total pump head pressure question

[02tts]

here is my wet/dry setup:

LF2 wet-dry wet/dry trickle filter

I have the LF2-300

yes I agree, I will prob. put a ball valve on the one side to restrict flow in case it's too much...

its hard to use that calculator with pumps that are not listed...since I was looking at a possible Reeflo Wahoo or Marlin...i'm not sure what the total head pressure loss would actually be...

since this calculator takes in consideration the curve of the pump by model...

I guess I'd have to find the equations used and do the math myself to get to total head loss using the above referenced pumps..correct?

one other thing I don't understand....if I input two exits in the calculator, the number is much greater than if I was to input just one exit and divide it by two for the two returns...

not being a math genius nor a physicist by any means of the word..how does this work...or better yet, should I input 2 exits and go off that number or input 1 THEN divide the total head loss by 2 to get my final PER RETURN GPH...?

[Ziggy953]

Ideally if you can do it the return pump should be in the center of your return plumbing so that there is equal amounts of pipe on one side as there is on the other. I know in the real world that can't always happen.

The idea behind the calculator is to find the general head loss based on your plumbing. If you don't fill in the form completely you will not get accurate numbers.

I going to assume that the total overflow for the tank is 1200gph between the 2 overflows. 1" pipe = 600gph and if you have dual overflows in your tank then I'm guessing it has 1 1" pipe on each side and then the return next to that????

You don't want to exceed 1200gph return at the top of the tank or your overflows wont be able to keep up.

Below is a link to a chart of Headloss on the Danner Supreme Mag Drive pumps....I'm not suggesting these pumps just giving you an idea of head loss by the manufacture. I have 3 of these pumps, the Mag5, Mag7 and the Mag36. I am using the MAG5 right now as the return pump for my 55g frag tank. Eventually the 36 will run my 120 and the 55g frag tank.

Hope this helps you out some...



Danner Supreme Mag-Drive Aquarium Water Pump/Powerhead

[02tts]

you are correct in your assumptions:

(2) returns of 3/4"
(2) overflows of 1"

yes while I understand the headloss chart based on the link you provided and those which I've been researching, what I was trying to find out i guess is how I can calculate my THD total head loss based on the pump that I would like to use, either the Blueline HD100 (which is listed in the calculator), the Panworld 250PS (which is the same as the Blueline) or the Reeflo UNO series pumps...which unfortunately are not there..

so for the Reeflo's I would have to figure it out, unless I took my 15ft. of total plumbing and added 5ft. of additional head loss to compensate for the rest of the numbers the calculator would spit out...i.e. turns, elbows, pipe size, etc...

question is: is figuring 5-7ft of additional head loss a "safe" bet or I'm I going to have to find the formulas and figure it out that way...?

do you guys follow what I'm saying...I'm not sure if I'm maybe not explaining this right....hopefully I am.

???

[Ziggy953]

How many elbows do you have in your plumbing or expect to have? You need to calculate those in they effect headloss. With your tank having a total of 1200gph overflow you do not want a pump that will put more then 1200gph in the tank. I can't see your plumbing and can't measure it so I can't be 100% sure how things are setup or going to be set up. If you have 15' of plumbing (linear) I would add the extra 5' just to be safe. Having less then 1200gph at the tank would be better then more then 1200gph.

[02tts]

here is a QUICK sketch of what I'm doing.

hopefully this helps...

notice the 6ft vertical on left, and 3ft vertical on right...
then the 6ft horizontal to the right hand-sde return...


http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...pictureid=1052

[Ziggy953]

Total losses are 28.94 feet of head pressure, or 12.5 PSI. with a flow rate of 1135 GPH. Process took 114 iterations. Head Loss Calculator developed by Jason Nugent, with pump curve information courtesy of Shane Graber and Reefs.org

[02tts]

ziggy...what values did you use and which pump did you use?

[Ziggy953]

I added up the feet of pipe, vert and horz and added the 2 90s plus 2 more 90s since they don't offer a "T" for plumbing. I also put 1 union on there (pump to plumbing) I used the default Blueline HD pump.

The total headloss calculates everything with regard to your plumbing so overall it is like you have 28.94' of plumbing. Every turn makes a difference....

[02tts]

gotcha...****...that's alot of loss!

wow..ok.

so here is the 10k question...if the pump is not listed...how do I figure it out..I guess look for the equations used and try to manually figure it out?

[Ziggy953]

IF the pump is not listed find out what the flow of that pump is and look for a pump that has similar flow. If pump x = 2000gph then the pump you decide on needs to be the same amount of flow. Most pumps will give you a "head loss" chart like that of the Danner Mag pumps I gave you the link for.

[02tts]

right, I have the head loss chart for the pump I'm researching...but didn't know how to apply that to the math since the calculator uses other pumps...I guess I'll have to find a comparable pump in terms of flow and more importantly in terms of the flow curve of the pump and go off that...

is that right?

[Ziggy953]

That is what I would do. You could also contact the manufacture of the pump you are wanting to use and give them your plumbing specs and see what they tell you.