Return Plumbing/Pump/Headloss/Turnover Questions

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I am needing to replace the return pump on my 65g mixed reef tank and am looking for some input on what pump would be recommended. The pump that went out was a Marineland Europump rated at 775 gph, currently using a maxijet 1200 as a temp. Return plumbing travels from the pump 1' to a T fitting which feeds the two return lines that are around 2', then another 2' up through the pvc and line-loc out of the overflow. lines are 3/4" black vinyl tubing.

1. does the T fitting feeding two lines double head pressure/loss since it's traveling 5' on both lines?

2. what is the "ideal" turnover rate for 65g w/ 30g sump. mixture of softies, LPS, more and more SPS. Eventually this will become a SPS only tank with the other inhabitants being moved to a larger tank.

3. Pump recommendations? I see a lot of folks on here talking about the mag pumps, mag 5, 7?


Thanks in advance for any input.


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I use a mag 7 because of their history of efficiency. I use to run it through 1" PVC with 90* elbows however since my drain was so loud, I changed both the return and drain to 3/4" tubing with no elbows. Still works great.


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Thanks for the input. The head loss chart for a mag 7 shows 420 gph @ 5ft. If I'm splitting off to a pair of return lines wouldn't that effectively make the head at 10ft? I'm not sure of how that's calculated. If that's the case and by splitting the line I double the head then the mag7 only gets me 120 gph.
 
Head loss is calculated along the pipe route. If you have a split the lines are considered separate routes past the split.
 
my 20g sps tank that's been doing pretty well has about 1200gph flow rate. I have three powerheads and i try to keep as little deadspots as possible but even w all the powerhead it can still be difficult. I know this is about 60x turnover, which can be a lot, but it's been doing well for me and the only thing i noticed that might be a bad thing is the fact that sps' are taking longer to grow, because they have to thicken up their branches through all the flow.
 
My opinion for what it's worth is don't look for flow, especially in a SPS dominated tank from your sump return. You should be getting 3 - 5 times flow from your sump. You want your macro-algae and skimmer and any other items such as reactors to have a chance to clean your water. I like the idea of a mag. 7 with a valve to slow the flow and get some pumps such as vortex or koralias to get the flow you will need for SPS. On my 120 I'm using a mag 9.5 with about 75% flow, but I have 2 koralia 3s, and 2 koralia 4s for flow. That way I have options regarding exactly where I chose to direct different flow currents.
 
Remember that you have to double the output pipes diameter, in order to get the advertised flow from a mag pump. I would recommend eheim pump, they do not add ton's of heat like mag pumps are are a lot more reliable imo. YMMV


Cheers,
 
From my experience, Mag drive pumps will give a flow with more presure wtih 3/4 plumbing and flow with less presure with 1-1.5" plumbing. It's a matter of choice. I debated and asked many questions here when I plumbed my 125 with a Mag 18. Almost 3 yrs in with this set up. Plumbed with 3/4 PVC and still going strong. Mag drive pumps are great in the winter months as they put a bit of extra heat in the tank. Less work for the twin 300w heaters in my tank. They are true work horses. In the summer, I prefer to switch to my Water Blaster and give my Mag some rest.
 
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