Help with appropriate powerhead selection

[BamaCoastPyrat]

I know this topic has been beat to death, but I'm still having trouble finding what I need. Long story short, I have two Amazon powerheads rated at 480 gph and everytime they kick on they beat the mess out of everything in their path. I need something more appropriate. Details below:

I am 5 months in to a 40 gallon FOWLR tank. I have two oscellaris clowns, about 10 hermit crabs, and about 10 snails. I have 3 peppermint shrimp in quarantine that will hopefully be the answer to what has turned into an aiptasia breeding tank. I have two sump return pumps rated at 317 gph each, although I understand they aren't pumping that much with friction loss. In the picture you can see that I have one return pumps attached to loc line. The other side will have a loc line return set up next week.

I do not plan on setting up corals in this tank, so I don't need enough flow for SPS, I just want to prevent dead spots and keep the tank healthy. Like I said earlier, the two powerheads from Amazon are rated at only 480 gph but they are emulating jet engines in the tank. I'm going to assume they are putting out more than the 480 gph, but it could be such a narrow cone that makes it a sucky powerhead. So what do I need? I don't want to spend a ton of money on powerheads right now, but I know I need something better. What would be best for this setup?

Thank you for the help.

Edit: the powerheads are on an alternating schedule run by basic timers. I have them off at night to give the clowns a break.

 

[blaxsun]

Just get a pair of cheap Tunze or Sicce powerheads.

 

[BamaCoastPyrat]

Just get a pair of cheap Tunze or Sicce powerheads.

What size do I need for this tank? I'm wondering if I have the wrong gph, wrong flow pattern, or is it just that all rules go out the window because they are junk.

 

[blaxsun]

What size do I need for this tank? I'm wondering if I have the wrong gph, wrong flow pattern, or is it just that all rules go out the window because they are junk.

You want about 10-20x flow, so 400-800 Gph in total. If you spend a bit more money on a variable speed version with a controller you can dial-in the flow as needed.

 

[BamaCoastPyrat]

You want about 10-20x flow, so 400-800 Gph in total. If you spend a bit more money on a variable speed version with a controller you can dial-in the flow as needed.

So the if I'm getting 400 gph flow from my two return pumps (634 with a guess of 40% flow loss from friction and pumping up hill), I really need no more than 400 gph from my powerheads. So I could go with something like a couple of Sicce Voyager Nano 270gph and be just fine on flow. Does that sound right to you?

The wife is catching on to how much all of this is costing, so I think DC pumps will have to come later.

 

[blaxsun]

So the if I'm getting 400 gph flow from my two return pumps (634 with a guess of 40% flow loss from friction and pumping up hill), I really need no more than 400 gph from my powerheads. So I could go with something like a couple of Sicce Voyager Nano 270gph and be just fine on flow. Does that sound right to you?

The wife is catching on to how much all of this is costing, so I think DC pumps will have to come later.

I aim for 3-5x with my return pumps and 10-20x with my wavemakers. But yes, a pair of Sicce Nanos would probably work really well. And they're quiet.

 

[BamaCoastPyrat]

Awesome. Thank you for the direction!