Model based design and optimization of large scale vanadium redox flow batteries can help to decrease system costs and to increase system efficiency. System complexity, e.g. the combination of hydraulic and electric circuits requires a multi-physic modeling approach to cover all dependencies between subsystems. A Matlab/Simulink model is introduced, which covers a variable number of stacks and their hydraulic circuit, as well as the impact of shunt currents. Using analytic approaches that are afterward crosschecked with the developed model, a six-stack, 54 kW/216 kWh system is designed. With the simulation results it is demonstrated how combining stacks to strings and varying pipe diameters affects system efficiency. As cell voltage is comparatively low, connecting stacks in series to strings seems reasonable to facilitate grid connection. It is shown that this significantly lowers system efficiency. Hydraulic circuit design is varied to lower efficiency drop. In total, four different electric designs are equipped with 21 hydraulic design variations to quantify dependencies between electric and hydraulic subsystems. Furthermore, it is examined whether additional shunt current losses through stack series connection can be compensated by more efficient energy conversion systems. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.