Size for return pump?

[Alex DeBeer]

I’m setting up a new tank. It’s a 75g display with an Aqueon proflex 4.
it’s drilled, but I’m not sure how to pick a return pump.
What’re the advantages with AC or DC?
How many GPH do I need?

 

[saltysailor]

I’m setting up a new tank. It’s a 75g display with an Aqueon proflex 4.
it’s drilled, but I’m not sure how to pick a return pump.
What’re the advantages with AC or DC?
How many GPH do I need?

Depends on your plumbing, every turn you lose gph and ideally you should have the water circulating 5x per hour but you would be better off with a 750 gph pump I think.

 

[mfinn]

People generally go with 3-4x to 5-6x the tank volume through the sump after headloss. It also depends on your overflows capacity.
There are several ac pumps that are solid work horse pumps that are widely used.
I've found I like dc pumps better for IMO the most important feature on my tanks is because they are very, very quiet.
You do have to pick through the field of the them for dependability.

 

[Jase4224]

If you get a quality DC pump rated for 5-6 X turnover you can then use the controller to dial it to what you like. 3-4 actual turnover is ideal. Like has been said above you will lose turnover the more complex your plumbing is so try to keep it simple. A DC pump run at 70ish % is normally really quiet and efficient.

 

[fcmatt]

I think in the past ppl pushed a lot more water through the sump. Now days we push less, value lower elect usage, being quiet, less heat in the tank, and reliability. Thus you basically just need a DC pump that can cause a nice gentle flow out of the return plumbing in your tank. Ppl above mentioned you have to think about plumbing length and turns. A possible manifold. Etc.. you don't want fire hose forced flow on return. Think of a hose turned on super gentle.

If a budget is required I have no idea what is good. But if you have a little cash a royal exclusiv red dragon pump used is a great investment that will run for years, super quiet, controllable, and will definitely upgrade to a larger tank several years from now.

Then buy used tunze pumps for in tank to round out your flow with the controller they cam come with.

 

[ScubaShane]

Read manufacturer GPH to Head Pressure. Each PVC elbow is 1ft loss + how many feet of PVC length. My sump is in the basement. Im at 15ft of head pressure. My EFlux pump is rated for 2000gph at 15ft.

 

[ScubaShane]

Read manufacturer GPH to Head Pressure. Each PVC elbow is 1ft loss + how many feet of PVC length. My sump is in the basement. Im at 15ft of head pressure. My EFlux pump is rated for 2000gph at 15ft.

How many gallons will your sump hold?
Will the sump be located under your tank in the stand?
Are you on a budget or can you spend $$$?
Ill send you my pump recommendations for total gallons of system. So 75g + sump gallons.

 

[lost66]

In my opinion it all depends. Do you have sump only for filtering and allocate most of flow to power heads? If so, you don't need a lot of flow from the sump. It is burning money in my opinion if you have too much flow there. I think sump is for keeping your gear and filter there and put some water flow to mixed the output with DT water.

What I would do is go with DC pump for sure. You have a regulation of the flow in the controller so you can dial to whatever flow you like. I dialed my controller to visually see water flow but not to make a white water rafting in the sump. And what is the good water flow from the sump? You will feel that, just use your common sense, don't look at numbers.
AC pump you just turn on and you have what the pump gives you. It is difficult to match pump from the paper to your exact setup. How high does it have to pump? How long are the pipes? how many angles? Etc. A lot of factors and if you decide to upgrade your tank you will be stuck with this pump.

Which pump? In my opinion the cheapest - Jebao. I used to use Jebao DCP-2500 (660gph) in my 75g tank and I had it on like 30%. Now I use it in my 240g tank and its running on 100%. $52 on amazon. You can replace it each year if you are religious about gear (I am not). If you go with quality pump you will spend $250 and it can still break in a year. I would put more money in corals or fish instead of fancy gear.

It is funny and annoying with the gear. You have no idea what you are dealing with before you use it. Once you start it in your tank you have a good understanding what is what, how to use it correctly and how to make things easier.

 

[Jase4224]

In my opinion it all depends. Do you have sump only for filtering and allocate most of flow to power heads? If so, you don't need a lot of flow from the sump. It is burning money in my opinion if you have too much flow there. I think sump is for keeping your gear and filter there and put some water flow to mixed the output with DT water.

What I would do is go with DC pump for sure. You have a regulation of the flow in the controller so you can dial to whatever flow you like. I dialed my controller to visually see water flow but not to make a white water rafting in the sump. And what is the good water flow from the sump? You will feel that, just use your common sense, don't look at numbers.
AC pump you just turn on and you have what the pump gives you. It is difficult to match pump from the paper to your exact setup. How high does it have to pump? How long are the pipes? how many angles? Etc. A lot of factors and if you decide to upgrade your tank you will be stuck with this pump.

Which pump? In my opinion the cheapest - Jebao. I used to use Jebao DCP-2500 (660gph) in my 75g tank and I had it on like 30%. Now I use it in my 240g tank and its running on 100%. $52 on amazon. You can replace it each year if you are religious about gear (I am not). If you go with quality pump you will spend $250 and it can still break in a year. I would put more money in corals or fish instead of fancy gear.

It is funny and annoying with the gear. You have no idea what you are dealing with before you use it. Once you start it in your tank you have a good understanding what is what, how to use it correctly and how to make things easier.

If your gonna buy cheap at least get two for redundancy

Totally agree with everything else you said.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Good discussion

 

[reefpatrique]

I'd go 750gph-800gph, and I'd go DC rather than AC and magnetic drive. I found that the Hygger 24V (800gph) is a pretty dang decent option for the price:

 

[dactylo]

If you need to run any reactor with the return pump I would chose a bigger pump. I have a Jebao DCS7000 rated at 1850 gph on a 100 gallon tank. I run 3 reactors with it and it has been working fine for 6 years now. I have it at 8 from the 10 speeds and consumes just 50 Watts.

 

[Alex DeBeer]

How many gallons will your sump hold?
Will the sump be located under your tank in the stand?
Are you on a budget or can you spend $$$?
Ill send you my pump recommendations for total gallons of system. So 75g + sump gallons.

I don’t know how much I’ll end up putting in it, but’s it’s 36.9" x 14.8" x 19". It’s a Aqueon proflex 4.
it shouldn’t need many turns by it’s right under my stand.
I don’t want to spend crazy money, but a couple few hundred is okay lol

 

[Alex DeBeer]

Would something like this work?

Submersible Pumps

Bulk Reef Supply - Saltwater Aquarium Supplies for Reef Tanks

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[WIReefer]

I run the vectra m2 and she’s a nice pump I have a 55 gallon and have her turned down all the way but it’s totally controllable as well think this would be a great option.

 

[Alex DeBeer]

I run the vectra m2 and she’s a nice pump I have a 55 gallon and have her turned down all the way but it’s totally controllable as well think this would be a great option.

That’s a little too expensive
i don’t want to spend the extra money to just have to keep it at the minimum. I guess it’s easier on the pump?

 

[Ippyroy]

I have a 32 gallon cube and use a Sicce Pro 1000 gph pump with a carbon reactor on a manifold. You can dial down the flow easily. I would have used a smaller pump but I was originally building a 120 system. My sump is on a dunnage rack next to my tank so only 3 ft of head and about 6 to 8 ft flat with 5 90s.

 

[Alex DeBeer]

I have a 32 gallon cube and use a Sicce Pro 1000 gph pump with a carbon reactor on a manifold. You can dial down the flow easily. I would have used a smaller pump but I was originally building a 120 system. My sump is on a dunnage rack next to my tank so only 3 ft of head and about 6 to 8 ft flat with 5 90s.

I think that’s what I’m gonna get

 

[Ippyroy]

I think that’s what I’m gonna get

Sometimes you can't hear it and sometimes there is an annoying hum like a mosquito. I would go down a size though.

 

[Pistondog]

I’m setting up a new tank. It’s a 75g display with an Aqueon proflex 4.
it’s drilled, but I’m not sure how to pick a return pump.
What’re the advantages with AC or DC?
How many GPH do I need?

Eflux 6009 up to 1050 gallons per hour,24 DC and flow adjustable. Adjustable allows you to tailor to your return pump output to overflow if required, which was in my case. I have maybe 75 + 25 gals total tank and fuge. Very happy with the low noise level of DC. Added bonus for 24v can be battery backed by 2 marine batteries in series, which should be an important consideration if power fails for 12 hours, fish can suffocate.
I picked an eshoppes r200 for the refugium. They separate the waterflow so it is reduced thru the refugium, not thefull 1000 gph. The Reducing the refugium flow makes sense to me.
The Aqueon looks sweet too.