Return Bulkhead/Plumbing

[His Coral Highness]

Finally upgrading to a sump from my canister setup. I'm just ordering everything now and doing all of the planning. I got the Eshopps medium overflow box kit, and that comes with a 1.5" diamond drill bit for the overflow. For the return I am planning on getting a Jebao DC pump and soft plumbing it up the the return bulkhead. My question is what exactly should I be looking for when I add the return? Use the same 1.5" drill bit and put in a 1.5" bulkhead and then add a nozzle? Should I use a smaller drill bit than the 1.5"? 1.5" seems like a large hole to fit a nozzle into, but it will be nice if I ever wanted to interchange the overflow and return holes. Biggest question I guess is what exactly should I look to buy to fit into that hole in the tank and what else am I not thinking of?

 

[FSP]

For a standard abs bulkhead, 1.5" hole = 3/4" bulkhead.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Finally upgrading to a sump from my canister setup. I'm just ordering everything now and doing all of the planning. I got the Eshopps medium overflow box kit, and that comes with a 1.5" diamond drill bit for the overflow. For the return I am planning on getting a Jebao DC pump and soft plumbing it up the the return bulkhead. My question is what exactly should I be looking for when I add the return? Use the same 1.5" drill bit and put in a 1.5" bulkhead and then add a nozzle? Should I use a smaller drill bit than the 1.5"? 1.5" seems like a large hole to fit a nozzle into, but it will be nice if I ever wanted to interchange the overflow and return holes. Biggest question I guess is what exactly should I look to buy to fit into that hole in the tank and what else am I not thinking of?

The hole saw supplied with the overflow is 60mm (2.36"). This saw allows for a 1.5" bulkhead to be used.

That is quite large for a return and would require you use reducers to get down to the standard 3/4" return size.

I would suggest using a 35mm (1.38") hole saw to drill your return hole. This will allow for a 3/4" bulkhead to be used.

As a side note, the bulkhead size refers to the pipe size the bulkhead accommodates. For example, a 1.5" bulkhead is typical 59mm (2.32") outside diameter and a 3/4" bulkhead is 34mm (1.34") outside diameter.

In addition, you can always skip the drilling for the returns and just route it over the back of the tank. This can allow for you to easily run 2 almost balanced returns into he tank with no drilling. Or just a single return where you want it. Paint it black with some krypton and it is almost not noticeable.

 

[His Coral Highness]

The hole saw supplied with the overflow is 60mm (2.36"). This saw allows for a 1.5" bulkhead to be used.

That is quite large for a return and would require you use reducers to get down to the standard 3/4" return size.

I would suggest using a 35mm (1.38") hole saw to drill your return hole. This will allow for a 3/4" bulkhead to be used.

As a side note, the bulkhead size refers to the pipe size the bulkhead accommodates. For example, a 1.5" bulkhead is typical 59mm (2.32") outside diameter and a 3/4" bulkhead is 34mm (1.34") outside diameter.

In addition, you can always skip the drilling for the returns and just route it over the back of the tank. This can allow for you to easily run 2 almost balanced returns into he tank with no drilling. Or just a single return where you want it. Paint it black with some krypton and it is almost not noticeable.

Ok, that answered a lot of questions that I had about sizing too. Thanks. Also I did consider the last thing you mentioned, just running the returns over the top. If I were to decide down the road to drill, would I be ok to drain a few inches out of the tank and drill it while it is on the stand for the return? Or is that a bad idea?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Ok, that answered a lot of questions that I had about sizing too. Thanks. Also I did consider the last thing you mentioned, just running the returns over the top. If I were to decide down the road to drill, would I be ok to drain a few inches out of the tank and drill it while it is on the stand for the return? Or is that a bad idea?

It can be done, but I do not recommend it. One little slip up and it leads to bad things. If you did the over the back and then drilled later, a few tubs setup with a heater and a bubbler should suffice for the time it takes to drill the holes.

 

[His Coral Highness]

It can be done, but I do not recommend it. One little slip up and it leads to bad things. If you did the over the back and then drilled later, a few tubs setup with a heater and a bubbler should suffice for the time it takes to drill the holes.

Highly appreciate that, thank you!