Pumps / Turnover - Please advise!

S

Sunburnt

I thought I'd go with (at least) a Sequence Dart for my RR 200g. 3600GPH = at MOST 18x/hr... (This is for an aggressice tank, maybe 100lbs of LR- lots of open sand) Now the guy that I was going to hire to teach me to set this up says I don't need near that much and is recommending I go with an Iwaki or Little Giant (b/c of cost, which isn't my foremost concern), and estimates I need 1200GPH... which will go down to what? 800gph?

Anyone with experience with this size tank, please advise! I want quiet. I want energy efficient. I want enough flow to run eductors on the returns...
I don't want to spend more than I have to but I don't want to redo this setup if the flow is too weak. And I need to order this ASAP.

Thanks guys. This is really frustrating. :cry:
 
I agree with him you don't need that much pump on that tank. I would go with around a 1500 gph pump at the most. I run an Iwaki that I think is around 1100 gph. But I do not want a bunch of water crashing through the sump. Creates a lot of bubbles being sucked backup to the display.
 
By the way I run an Iwaki which is a good pump, but if I ever buy another pump it will be this GRI
http://www.championlighting.com/product.php?productid=18121&cat=492&page=1
They run almost quiet and stay about as cool as any external pump I have ever felt.
 
If you plan to run eductors, you need a pressure-rated pump, which the Sequence Dart is not. If you want 18x (volume of flow x size of display tank), 5x of that flow should be from the return pump, and 13x should be created by way of a closed loop, Tunze Stream or VorTech pump...

You can set up a Oceans Motions device with the Dart, but you'd have more flow than planned.
 
Thanks for the input, Rick. :) That GRI is a hundred more than the Dart. LOL!

Marc - It's not that I'm shooting for 18x per se... but in specific, one post on another board was saying 20x would be really good. I do not want a hurricane in my tank, esp with the open DSB. Money isn't the issue (within reason!), I really want what will be best for my babies! I'm coming to think that although that other board has tons of people, the information there probably isn't as good as the input I get here. Maybe because I might actually attend a meeting up there some weekend and say "That _____ you told me to go with sucks!!" :wink: The tank is Oceanic with tempered glass and two 1.5" holes in each of the two overflows; no closed loop.
Zero practical experience with big tanks + too much reading = conflicting info & confusion.
 
So what do you want to do now? Remember you can always close ball valves or readjust the outputs to direct the flow where you need it.
 
:) I'm going to cool my heels and wait until I have the stand tomorrow and the plumbing put together. I guess that will dictate what I need. I'll post a pic with pipe sizes and then maybe you guys can help.

I do appreciate it all. :roll:
 
Well today I went to pick up the stand/sump/skimmer... and I started pulling out papertowels and misc parts and grabbed a towel and boy was it heavy. Because there were two pumps wrapped in it. Doh! No brand that I can discern. So this whole post might've been moot.
So to recap... this was a complete setup, in new condition... for $650. Somebody *really* liked me last week. :D :shock: :D
 
The key that Marc and Rick were trying to mention is that you don't want to depend on a single return pump to create all of the flow in your tank. You will cause yourself headaches due to the noise and micro bubble issues that will most likely appear. The return pump is only to get water to and from the sump. The majority of your flow should be provided by powerheads (i.e. Maxi-jets, Tunze, etc.) or a closed loop. It is not necessary to have holes for plumbing for either of these.

Here is an explanation of closed loops.
http://www.melevsreef.com/closedloop.html

Hopefully the pumps you have will work for what you are looking for. However, before doing anything else you should have a plan. You don't want to add plumbing and then figure out your pump. You want to have it all figured out before then. Otherwise you will end up paying for things multiple times by having to redo it.
 
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