Sump Mechanics

[NDfishsicles]

I have a 120 gal. drilled reef tank and the local salesman built a 30 gal drilled sump for it. Now he also moved the pump external and it's 600 gal/hour. There is no valve inline to adjust the flow and I have questions about the flow rate through the sump, and if the pump is too little for the tank or too much for the sump? Thank you to all for your replies.

 

[bayoupr]

The much debated question. You will get different opinions but for what its worth, I have a 120 also and my sump flow is close to 450gph. My skimmer is in this same range so I try matched my sump flow to my skimmer as best I could. Most will say 3-4 times your tank volume. Hope this helps.

 

[ReeferBob]

That is fine for what you have. My 120 is full-siphon and is 1000+gph. With your drain system, that is as much as you can push with it. Any more and you will need to convert to full-siphon. A sump that small is really just for equipment so dwell time is not that critical.