return lines from sump to tanks

[parkwaydrive]

i am going to run two, two foot cubes on the top rack, a four foot on the middle rack and a four foot sump (room for expansion :) ). i've got my whole system designed with a fully automated water change system. although i'm having a little trouble working out the return lines to the tanks. do i run two pumps, one for each rack or just plumb the lines individually to each tank off the one pump? the advantage being of the latter i can valve each line so i can cut off tanks individually from the system. however i was concerned weather the pump would suffice for pressure this way. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Hollowman]

I have a similar setup. 3 tanks on the top rack and 3 on the bottom with a 4ft sump.
I only run one pump for the whole system, I use a Eheim 1262 for this.

The pump runs into a loop where each tank feeds off of. Each tank feed has it's own shut of valve, so I can regulate the flow of water entering the tank or shut off completely for qt or hospital purposes.

Each tank is drilled at the back near the top and I have fixed 38mm white water pipe with glued fittings which overflow and gravity feed into a common return for all 5 tanks into the sump. I have a single titanium 500w heater in the sump in the pump end, and he sump is divided up into 5 sections holding various filter media. I made a post in the DIY section called 'new sump' as I remember.

hth

Steve

[parkwaydrive]

thanks alot i read through that post was still a bit confused. All sorted now thank you for your time and explanation. cheers

[Hollowman]

No problem, I hope it made sense, I can post some pics later if you need them