Return pump flow??? Need advice

[treedog5]

In the process of collecting all the equipment for my 75 gallon tank upgrade and I just purchased a Waveline DC 10000 return pump(Flow rate: Max. 2853GPH/10800LPH ). My question is will this pump be to much flow for my tank? I was hoping it could provide extra flow for the tank coming from the return line so I intentionally got a oversized pump. Just need some feedback as to what every ones thoughts are for this pump on a standard 75 gallon tank(48x18x21)..

 

[Brew12]

In the process of collecting all the equipment for my 75 gallon tank upgrade and I just purchased a Waveline DC 10000 return pump(Flow rate: Max. 2853GPH/10800LPH ). My question is will this pump be to much flow for my tank? I was hoping it could provide extra flow for the tank coming from the return line so I intentionally got a oversized pump. Just need some feedback as to what every ones thoughts are for this pump on a standard 75 gallon tank(48x18x21)..

Since it is a DC pump you will be able to lower the speed down to an acceptable flow. It is just way more pump than you will ever need.

 

[Nathan0369]

There's a couple considerations. What's the flow graph look like for the height the pump must move the water? Combine that with friction loss of the pipe size and any fittings (or if you also run a manifold off of it) will give you your actual GPH of flow into the tank. If you can't dial down the flow enough with a controller, you can put a ball valve in the pipe to restrict the flow even more.

 

[treedog5]

And I forgot to ask, what size pipe should I use for the return? I was thinking 1'', will that work well?

 

[Brew12]

And I forgot to ask, what size pipe should I use for the return? I was thinking 1'', will that work well?

What type of drain will you be using? What flow rate will you be using through your sump?

 

[LostInTheDark]

I use a DCT 6000 on my 225 so, yeah, it is a little over sized. As long as your returns can handle it its not a bad choice. You can add a manifold and run all your extras like bio pellets and gfo/carbon reactors off of one pump. If the slowest speed is still too much you can always add a valve to slow it down. A "T" returning some water right back to the sump where your protien skimmer is is also an option.

 

[treedog5]

I will be running a Bean Animal drain system, not sure about flow rate in sump. Honestly I haven't even thought about that.... I have a 20 high that I was going to use for my sump if that helps any..

 

[treedog5]

I use a DCT 6000 on my 225 so, yeah, it is a little over sized. As long as your returns can handle it its not a bad choice. You can add a manifold and run all your extras like bio pellets and gfo/carbon reactors off of one pump. If the slowest speed is still too much you can always add a valve to slow it down. A "T" returning some water right back to the sump where your protien skimmer is is also an option.

WOW a DCT 6000 on a 225, man did I over do it then LOL.. Guess I better plan on installing a gate valve right now then..

 

[Nathan0369]

What size pipe on your drain? 1" return pioe will work fine, but the DC10000 has a 1.25" outlet that you will need to reduce down to the 1" pipe (keep that in mind when buying fittings). You could even go with 3/4" and produce enough turn over in your tank.

 

[Brew12]

WOW a DCT 6000 on a 225, man did I over do it then LOL.. Guess I better plan on installing a gate valve right now then..

Any chance you can return the pump for a smaller one? Most people would recommend a max flow through the sump of 750gpm (10x tank volume) with many recommending 2x-5x volume. Using this pump will work, but it will be noisy and waste plenty of electricity.

 

[treedog5]

I will be using 1'' drain lines and 1'' return, that was the plan. If it should be different let me know. Why do think the pump will be noisy @Brew12 ?

 

[treedog5]

Also what pump would you recommend for my tank size??

 

[Nathan0369]

Are you going to run a manifold for GFO, Carbon, etc.?

 

[kalare]

On a 75, I probably wouldn't want more than 6-900 GPH going through the sump, the rest of your flow should come from powerheads within the main display. I hope the return pump isn't your only source of flow?

As others have mentioned, you can also run a manifold off the return, which is very hand. I have a way oversized pump one of my systems as well...90g with Jecod DCT15000, but it does not run full speed and it also powers two media reactors and a calcium reactor.

 

[Brew12]

I will be using 1'' drain lines and 1'' return, that was the plan. If it should be different let me know. Why do think the pump will be noisy @Brew12 ?

I would consider doing a 3/4" drain for the full siphon and 1" for the 2 emergency lines. You will need to throttle the flow back on that 3/4" line quite a bit as it is.

The large pump will take up a lot of space and have more vibration than a smaller pump. It has much more core steel which is one main reason that motors "hum" while running. You may also need to throttle it's outlet which will create more flow noise.

Also what pump would you recommend for my tank size??

I think you need to decide what you want your flow rate to be through your sump. Personally, I would target my sump for 5x flow (375gph in your case). If you want to go with a DC pump so you can run additional equipment off it I would then double the size. So ballpark 800gph total before taking head losses into consideration. I would shoot for 900-1100gph.

Again, that is just what I would do. You can make that oversized pump work.

 

[Nathan0369]

I am running a Reef Octopus VarioS-6 on my 65 gallon which is oversized in order to run a manifold. Three major things I love about it: it's dead silent, apex controllable, & it has a float switch for safety. If you don't run a manifold, the Reef Octopus VarioS-4 would be more than enough for you, and if you don't have an apex, it has 5 preprogrammed flow settings.

 

[Radman73]

Honestly, I think many people vastly oversize their return pump. The sump wasn't meant to be a super high flow area and, IMO, it's generally more efficient to get your tank turnover from power heads vs the return pump. I don't think there's much, if any, harm in over sizing your return, just that there are better ways to achieve the flow necessary in the tank. For my 22ogal I'm only planning on 900-1,000gph tops from my return and will happily accept 700-900. My skimmer will process ~700gph of water so anything over 900gph is overkill for my setup.

If you tee off reactors and such you will want the additional flow to compensate for those. Nice thing about DC pumps is you can easily adjust them down.

 

[Brew12]

Honestly, I think many people vastly oversize their return pump. The sump wasn't meant to be a super high flow area and, IMO, it's generally more efficient to get your tank turnover from power heads vs the return pump. I don't think there's much, if any, harm in over sizing your return, just that there are better ways to achieve the flow necessary in the tank. For my 22ogal I'm only planning on 900-1,000gph tops from my return and will happily accept 700-900. My skimmer will process ~700gph of water so anything over 900gph is overkill for my setup.

If you tee off reactors and such you will want the additional flow to compensate for those. Nice thing about DC pumps is you can easily adjust them down.

I completely agree with this. Sump flow follows trends in this hobby. For awhile it seemed like everyone wanted 10x tank volume through their sump. Now it seems like people are going on the very low end at 1x to 2x tank volume. Personally, I like being less than 5x. Any more than that and I have a hard time controlling flow noise through my sump.

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

Honestly, I think many people vastly oversize their return pump. The sump wasn't meant to be a super high flow area and, IMO, it's generally more efficient to get your tank turnover from power heads vs the return pump. I don't think there's much, if any, harm in over sizing your return, just that there are better ways to achieve the flow necessary in the tank. For my 22ogal I'm only planning on 900-1,000gph tops from my return and will happily accept 700-900. My skimmer will process ~700gph of water so anything over 900gph is overkill for my setup.

If you tee off reactors and such you will want the additional flow to compensate for those. Nice thing about DC pumps is you can easily adjust them down.

I agree wih @Radman73 with how people sometimes get way too large of a return pump.

If you are going to use such a high powered pump on your tank I would recommend two things; first, install a manifold to run all of your potential future reactors off of even if you don't have current plans to use reactors (it will save you work and time in the future). Second, I would install a bleed pipe - a pipe with a ball valve that is install prior to any manifold or additional ball valves before the tank - this will return water just back to your sump and minimize back pressure on the pump which will extend its life span, if you are getting an extra loud hum from your pump motor you can slowly open this valve and it will quiet the hum.

 

[G8trBait16]

I use the Vectra M1 on my 75g, works great.