Overflow pipe / bean animal

[wesb2013]

In a bean animal setup, the secondary drain is only supposed to have a small trickle of water going down it. Does that mean I can use a smaller pipe for my secondary drain than my primary one?


I have 1.5" drainage pipes, but for my secondary pipe I'd like to use a 1.5" to. 75" tee with a .75" st elbow attached to it. This would allow me to raise the water level closer to the weir and reduce noise if it'll work.

 

[Sassafras]

Not sure I understand your proposed 3/4" tee setup, but a beananimal configuration is all about safety/overflow prevention. Secondary drain is able to carry all the flow if the main drain becomes blocked, emergency is just like it sounds, its there in case both the other drains are blocked. If intended for overflow prevention, you would want all the pipes to be capable of carrying your total flow. The beananimal was "invented" for reef tanks where things like snails, urchins, anemones, etc. frequently wander into overflows. Blockage is less likely in a freshwater tank, so maybe having less capacity on the secondary drain is OK with you, especially if you have a 1.5" emergency drain in place. Tell us more about your smaller tee idea, maybe a drawing.