Appropriate Size For Sump Pump

[kart_racer3]

Greetings,

I am in the process of setting-up a new saltwalter aquarium. My question is about the specifics of routing the plumbing for the sump. Unfortunately, the closest I could locate my sump to the aquarium resulted in about 25 linear feet of piping between the two. Of those 25 feet, about 10 are running vertical, the rest is horizontal. My question: What kind of pump would you suggest that would be able to output about 1300 gph at a head height of 25 ft? Also, rather than mounting the pump at the bottom, near the sump, can I mount the pump beneath the tank, so that it only has to push the water 5 feet? (I doubt this will work though, almost needs a second pump to prime it). Thanks for any advice.

 

[tecwzrd]

Moved to hardware/equipment forum:

The 25 ft horizontal only adds about 1 head height, it's the 10 feet up that really counts so your looking for a pump that can do 1300 GPH with a 11 foot head.

I like the Mag 24 pump which will give you around 1000 gph with a 11 foot foot head.

Checkout www.marineandreef.com for a good overview and other pump options.

 

[kart_racer3]

Thanks for moving my post where it belongs. The reason I thought I'd need 25 ft of head height was I had called the Dr. Foster and Smith tech support while placing a previous order for equipment, and they had denoted the total distance of pipe as the head height. Thusly, I was looking at 900 Watt and 1/2 HP pumps, and was concerned that I would not be able to find a suitable sized pump.

 

[tecwzrd]

No problem, noticed you have a 90 gal and IME the overflows max flow it can handle is 1200 GPH so make sure you don't exceed that rating or you will have to restrict your pump somewhat which can harm certain pumps.

 

[kart_racer3]

Actually, I've had a house fire since then, and haven't gotten to update my aquarium stats. The new tank is a 120 gallon, with a 55 gallon sump. I've got (I believe) a 2.5'' overflow pipe that leads down to the sump, and a 3/4'' return line leading back to the tank. I figured I'd try my old pump, a Mag Drive 18, however, it is barely outputing any type of flow at the tank. Do you think 1300 gph is a good figure to shoot for, and that the Mag Drive 24 can perform at that output? Thanks again.

 

[tecwzrd]

With a 2.5" drain 1300 GPH should be fine in a 55 gal sump.

Your mag 18 should be giving you around 700-800 GPH :| Do you have a lot of 90 degree bends in the plumbing? Have you cleaned your Mag 18 in the last 6 months?

The Mag 36 pump would easily give you the flow you need.

Iwaki & Dolphin Amp Master Pumps would be good options as well.

 

[kart_racer3]

In the routing of the pipe I have 4 90 degree bends. I would have preferred less, but routing the pipe from the sump to the upstairs requires this pathway. Do you believe this would be a problem? The flow of the set-up is very small, the "water current" is detectable less than four inches away from the return line. Also, the pump was last cleaned in April, right before I installed it in the aquarium.

 

[tecwzrd]

The 4 90 bends are adding another 2-3 ft head height so your Mag 18 is pushing against around a 13-14 ft head which only gives you around 500 GPH which compared to what you were used to is pretty anemic.

Nothing wrong with the way you have it set up, just need a more powerful pump to get the job done.

 

[kart_racer3]

My only other concern is the size of my return line being at 3/4'', rather than at 1''. To find an appropriate sized pump do you think I need to up-size the pipe? (I don't think this would be a problem, I only have live sand and a small amount of base rock in the tank, so I think it could stand a lose of circulation for a day)

 

[tecwzrd]

Depends on how many return lines you have i.e. if it's 3 or more at 3/4" then no but if less then that I would increase either the number of returns or the size of the pipe.

Is your return pump your sole source of circulation? If so I'd either do a closed loop for added circulation or get some power heads in case your main pump fails. Either way 1300 GPH is not enough circulation for a 120 gal tank. Should be closer to 1800-2400 GPH total.

 

[kart_racer3]

I'm not familiar with the closed loop technique. Could you explain how that works? Currently, the sump is the main source of circulation for my tank, I hope to add some powerheads shortly, whenever I acquire a new pump.

 

[tecwzrd]

It's using plumbing to take water from the tank using a pump and putting it right back in most often used to create wave currents or avoid putting ph in the tank.

www.melevsreef.com goes into more detail.