1" drain to feed skimmer

heyfredyourhat · 07/14/2007, 10:49 PM

I have a 1" and a 1.5" drain on my tank. I had thought of "tee-ing" them together and then run another tee to the skimmer. But will it be the same thing if i dedicate the 1" drain just to the skimmer??

bertoni · 07/14/2007, 11:49 PM

Well, what kind of skimmer is this? Is it a recirculating type fed directly off the drain?

heyfredyourhat · 07/14/2007, 11:55 PM

Yes it is a recirc. HS a150. I have read most of the stuff about them here. including this http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...0&pagenumber=1

But i am wondering if it would be just as easy to have dedicated drain for skimmer. The only thing that i can see that is bad is that it will only get "half" of the dirty water...if that makes sense

bertoni · 07/15/2007, 01:01 PM

Being able to control the amount of water going to the skimmer is important, so I'd set it up with a ball valve or some controls. Other than that, I don't think it much matters.

heyfredyourhat · 07/15/2007, 02:30 PM

Cool. Its funny you mention being able to control it. I was just going to ask if i should use a gate valve or a ball valve, i have both?? Are they that tricky to dial in?

e_chimp · 07/15/2007, 02:42 PM

Gate valves are easier to fine tune the flow. You don't want all the flow from either overflow to go through your skimmer. What you want to do is to Tee off one of the overflows. Have the bottom part of the Tee connected to your skimmer and regulated with the gate valve. Then have the side part of the tee go to your sump. What this will do is create a more or less steady flow into your skimmer.

07/14/2007, 10:49 PM	#1
heyfredyourhat Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: BC Canada Posts: 963	1" drain to feed skimmer I have a 1" and a 1.5" drain on my tank. I had thought of "tee-ing" them together and then run another tee to the skimmer. But will it be the same thing if i dedicate the 1" drain just to the skimmer??

07/14/2007, 11:49 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Well, what kind of skimmer is this? Is it a recirculating type fed directly off the drain? __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

07/15/2007, 01:01 PM	#4
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Being able to control the amount of water going to the skimmer is important, so I'd set it up with a ball valve or some controls. Other than that, I don't think it much matters. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

07/14/2007, 11:55 PM	#3
heyfredyourhat Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: BC Canada Posts: 963	Yes it is a recirc. HS a150. I have read most of the stuff about them here. including this http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...0&pagenumber=1 But i am wondering if it would be just as easy to have dedicated drain for skimmer. The only thing that i can see that is bad is that it will only get "half" of the dirty water...if that makes sense

07/15/2007, 02:30 PM	#5
heyfredyourhat Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: BC Canada Posts: 963	Cool. Its funny you mention being able to control it. I was just going to ask if i should use a gate valve or a ball valve, i have both?? Are they that tricky to dial in?

07/15/2007, 02:42 PM	#6
e_chimp Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 23	Gate valves are easier to fine tune the flow. You don't want all the flow from either overflow to go through your skimmer. What you want to do is to Tee off one of the overflows. Have the bottom part of the Tee connected to your skimmer and regulated with the gate valve. Then have the side part of the tee go to your sump. What this will do is create a more or less steady flow into your skimmer.