closed loop?

[peregrinus]

So i'm putting together a closed loop for a tank i'm working on and have a few questions.
i'm going to be using a mag 5 and it has 1/2in inputs and outputs. is 1/2in enough for in and out?
i'm sure there will be more questions to come.

[melev]

No, you want 1" in and out. Double the fittings to get the desired flow from that pump.

And if this is a 150g system as your signature line indicates, I would consider a Mag 7 or even ramping up to a Mag 9.5 or Mag 12 with 1.5" plumbing instead.

[peregrinus]

Thanks.. This is for a 57gal corner i'm setting up.. i'm putting in and overflow and drilling it for the closed loop. so incresse the size to 1 inch at the in and outputs? also on the output i'm going to use a swcd and i think that it has 3/4 in and out (not sure on that) would you still go 1 inch and reduce it to 3/4 then increse it again?

[The Rugger]

I have been reading on and have also determined that going with the CLM provides to many upsides too ignore and I am also in the process building one. I am eager to see and hear about your progress.
I have noticed that a some folks have painted the PVC. For cosmetic reasons this seems preferable. Is there a specific paint that should be used to prevent passing undesirable toxins to the water or am I worring needlessly???

[peregrinus]

Well looking into it i'm going to go with 1" in and out. Im going to drop the scwd for now and just go with an open system for max flow. As i get it going i'm take some pics on the progress.

[jojo22]

I would increase to 3/4 before the scwd and 1 inch after, increasing before that will be useless as the current will be restricted to the maximum that the 3/4 inch scwd can handle.

As for the paint question, Krylon Fusion is the paint to use. It is designed to adhere to plastic and is inert once it has fully dried.