuration, but this is what I've got.

Unfortunately I don't think I have room in the sump to plumb a line into both sides of the 500 as it's going to be a pretty tight fit as is. If I go with the 500 my only real option is to reduce the 1.5" to a single 1".

Other option if the 500 is a bad idea is to add a baffle for socks which I've never run in the past, but ya know.. then I'm dealing with socks.