New tank

tom reilly · Apr 20, 2016

This is my first reef tank. I have a 125 that I am setting up for salt. Corals will be softs. most say they need "moderate flow". How many circulation pumps ,how many gph? Sump is 20 long with 900 gallon pump. It has wet/dry running now.Coralife skimmer rated for 220 gallon.

Jmas4 · Apr 20, 2016

That is a good start 900 gallon pump might no be strong enough. Did you cycle?

tom reilly · Apr 20, 2016

Suggested pump size? The tank is currently full of Africans?. I have 5 other tanks with cichlids.
Am learning what I need to convert to reef.

Jmas4 · Apr 20, 2016

A good size pump will have to circulate the 10 to 15 times so that will give you a rough estimate

jsker · Apr 20, 2016

you are looking for about 1250 on the pump. The other factor is that you should to run your number on water your volume of the tank. For example in have a 72 gallon, that has about 80 lbs of rock. At one point I found a calculator on line and calculated that I have 61 gallons of water volume in my 72. I just build a sump and used a 660 pump. I do have some decreased flow with my sump line being 8ft long with 3/4 braided line. for a 10 x 610=610 is my need flow. The flow is a lot better then what I had before, but me being of Polish decent I am have a hard time keeping up with bucketing and pouring back in to see were my actual flow is. Always lose count when the phone rings.

. The other thing is you do not want have to much circulation either.

The 125 sound like it will be a great tank

have a good one

saltyfilmfolks · Apr 20, 2016

10x is pretty fast. Thats what I have. Many run theirs at 5 to 7x
At 10x its a pretty noticable force coming from my single return split where it enters the tank
The down side of a 10x or more is it may not give enough settling time in the sump, esp important in the skimmer chamber and fuge.

Return calculation.
Total water volume x desired return rate = gph of pump
(me) 55+30 = 80 x10 = 800gph

http://aquaticreef.beachbumweb.com/index.php/calculators/22-calculating-return-pump-size

Me being of Finnish descent, I have apple cheeks and drive very well.

But are generally dower in the winter.

if you want a more precise not guesstimate with an adjustable pump, there' these(you can take them out of line later)
http://www.amazon.com/P3-P0550-Wate...TF8&qid=1461189106&sr=8-2&keywords=flow+meter

BoneXriffic · Apr 20, 2016

Hey Tom, welcome to the forum.

Visit the soft coral discussion area theres some good reads there that might enlighten you to their specific requirments as some have different needs. In my experience light aclimation and playing around with their location in the tank helps find their sweet spots. And make sure you clean the tank well and cycle the heck out of it. Good luck!

SPSREEFS · Apr 20, 2016

Hi Tom,
Welcome! 4-5 times per hour tank turnover rate through the sump is just fine. Remeber you are going to lose quite a bit from that pump as its pumping maybe 4 feet up?? And then any 90 angles also cuts flow. Check it with your watch. Let it dump into a bucket, time it and do the math!
I would then run maybe 2 powerheads in the tank for addition broad flow. Thats all you should need to start.
I dont like high flow through my sump. Waste of electricity, noisy and messy. Unless its maybe a SPS tank and calls for it 4to5 times works and works well.......

jsker · Apr 20, 2016

That what I like about you @saltyfilmfolks you are always all over it

saltyfilmfolks · Apr 20, 2016

jsker said:
That what I like about you @saltyfilmfolks you are always all over it

aww thanks. Finally found an outlet for my nerdness. And one day I hope to be pretty good at this. Thbbft!

tom reilly · Apr 20, 2016

Thanks for all the input.As I said the reef world is a new adventure for me.

helldiver · May 14, 2016

If you decide to go 10x turn over and have refugium this is the order i would make my sump 1st chamber socks,skimmer middle chamber return pump last chamber refugium because chatao or algae requires least amount if Flow for itvto grow you might want to also read about algae scrubbers and dosing
Brs is a excellent place to buys dry goods there is a lot of good information at melsreef also