Pump sizing

[Rayzzfish]

Sorry for the newbie question. I have a 90 gallon display tank and 30 gallon sump. The water goes up 5' from the sump to the display. How big of a pump would I need. Thanks

 

[Montiman]

Sorry for the newbie question. I have a 90 gallon display tank and 30 gallon sump. The water goes up 5' from the sump to the display. How big of a pump would I need. Thanks

For most tanks this size I pick a pump rated for 800 to 1000 GPH however I have seen pumps this size overwhelm a single 1in drain. What is your drain set up?

 

[ichthyoid]

A good rule of thumb is 5 x’s your volume, which would be 600 gal., then double that to account for losses.

The losses are due to plumbing, especially elbows, & also head pressure due to to the 5 feet of gravity to overcome. So minimize elbows, if possible.

So, I’d shoot for 1200 gph.

One advantage of DC variable speed pumps, is the ability to easily tune the speed, via the pump’s controller.

DC pumps are also more efficient than AC pumps.

 

[Montiman]

I think you will find the Rossmont performs as well as a DC pump energy efficiency wise. I have a buddy who replaced an Ecotech L1 with a Riser RX2300 and gets better flow out of the Riser even though the max flow rate is less.

DC pumps are generally geared towards higher flow rates but lower head pressure ratings but AC pumps handle head pressure better so they often give better real world performance over DC pumps of comparable flow.