Gill Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I currently have a one inch bulkhead feeding my return from my sump. I have a blue line pump hooked up which powers the return. My question is can I T-the return to power another blue line??? This would avoid having to drill the sump for a second bulkhead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I did that when I had those two tanks plumbed to the one sump. One 1" line came from the sump about three feet then a T down to one Genx30 then it continued to a 90 down to the other Genx40 pump. The line had some length and then went down to the floor about 10" so that might have helped the water flow into the pumps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 I did that when I had those two tanks plumbed to the one sump. One 1" line came from the sump about three feet then a T down to one Genx30 then it continued to a 90 down to the other Genx40 pump. The line had some length and then went down to the floor about 10" so that might have helped the water flow into the pumps Awesome!!! I think I will try it and if it doesn't work I will go from there. When I think about it should work, because if I had a larger pump (like the one I had before) it would be pulling a larger volume of water through the same tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltfinsax Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 It seems to me that if the pumps where too close to the T that it might have some cavitating. Would it not be better to put a submersible in there? Would your drain handle that much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 It seems to me that if the pumps where too close to the T that it might have some cavitating. Would it not be better to put a submersible in there? Would your drain handle that much? One of the blue lines will power a downdraft skimmer, so it wont effect the amount of water returned to the tank. Downdraft skimmers need the pressure you can only get from an external pump. I had thought about using the pump i already have to power the skimmer and then throwing in a mag 12, but i got the blue line used for a really good price so... LOL P.S. what do you mean by cavitating? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trautman Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 P.S. what do you mean by cavitating? here is my best attempt to explain a concept i have a poor understanding of Cavitation has to do with the angle of joins in a high pressure area and gas bubbles. the end result is extra strain on the impeller, or other internal components of the pump. the reason it is likely to happen in this circumstance is because if you T off from the existing bulkhead it will have increased pressure (double the flow, and no change in diameter), and more bends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 As I understand it, cavitation occurs when a propeller, in this case your pump's propeller, basically pulls air, causing lots of noise and rattling. I could be wrong though, hopefully Shane will chime in on his thoughts on this process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 Sounds like I will need long enough lines running of from the T The line from the sump goes through a one inch true union ball valve before it gets converted to 3/4 (this is were I would T it off) so it is a pretty fair distance from the pump to the sump already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Are you looking to increase flow? If so, why not buy a stronger pump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted March 20, 2011 Author Share Posted March 20, 2011 Are you looking to increase flow? If so' date=' why not buy a stronger pump?[/quote'] I totally should just get a bigger pump, but I got a really good deal on these Blue lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted March 20, 2011 Author Share Posted March 20, 2011 I was also thinking I would just sell my skimmer and buy a different one, but apparently no one has love for the downdraft skimmer :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariansaltwater Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 The dual pump deal will be fine. you should run the lines to the pumps from the T for at least 4-6 inches before the inlet to the pump if possible. Cavitation has to do with fluid dynamics. It's just like air over the surface of a wing on an airplane. In this case the wing is the blade on the propeller. Cavitation is when the laminar flow over the blade loses contact with the surface. When flying an airplane the loss of laminar flow causes lower lift and higher drag with a vacuum effect on the surface of the wing. In the case of a prop under water or cavitation, the result is the blade creating air molecules to seperate from the water column and create bubbles. This same effect can be caused in tight bends in the pipe where the water is forced to turn faster than it wants to. Basically forcing the water to seperate from the surface or outside wall of the pipe. However...typically cavitation refers specifically to the propeller. Give me a call if you have any questions Gill. You have my digits. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 Thanks for all the info Matt :-) I went to see woody today and he talked me into drilling the sump, he even let me borrow a hole saw! That guy is like a plumbing guru, he sent me home with all the pieces I will need. I also got the parts for an ATO, I can't wait to get this puppy skimming again :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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