How much do horizontal runs effect head pressure?

HPballer76 · Jan 30, 2013

So I am trying to get my mixing station up and going but I want to make sure my pump will work before I get it all plumbed. My tank is on the main floor and I want to put the mixing station in the basement near my water heater. Ideally I would like plumb my mixing station to my tank for easy water changes so in order to do that starting at the pump I will need to go up 7.5ft then over 15ft turn and go over another 13ft then finally up 4 more feet and into the sump of my tank. So only about 11.5ft up but how much will the horizontal runs effect it? I have an iwaki WMD-40rlxt that is rated at 1344gph and a max head height of 15.4ft that I would like to use. Would that pump be enough? If not I have a reeflo barracuda but I would prefer to not have to use such a big pump for my mixing station.

kschweer · Jan 30, 2013

Horizontal runs along with 90's, 45's, ball valves etc will effect head loss. Sent you a pm

adamfinke · Feb 4, 2013

Im curious how you made out on your mix station. Have any pics love to see it.

mcarroll · Feb 4, 2013

Depending on how necessary this arrangement in the basement really is I might actually consider relocating the whole sump to the basement so at least the giant pump will serve a larger purpose (main return). This is still extreme but can be justified in some installations. (U sure selling the pump and relocating the mixing station isn't a better idea?

)

Anyway...to the particulars...

You know of at least 12 feet of vertical head pressure, plus you have about 30 feet of horizontal run, which along with each bend will also have a big impact on head pressure. (More than you want to know about calculating head pressure.)

Hard to be sure I'm looking at the right pump flow curve - there's a WMD-40RXT on this sheet (no RLXT's anywhere) - but it fits the stats you're giving. If that's the right pump, it looks like at best you'll be right at the shut-off distance for head pressure - I'll bet you're past the shut-off with those horizontal runs and bends. (It looks like the "X" designates a flow-oriented pump. The plain "R" model generates less flow, but massively more lift.)

I think you'd be better off selling that (~$300) pump and buying a smaller one that's designed to work at this pressure. If you stick with Iwaki, it looks like even a (~$200) WMD-20RT would do it. (Basically any model not designated with the "X".)

Also, for reference: http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php Not sure if your specific pump is on there (or if it's accurately represented, or if the calculations are accurate), but it might be fun to play with at least.

-Matt

HPballer76 · Feb 5, 2013

Adam- still waiting on a few things to get here before I put it together.

Mcarroll- I origanlly wanted to do a basement sump which is why I picked up the barracuda but with where I wanted the sump to be located in relation to the tank upstairs the drains just wouldn't work. I also considered moving the entire tank downstairs but my basement isn't finished and even when it does get finished (hopefully in the next year) I don't see myself spending much time down there. The reason for the location of the mixing station is because we are planning out finishing the basement right now so I would like to put the mixing station in the closet where the water heater will be so I have easy access to water and it is out of the way.

At this point I am thinking my best bet will be to sell the iwaki pump (pm me if anyone is interested) and use the barracuda since I already have it. Or i could sell both of those and pick up a pan world 100px which has a max head of 21ft and is 790gph or a 150ps which has a 28ft max head and is 1100gph.

So I really want to get this online ASAP so I can so I can start filling my new tank so does anyone see anything wrong with using s couple unions so I can start out using the barracuda then if it sells I can easily switch to the pan world? The have different size inlets and outlets the Barracuda is 1.5" in/out and the 100px is 3/4" in/out and the 150ps is 1" in/out. So would I be safe using all 1.5" plumbing and then reducing to whichever size I need to fit the pump itself?

Also one more question for you guys. Does anyone see an issue using standard schedule 40 PVC? One of the contractors that I had look at finishing my basement kept telling me I shouldn't use PVC, that I should use PEX instead which I have never worked with and is drastically more expensive.

HPballer76 · Feb 5, 2013

Also just looked up the reeflo blowhole series pumps and they seem to have pretty high head shut offs for a reasonable price.

kschweer · Feb 5, 2013

I would go with PVC over the pex. If I'm not mistaken the connections for the pex are either copper or if you use the push connect ones they also have metal in them. I would either use the rigid schedule 40 or flex PVC.

_Alex_ · Feb 5, 2013

Pex pipe connectors all have metal teeth grabbers in them. I would not suggest using for marine aquarium. I believe they so make some with out metal but are very expensive.

Sent from my iPhone by spaceships!