peterac
Aquarium Advice Activist
I have a tank with 2 Dolphin Aqua Sea 2100's returning water from my sump. The flow rate seems to be way too low for what these pumps are rated at. I was wondering if the way I have these configured is causing this slow down.
Each pump has a 2" outlet that splits right off the outlet into 2 separate 1" returns. Each 1" run on one of the pumps goes for about 5' horizontally with 2' of head. Each 1" run on the other pump goes for a tille less horizontal with the same head. Just before they attach to the bottom of my overflow box at a bulkhead, they go through a check valve and are further reduced to 3/4". The 3/4" run goes vertically up the overflow box where it splits into 2 outflow ports. So there are a total of 8 outflow ports.
Maybe because the overall flow is spread out over 8 ports it feels very weak to me? I did a very rough estimate by shutting off the pumps when I truned them on I calculated the rate in my sump to remove a given volume. My very rough estimate for the overall circulation is about 900 gph, which is only 2X for my tank. Even if I was off by several hundred gallons as an estimate, it is still not close to the specs of 4200 gph combined.
I think the way this tank was designed with the 3/4" returns from the bottom of the overflow box to the outlet ports requires that I get pumps with smaller outlets (3/4" or 1").
Everyone's thought are graciously welcomed as always.
Regards,
Pete R.
Each pump has a 2" outlet that splits right off the outlet into 2 separate 1" returns. Each 1" run on one of the pumps goes for about 5' horizontally with 2' of head. Each 1" run on the other pump goes for a tille less horizontal with the same head. Just before they attach to the bottom of my overflow box at a bulkhead, they go through a check valve and are further reduced to 3/4". The 3/4" run goes vertically up the overflow box where it splits into 2 outflow ports. So there are a total of 8 outflow ports.
Maybe because the overall flow is spread out over 8 ports it feels very weak to me? I did a very rough estimate by shutting off the pumps when I truned them on I calculated the rate in my sump to remove a given volume. My very rough estimate for the overall circulation is about 900 gph, which is only 2X for my tank. Even if I was off by several hundred gallons as an estimate, it is still not close to the specs of 4200 gph combined.
I think the way this tank was designed with the 3/4" returns from the bottom of the overflow box to the outlet ports requires that I get pumps with smaller outlets (3/4" or 1").
Everyone's thought are graciously welcomed as always.
Regards,
Pete R.