trickle filters need help

[JohnnyOneBeat]

Hello everyone,
I'm on building my own wet/dry trickle filter for a 90 gal tank. I was wondering if anyone knew what the flow rate or how many time the tank water should be recycled per hour. In other word what is the minimum and maximum number of gal you want filtered/hour.

Thanks,
John

 

[Fishboy-from-NY]

in my 90 Gallon Saltwater, I have a 900GPH pump and it works great. are you going to have a FO tank or thinking of it to be a reef tank. Let me know.

 

[Strictly Marine]

Well, more turnover rate is always better and will help oxygenate the water better. 10-20 times you tanks size is a good range. Now if you decide to put a refugium in your sump of the other hand, I would lower the flow rate thru your sump considerably and just add lots of powerheads.

 

[fishfreek]

The rule of thumb that gets tossed out alot is 1 the tank capcity.

So the 90 gal tank would be 900GPH flow. Now this might seem like alot but in reality its no where close to the flow that a natural reef can experence. As strictly marine said if you go with a combo refuge/sump then you might want your flow thru the sump to be lower than this. Maybe 5-7X vs 1. You can then use powerheads in the display to boost the overall current in the main tank or you coudl put a closed circulation system on the tank so as you have it pushing water in thru the main tank. Since its closed you have the benifit of keeping your tank powerhead free.

I have approx 12X flow thru my 80 and really think I need some additional current in some locations.

 

[JohnnyOneBeat]

ok so there were three bulkheads drilled at the top of the tank when i bought it. I plan to have two flowing out and one flowing back in. The problem is they're all at the same height and only about two inches apart. Do I need to build a spray bar to move the inlet away from the outlets and also do i need to submerge the input so it circulates the water. I think my two aqua view 402 powerheads will cover that. Any opinions??

thanks again,
John

 

[loganj]

I would pipe the return away from the drains...at least 6"-8". You don't have to have a spray bar. You could have a couple of outlets in the return if you wish. You don't want to restrict the flow any more than you have to and spray bars tend to be restrictive. You'll also want to drill a siphon break into the return line just below the water level. This will prevent the tank from siphoning back into the sump in the event of a pump/power failure.