pfcbizz
Community Member
I'm putting together a new build a 180 gallon drill acrylic which will have a sump/ refug in the bottom so I'm looking for advise on the sizes of protein skimmer and return pump to get the best water flow ?
Protein skimmer and return pump sizes
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120reefkeeper
Reef keeping with Military Precision!
IMHO you want to oversize the skimmer. I'd go with something rated at 300 gallons. Also how big of a sump??
Return pump is 10x total system volume per hour as a starting point.
So if your at 180 gallons my suggestion is 1800 gal per hr ..... or more [emoji4]
Return pump is 10x total system volume per hour as a starting point.
So if your at 180 gallons my suggestion is 1800 gal per hr ..... or more [emoji4]
I have a 180, 300 total system volume. My skimmer is a SRO-5000 (10" Skimmer) on the large side but I like over sized skimmers. I have a RO Varios-6 pump and love it. Perfect amount of flow through my filtration and I also have a line tied off from the return to a separate refugium. What ever pump you get for your return calculate the head loss in the calculator and make sure it is 800+ GPH at the end at least.
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pfcbizz
Community Member
the sump is a 35 gallon tank
MaccaPopEye
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I have just set up my 180. I would go with a larger sump if you can, that does seem really small. I have a 55gal under mine that has a built in 50L ATO section.
I am not a fan of "high flow" sumps. My understanding is that the 10x per hour through the sump is from back when people generally relied on the return pump to add a good amount of flow to their display. Now we rely on wave makers or closed loops for flow. From everything I have read it seems that around 5x turnover is a better goal (after head loss).
So I would be aiming for 800-1000gal/h. I have a jebao DCT 6000 pump as my return which is supposed to be 1500gal/h but suffers badly under head loss (probably putting out 800gal/h after going through the chiller and return plumbing) so in the future I will probably get the next model up and tune it back a bit if I need to.
As for a skimmer if you are going to have a fuge or algae turf scrubber (scrubber gets my vote) then I would go for a skimmer rated to around 200-250gal. If you are getting a brand like Deltec IMO their size recommendations are pretty spot on and "oversizing" isn't so vital, but cheaper brands I would oversize a bit. I'm a fan of the Deltec SC series. I have the SC1350 atm with an algae turf scrubber, but only because I brought it over from my old tank. If I was buying one today I would probably get the next one up.
I am not a fan of "high flow" sumps. My understanding is that the 10x per hour through the sump is from back when people generally relied on the return pump to add a good amount of flow to their display. Now we rely on wave makers or closed loops for flow. From everything I have read it seems that around 5x turnover is a better goal (after head loss).
So I would be aiming for 800-1000gal/h. I have a jebao DCT 6000 pump as my return which is supposed to be 1500gal/h but suffers badly under head loss (probably putting out 800gal/h after going through the chiller and return plumbing) so in the future I will probably get the next model up and tune it back a bit if I need to.
As for a skimmer if you are going to have a fuge or algae turf scrubber (scrubber gets my vote) then I would go for a skimmer rated to around 200-250gal. If you are getting a brand like Deltec IMO their size recommendations are pretty spot on and "oversizing" isn't so vital, but cheaper brands I would oversize a bit. I'm a fan of the Deltec SC series. I have the SC1350 atm with an algae turf scrubber, but only because I brought it over from my old tank. If I was buying one today I would probably get the next one up.
mcarroll
10K Club member
I wouldn't worry too much about sump size when sizing your return.
Figure it's roughly a 200 gallon system.
2x to 4x your system size in GPH is the usual target....4x being "oversized".
Some folks size to 5x thinking their pipes will gunk up over time....but some pump manufacturers already factor that into their ratings.
So for you, I'd figure:
If you've got about five feet of lift from the sump to the top of the return....
I'd consider a Tunze Recirculation Pump Silence ($187)
Also... http://sicceus.com/aquarium.html
A Sicce Syncra Pro 5500 (sometimes sold as the Syncra Pro 1500) would be perfect – no need for a valve or anything. (And as a bonus looks to me like the old Sicce/Quiet One design, which was awesome.....Sicce says it's their most-quiet design) Seems to be around $215.
Or a only-slightly-less-quiet Syncra 5.0 would do it. About $204.
These aren't your only good options, but I'd look at the Tunze myself. Probably also built by Sicce, but probably a different design.
Figure it's roughly a 200 gallon system.
2x to 4x your system size in GPH is the usual target....4x being "oversized".
Some folks size to 5x thinking their pipes will gunk up over time....but some pump manufacturers already factor that into their ratings.
So for you, I'd figure:
200 • 4 = 800 GPH
If you've got about five feet of lift from the sump to the top of the return....
5 feet ≈ 1.5 meters
800 GPH ≈ 3 m³PH or 3000 LPH
800 GPH ≈ 3 m³PH or 3000 LPH
I'd consider a Tunze Recirculation Pump Silence ($187)
Also... http://sicceus.com/aquarium.html
A Sicce Syncra Pro 5500 (sometimes sold as the Syncra Pro 1500) would be perfect – no need for a valve or anything. (And as a bonus looks to me like the old Sicce/Quiet One design, which was awesome.....Sicce says it's their most-quiet design) Seems to be around $215.
Or a only-slightly-less-quiet Syncra 5.0 would do it. About $204.
These aren't your only good options, but I'd look at the Tunze myself. Probably also built by Sicce, but probably a different design.
