Marineland 180 return pump

[shoelaceike]

Right now I'm using a quiet one 4000 and a 6000.....I'm wondering if I'm pushing too much through? With head loss I assume I'm pushing about 1900 GPH.

My water level in my dt is about 3/4 inch from the top and about halfway up the overflow teeth.....is that where it's supposed to be?

 

[shoelaceike]

 

[shoelaceike]

Bump

 

[wpeterson]

There are different opinions about how much system turnover in flow you should have from your display tank to your sump. Most people feel you should have at least 10X the display volume turnover every hour. Some people feel more turnover is beneficial for increased surface skimming, gas exchange, and agitation - up to 20X/hour. For your display, a target of 1800gph seems like a reasonable floor with possible benefits for additional flow. At 5' of head loss on each pump, I get 600gph + 1200gph ~= 1800gph of predicted flow.

It's hard to estimate your actual return flow without knowing your exact return/drain plumbing. If your water level is half way up the weir teeth, you are flowing about 50% of the weirs capacity. However, your drain capacity may be higher or lower depending on your plumbing. You also may have constraints in your sump based on how much it can flow due to things like filter socks, baffles, or other impediments/filters.

Based on your description, you're probably just below 10X/hour in turnover and I wouldn't be concerned about your flow. However, if you have specific problems or goals related to flow please provide more details and you can get more specific advice.

I'm tagging [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG] for a second opinion and folks with more plumbing expertise.

 

[jdpeters]

ive often wondered myself how much turnover I needed going through my sump as well. water goes down my overflow relatively slow.

 

[shoelaceike]

There are different opinions about how much system turnover in flow you should have from your display tank to your sump. Most people feel you should have at least 10Xdisplay volume turnover every hour. Some people feel more turnover is beneficial for increased surface skimming, gas exchange, and agitation - up to 20X/hour. For your display, a target of 1800gph seems like a reasonable floor with possible benefits for additional flow. At 5' of head loss on each pump, I get 600gph + 1200gph ~= 1800gph of predicted flow.

It's hard to estimate your actual return flow without knowing your exact return/drain plumbing. If your water level is half way up the weir teeth, you are flowing about 50% of the weirs capacity. However, your drain capacity may be higher or lower depending on your plumbing. You also may have constraints in your sump based on how much it can flow due to things like filter socks, baffles, or other impediments/filters.

Based on your description, you're probably just below 10X/hour in turnover and I wouldn't be concerned about your flow. However, if you have specific problems or goals related to flow please provide more details and you can get more specific advice.

I'm tagging [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG] for a second opinion and folks with more plumbing expertise.

Great detailed reply. Thanks. My concern is more if my over flows can handle it over time.....Marineland says each overflow can handle 700 GPH and from the numbers I seem to be pushing way more then that....

I'm worried that at some point my tank will overflow.....thats why I'm wondering where the water level should be generally.....if I pull one pump, i still get flow buy less and the water level is lower.

 

[wpeterson]

Great detailed reply. Thanks. My concern is more if my over flows can handle it over time.....Marineland says each overflow can handle 700 GPH and from the numbers I seem to be pushing way more then that....

I'm worried that at some point my tank will overflow.....thats why I'm wondering where the water level should be generally.....if I pull one pump, i still get flow buy less and the water level is lower.

I couldn't find any diagrams for the factory drain plumbing in your overflows. Do you know what size drains you have? Do you know how they are running?

If you have a single straight standpipe drain, it will flow less than say a Herbie type setup where you have a full-siphon drain and an emergency stand pipe. This is where folks with more plumbing expertise can help you estimate the capacity based on your drain sizes and styles.

The 700gph sounds about right for a 1" or larger drain running without a siphon. If you can tell us what your plumbing is we can give you a better estimate of max flow. Alternately, if you have 2-3 bulkheads in each overflow you may have options to upgrade your drains to a siphon based system if you want to increase the throughput (like a Herbie or Bean Animal setup, which combine full-siphon drains with emergency standpipes). Using these drain setups also provides more safety through the use of redundant drains.

 

[shoelaceike]

I don't really know what they are called but here are pics

 

[143MPCo]

I agree with everything @wpeterson has posted thus far!

The restriction on that overflow is with the gaping/spacing within the teeth, I have Marineland 150 with a Pan World 200PS (1750 GPH), at full flow (no gate) it would overflow the tank.
The stand pipe is normally a 2" pipe reduced to a 1" drain to the sump. I'm by no means telling or advising you to do this but, I get round the restriction by cutting the teeth away and using sectioned egg create to keep fish and snails out. Additionally I opted to go thin-wall PVC after the reduction to 1" and have never had an issue sense.

 

[shoelaceike]

If it's working well the way it is should anything change?

 

[shoelaceike]

I agree with everything @wpeterson has posted thus far!

The restriction on that overflow is with the gaping/spacing within the teeth, I have Marineland 150 with a Pan World 200PS (1750 GPH), at full flow (no gate) it would overflow the tank.
The stand pipe is normally a 2" pipe reduced to a 1" drain to the sump. I'm by no means telling or advising you to do this but, I get round the restriction by cutting the teeth away and using sectioned egg create to keep fish and snails out. Additionally I opted to go thin-wall PVC after the reduction to 1" and have never had an issue sense.

Thanks. If everything is working well as is, is there any reason to change it?

 

[143MPCo]

Thanks. If everything is working well as is, is there any reason to change it?

If you don't have an issues as it's working I would leave it.

 

[wpeterson]

Thanks. If everything is working well as is, is there any reason to change it?

OK, so you've got two overflows which each have a 1" bulkhead it looks like. Currently, you've got a Duroso standpipe in one bulkhead and a return line on the other. These drains probably flow about 1400gph and you probably have a stable match between your current flow and these drains. You should be OK.

If you DID want to upgrade your drains, you could run a herbie siphon drain in your overflows (using two 1" drains in each overflow) and route your return lines externally, up and over the back of the tank. That would be one upgrade path.

However, it sounds like you've got a stable system that is working for you. You will probably be fine if you do nothing. If you have the time/money to upgrade your drains you would get increased flow and safety in return.

 

[143MPCo]

If you DID want to upgrade your drains, you could run a bean animal siphon drain in your overflows (using two 1" drains in each overflow) and route your return lines externally, up and over the back of the tank. That would be one upgrade path.

Great recommendation!

 

[shoelaceike]

Thanks but I'm not sure what you mean.....if the overflows can do 1400 and I'm pushing 1900 wouldn't it overflow? I'm leaving town soon and don't want to come back to a mess lol.

The tank has been running fine for the past few months, I'm only asking as I saw on someone else build that they were using a single mag 18 for both returns so I thought I may be over doing it.

 

[shoelaceike]

Of course its possible the pumps are pushing less then I think

 

[143MPCo]

Checking on something...

 

[shoelaceike]

Are you sure? Marineland says 700-750.

 

[dbl]

.

 

[dbl]

...I'm leaving town soon and don't want to come back to a mess lol.

The tank has been running fine for the past few months...

Let's try this again...great advice given above so no comments on that. My advice is not to make any changes before a trip. If it's working now, go away with that comfort. Making changes right before a trip and not being 100% sure...not so comfortable.

My $.02 anyway.