Pipes and SUMP
- Thread starter Concept
- Start date
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I'll give you a long winded answer instead of going back and forth for 2 day, haha.
The pipe diameter is more dependent on how much water you have going through them than the tank size, and the recommendation for sump turnover rate has been changing over the years. I think it now down to 3-5 times per hour minimum, assuming you have separate powerheads in the tank for flow. That depends on what livestock you want to keep though.
If the sump is 50l, and you'll have separate powerheads in the tank then I think 5x turnover is plenty, that's 250l/hour. 3/4" would be fine. Some people prefer to have much higher flow rates than 5x in the sump so detritus doesn't settle but I'd rather it settle in the sump where it's easy to remove. That's not really a factor if you use filter socks though.
If you're going to have a fish only system or soft corals where flow isn't as important, then you could theoretically go without powerheads but I'd suggest more like 10x turnover of your display tank volume which would be 3000l per hour. You'd probably still be ok if you used soft tubing directly from the pump to the return, but with PVC, joints and elbows might necessitate 1" pipe especially if you plan to put a manifold on it.
I have 1.25" pipe because I have a return line/manifold. All of the tees and elbows basically limit my flow to about 2,000l/hr and that's using a Varios 8!
The pipe diameter is more dependent on how much water you have going through them than the tank size, and the recommendation for sump turnover rate has been changing over the years. I think it now down to 3-5 times per hour minimum, assuming you have separate powerheads in the tank for flow. That depends on what livestock you want to keep though.
If the sump is 50l, and you'll have separate powerheads in the tank then I think 5x turnover is plenty, that's 250l/hour. 3/4" would be fine. Some people prefer to have much higher flow rates than 5x in the sump so detritus doesn't settle but I'd rather it settle in the sump where it's easy to remove. That's not really a factor if you use filter socks though.
If you're going to have a fish only system or soft corals where flow isn't as important, then you could theoretically go without powerheads but I'd suggest more like 10x turnover of your display tank volume which would be 3000l per hour. You'd probably still be ok if you used soft tubing directly from the pump to the return, but with PVC, joints and elbows might necessitate 1" pipe especially if you plan to put a manifold on it.
I have 1.25" pipe because I have a return line/manifold. All of the tees and elbows basically limit my flow to about 2,000l/hr and that's using a Varios 8!
