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Nominal Tank Detention Time from Volume & Flow

Estimate nominal hydraulic detention time from operating liquid volume and flow, or derive volume from constant base area and liquid depth.

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How to use this calculator

  1. Enter the known values in the units shown. Results update as you type.
  2. Where results are editable, change one to solve backwards. Lock a value to hold it fixed.
  3. Use the worked example to check the method. Reset restores the starting fields.

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Formula and method

A 12 m³ operating volume at 200 L/min has a nominal detention time of 60 minutes, or one hour.

Nominal detention time = operating liquid volume / volumetric flow; prismatic volume = base area × liquid height

Worked example

Enter these known values and leave the other values blank.

Operating liquid volume
12 m³
Volumetric flow rate
200 L/min
Nominal hydraulic detention time
1 hrs

Assumptions and limitations

  • Volume and flow must be positive. Flow is treated as steady, and the selected volume is the effective operating liquid volume.
  • Base area times depth applies to a tank with constant horizontal cross-section. Sloped, conical, spherical or other changing sections need their actual volume calculation.
  • Volume divided by flow is a nominal residence time. Short-circuiting, dead zones, mixing and flow variation can cause individual fluid parcels to have different residence times.
  • This arithmetic does not certify disinfection contact time, treatment performance or regulatory compliance.

Common questions

Is tank capacity the same as the volume to enter?

Use the operating liquid volume for the modeled condition. Empty headspace and unusable or excluded volume do not provide that modeled flow volume.

References

Volumetric flow rates use exact US or imperial fluid-volume definitions and exact seconds per minute, hour and day. US gallons per minute use exactly 0.003785411784 cubic meters per gallon and 60 seconds per minute. The option labeled oil barrel uses 42 US liquid gallons; the captured factor was approximately 31.5 gallons and did not match its oil-barrel label. Bookify replaces the captured rounded US gallon with the exact 3.785411784-liter definition.

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