noob return pump question

[Iafrate]

The more i read the more im confused. I have a 55 gallon tank and i'll have a 10 gallon sump and a seperate 10 gallon refugium so 75 gallons total. i keep hearing i need 5-10x the turn over rate. so i would need a return pump that does 750 gph but since its lifting water i need one that does more. I already have wave makers and my skimmer does 360 gph so i see no point of getting a return pump that does more than 360 after plumbing or am i missing something. Im looking at the syncra silent pump 2.0 that does 568 gph.

 

[Gungo]

People have found that it is actually better having slower return flow than 10x because it increases contact time with skimmer. With that return pump you will do just fine. It is more important to have strong flow with wavemakers in the main display to have the particles suspended and ready to be taken out by the time they reach the sump than having strong flow with the return.

 

[Iafrate]

People have found that it is actually better having slower return flow than 10x because it increases contact time with skimmer. With that return pump you will do just fine. It is more important to have strong flow with wavemakers in the main display to have the particles suspended and ready to be taken out by the time they reach the sump than having strong flow with the return.

alright that's what i was thinking, so if i have wave makers turning over my DT my return pump only has to return the water so the overflow can feed the skimmer at a good rate?

 

[Gungo]

alright that's what i was thinking, so if i have wave makers turning over my DT my return pump only has to return the water so the overflow can feed the skimmer at a good rate?

Exactly. You just want to have enough flow in the main display to have the detritus suspended in the water column so when they reach the sump area your skimmer will be ready to take them out. Any leftover detritus in the sump can be taken out with a water change. Slower flow in the sump also means giving more time to your skimmer to take those particles out. If you run the sump with the strong flow most of those particles will pass by the skimmer and will reach back to the main display. To be honest I'm a fan of 5x or 6x turnovers with the return. It worked pretty well for me.

 

[Goodair]

You only count the return pump when looking at flow for your sump. 2-5x AFTER headloss.

Whatever extra flow from the powerheads depends on your stocking, rockwork, really just getting rid of deadzones.

 

[Hemmdog]

I like minimum of 10x turnover purely from the return. With wavemakers and everything my turnover is about 50x, things do well for me at that turnover. My smaller tank(40b) has less flow and things don’t do nearly as well.

 

[Acid King]

The more i read the more im confused. I have a 55 gallon tank and i'll have a 10 gallon sump and a seperate 10 gallon refugium so 75 gallons total. i keep hearing i need 5-10x the turn over rate. so i would need a return pump that does 750 gph but since its lifting water i need one that does more. I already have wave makers and my skimmer does 360 gph so i see no point of getting a return pump that does more than 360 after plumbing or am i missing something. Im looking at the syncra silent pump 2.0 that does 568 gph.

I mean in reality you’re not utilizing your sump or refugium tanks’ entire capacity. You might be closer to 65 gallons total.