Question about return pump and GPH

[caseytatum44]

Hello all, my friend recommended upgrading my current pump to something a bit more powerful. I'm currently cycling with live rock and sand and wanted to get everything set before adding livestock. I have a 65 gallon with roughly 20 gallon sump.

My friend recommended the jebao dc 6000(max 1585 GPH) but I wanted to know if I would be better OK with the DC 3000(230-790GPH). I'm already pretty over budget as I've been going higher quality on all parts:

Amazon.com: Jebao DC-3000 Skimmer Return Pump with Controller 230 to 790 GPH, Red: Pet Supplies[h=1][/h]I know there are a lot of other factors and I saw the GPH calculator but I dont have most of the information. Here's what I do have:

2 hydor koralias 1150 GPH
Reef Octopus NWB 110 250 GPH

I've heard that I want to match the return with the skimmer but that seems extremely low..

as always, thanks for the help!

 

[AZDesertRat]

Most will recommend 3 to 5x your display volume for a return flow rate after headloss. I lean towards the 5x to maybe 7x rate myself depending on your sump size and configuration. You do not want high velocitis through your sump or you may fight microbubbles in the display and your in sump protein skimmer may not be real efficient.
Keep in mind your sump holds 20 gallons when full to the top but you will probably be running it maybe 2/3 full to save room for power outages and for proper submersion for your protein skimmer so maybe 12-14 gallons usable volume. 5x your display volume is around 300 gallons per hour or a complete water change in the sump every 2-3 minutes, probably a good compromise. Start bumping it up to 500 GPH its less than 2 minutes and at 700 GPH its only about 1 minute detention time for water to completely make its way through your sump without carrying bubbles back to the display. Better have pretty good baffles in place.

The Jebao pumps are DC powered and the speed or flow is adjustable which is a big plus since you can fine tune the flows but the 6000 may still be a little big since you would have to basically cut the flow in half depending on your headloss. I would shoot for no more than 450-500 GPH after headloss myself.

What overflow do you have and what is it and your standpipe rated for? This also plays a big part in selecting a pump as you don't want the pump to outrun the overflow.

 

[caseytatum44]

Thanks for the info, I bought the tank used.. its a Deep Sea Aquatics 65 PRO. I'm not sure what the standpipe is rated for or any of that. The previous owner is the one who recommended the 6000 to me. I went ahead and ordered it, I guess i'll just dial it down.