sump return rate?

[Gubernaculum86]

I am planning on adding a sump to my 55gal in the near future, I really like the idea of the added water volume and keeping inverts my puffer would normally eat. I would also like to add corals eventually so I figure a sump is a good place to start. I currently have 2 HOB filters and canister filter with a total filtering capacity of about 800 gph. Is that enough flow through my tank?

I really hate my canister it’s a pain in the butt to clean and Im pretty sure it’s keeping my nitrates high also don’t like my HOBs down spouts. So Im getting ready to get this sump on the road.

How many gph’s would I need for the return pump to keep enough flow in my tank? Would I need one that does 800gph? I have a koralia 750 gph powerhead that I am planning on adding and a HOB skimmer. I was planning on having only 3 compartments in my sump; in, fuge and return, since my skimmer is an HOB.

thanks

 

[Strawman]

I'm kinda a novice, but 750 is plenty. It all depends on you how many times you want your turn over rate, at 750 gph, the water should cycle through your tank 13 times per hour. thats a little high IMO, so I would say drop down to like a 320 and that will give you 5 cycles an hour, for sure since you'll lose about 20bgph pushing the water back up.

 

[reefcowboy]

I have a 60gal and my return pump is 700 gal/h. It was picked by the owner of the store i buy my stuff from and he has some very successful reef tanks for years...that should be plenty

 

[David S]

I'm kinda a novice, but 750 is plenty. It all depends on you how many times you want your turn over rate, at 750 gph, the water should cycle through your tank 13 times per hour. thats a little high IMO, so I would say drop down to like a 320 and that will give you 5 cycles an hour, for sure since you'll lose about 20bgph pushing the water back up.

You want around 10x tank size

 

[Gubernaculum86]

So I'm probably looking for something with around 650gph since I'll loose some pumping the water back up. Anyone have suggestions for good reliable pumps?

 

[David S]

REMEMBER you need to size the pump to the drain pipe size from the overflow.

 

[carey]

If you have a single overflow at 800gph would a 1000 gph pump be about right?

Sorry to jump in, but I am literally trying to think this out right now and just saw this thread again.

 

[bavass]

I have a 55g with a 20g sump. I have 3 Hydor 2's. I used to have a Mag Drive 7 for my return I was doind some research on Nitrates and ran across someone that dropped to a Mag drive 3 and there nitrates dropped. The conclusion they came too was the water was circulating faster than the skimmer could filter it. I always had a loud suction in my overflows and to battle that I decided to drop down my MAG Drive to a Mag Drive 3 I like the flow better of the smaller pump and added powerhead. Not sure if the skimmer theory is true or not but my nitrates are never above 5ppm and my skimmer pulls more junk

 

[David S]

I have a 55g with a 20g sump. I have 3 Hydor 2's. I used to have a Mag Drive 7 for my return I was doind some research on Nitrates and ran across someone that dropped to a Mag drive 3 and there nitrates dropped. The conclusion they came too was the water was circulating faster than the skimmer could filter it. I always had a loud suction in my overflows and to battle that I decided to drop down my MAG Drive to a Mag Drive 3 I like the flow better of the smaller pump and added powerhead. Not sure if the skimmer theory is true or not but my nitrates are never above 5ppm and my skimmer pulls more junk

I dont think the flow would affect the skimmer.

 

[David S]

If you have a single overflow at 800gph would a 1000 gph pump be about right?

Sorry to jump in, but I am literally trying to think this out right now and just saw this thread again.

All depends on the head!!

 

[bavass]

I dont think the flow would affect the skimmer.

My thought process was to allow more contact time with the skimmer. My thinking was along the same lines as how a cooling system in a car works. The longer the water stays in the radiator the more it cools before the thermostat opens and its moved to the engine block for cooling and the new water from the engine block begins to cool. The longer the water is in the sump the more junk can be taken out of the water before being pumped back into the tank

 

[MrPeon99]

The only thing I can think if that would counter that: the longer it stays in the radiator the longer the rest of the water has time to heat up. And the opposite is true to (to fast and it will not cool properly). There is a general happy medium for everything. Sometimes you have to play around with it to find what works best for you, other times it's written down on a piece of paper for you to read There is a few formulas floating around on the internet that will tell you how much flow you will lose at a given height, using what ever material, and the i.d. of the material. Even factoring in ball valves, 45°, 90° joints, etc. if you figure out how much flow you want on your return, you can use one of these charts to help you in buying the appropriate sized return pump. There are very easy to use.

 

[Tomchong22]

I have an overflow that is rated at 600gph. My return pump is a via aqua 2600. It has a return of 750gph with 8ft of head. What I would do is get an overflow that you like and a pump that is about the same gph. Remember it's the head pressure u want to look at. Place a valve on the overflow and the return pump. With this u can tweak the system allowing for Any pump and overflow to go together. Trust me you do not want 600gph going through your sump. That is way to much flow for a fuge.

 

[MrPeon99]

Why would you put a valve on the over flow? Seems like extra unnecessary work to sync them, and adds a greater chance of over flowing the dt.

 

[Tomchong22]

You would put one just invade the overflow is just a tad to strong for the return pump. Another alternative is to change the size of the siphon hose. I went from a 1in to a 3/4.

 

[ezy33]

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php Head Loss Calculator

 

[Gubernaculum86]

Sweet definitely book marking this page

 

[David S]

I have an overflow that is rated at 600gph. My return pump is a via aqua 2600. It has a return of 750gph with 8ft of head. What I would do is get an overflow that you like and a pump that is about the same gph. Remember it's the head pressure u want to look at. Place a valve on the overflow and the return pump. With this u can tweak the system allowing for Any pump and overflow to go together. Trust me you do not want 600gph going through your sump. That is way to much flow for a fuge.

You should never put any valves on the overflow drain pipe,If any algae or food gets jammed in their you'll have a flood,The idea is to match your return pump gph after headlose to the overflow syphon pipe gph,If your overflow is draining too quickly then your return pump is too slow.

You would put one just invade the overflow is just a tad to strong for the return pump. Another alternative is to change the size of the siphon hose. I went from a 1in to a 3/4.

Again the overflow isn't too strong,your pump is too slow.Remember the flow going through the syphon needs to be strong enough to force any bubbles through it at the pumps slowest rate(when impellors/filters get slghtly blocked)otherwise again their is a chance of air break and floods.

 

[carey]

I hate jumping in but can I ask a question too? I have an overflow rated at 1000gph and the return pump is rated at 1500 w/1' of head.

Did I get a too big of a pump? I was told to just get a ball valve to restrict the flow....

What do I do? The return pump is a 1" outlet, should I change the diameter?

Sorry to just take over with questions LOL

 

[Gubernaculum86]

No worries Carey! Ur questions are helping me too.