New pump... Too much waterflow?

Hey 3reef,

I recently had my tank crash due to my refugium breaking and the deep sand bed spilling resulting in the release of Hydrogen sulfide (or whatever that chemical is). I made some updates to my tank and added a SSB in the display, and a new pump that is rated at somewhere around 1100 gph (as a return pump from the fuge. My tank is a typical 75 gallon (hopefully reef) with a 20 gal fuge and it looks like there is too much waterflow. Anyone else with a similar reef tank out there that knows how much waterflow is optimal for a reef?

Thanks a lot!

 

You want most of your flow coming from power heads. I think the sump is supposed to have 10x the flow of what size your tank is. But your tank can have much more of a turn over rate from power heads. But your tank flows will depend on what corals you keep. Softies & lps like low to medium flow & sps likes high flow. You want good flow around your tank to keep detritus from settling in sand bed & inside of rock work. But your pump would probably be fine cause pressure is lost cause of the head height & every corner it has to turn. Some prefer a low flow through the sump cause it gives a lil room for play in case your pipes gets a clog. So if your tank has a high turnover through the sump & if your pipe gets a clog from a snail then it highly increases the chance of a overflow. If its to much flow you can always put a gate valve after the pump to slow it down. My 56 has slow flow through the sump. It barely breaks through the teeth on my overflow. Low flow also keeps the tank quieter going through the pipes. No loud gurgling noises. I'm guessing your skimmer is in sump also. But the skimmer can only skim so fast & your fuge wants low flow also. So no point in having a high flow sump. I hope this helped out. I'm sure others will chime in with missing or better info.

 

Sorry to hear, sorry for any livestock loss.
Refugium cracking? Hhmmm
Yet another reason why I don't run any DSB's.

Gating the outflow to the return pump actulaly SAVES energy, and if anything, is BETTER for almost all type pumps, contrary to some's beliefs.
As said, dial it bsakc to the flow your sump system needs.
My sump is not 10x my DT/hr, and it seems to work fine, FWIW

 

I know some pumps will use less electricity when they are restricted. But I'm a believer in low flow through the sump also.

 

Just for reference, I use a mag 9.5 as a return pump with a 120 gallon display. I estimate I'm getting about 750 gph to the actual display itself. You do want lower flow through your sump so your skimmer has time to process as much water as possible before it passes on through. You want your water movement to come from powerheads for the most part, for this reason. I have over 6000 gph flow in my display and all but 750 is coming from powerheads. I hope this helps;