Retun pump opinions

[rebecca]

My lil giant 1200 gph finally died after 10 years of neglect. I have a 547 gph in it's place. My question is, does it really mater how much gph you have going in a big tank? Water just goes down in the sump, threw rocks,sand,macro, and then back up. Have power heads controlling flow for corals, more than my return lines. So even if my tank is getting done almost 3 times and hour per say, is that enough? Or does it make for a better tank with as much movement as possible? This is in a 155 bow, with a 36 gall sump. Thanks all.

 

[hansmtt]

I've always gone by the 3-5x sump flow through, and like you, use powerheads for flow in the tank. Too much higher and I dont' believe your skimmer can function optimally 600gph is fine I think. On a plus, it should be quieter, and your electric bill lower! Where in Wi are you? I'm in LaCrosse.
Matt

 

[AZDesertRat]

I also subscribe to the 3-5x display tank volume theory for return pump flow. I make the rest up with Koralias and a closed loop with an Oceans Motions Squirt.I think it also depends on the volume of your sump and how its laid out. The idea is to keep the velocity low enough to prevent carrying microbubbles and sediment back to the display tank while maintaining enough flow for efficient skimming and macroalgae growth. Obviously if your sump is as big as the display you can run much higher flows with no problems but most of us have size limitations for our sumps. My display is a 100G and my sump is a 30G long so 3-5x display volume works well. the return pump is a OR 3500 which probably delivers less than 600 GPD due to long pipe runs to and from the remote chiller cabinet and the vertical lift to the display.

 

[rebecca]

Well I will keep what I have in there for now and see if any changes happen. I always thought the 1200gph made my sump just like rapids almost. Nothing had time to settle, or get trapped from the amount from the overflows. We are from Oconomowoc area. Very quiet, less heat, and less power used ahhh, will make a huge difference with 8 tanks hahaha jk. Thanks guys.