Return pump for refugium

how much gph do i need for a return pump in a 30 gallon tank??

 

you want a 10 to 15 water change over. So I would go with a 800 GPH given the amount of head height which is unknown it will reduce the GPH. Then put a ball valve and adjust the amount of flow going back to the tank if needed.

Just make sure the pump you buy allows you to restrict the flow. I am still new to seting up plumbing so I would defer to Tangster to make sure this is correct.

 

is this for your fuge only? if it is fuge ONLY, no sump, then you will want much less than 800. you have to match your return pump to your overflow box. so, if your overflow box is rated at 300 gph, then you want you return pump at about 500-600 gph, and put a ball valve between pump and tank to regulate flow.

EDIT: you will have to have powerheads in the tank as this will not give your tank enough flow, but you dont want high flow in the fuge

 

whats your overflow box?

 

Yep you are right I did not see that it was only a Fuge good call.

 

i am building a fuge/sump combo as we speak, so let me know if you want me to send you my rough, very rough, plans

 

yea send me some plans that will be good im following thi model Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums so idk if its just refugium or sump to but im doing this basic design

 

A fuge's size I find that works well is at 1/10th that of the systems its to support then you to drible the water volume of the fuge through the fuge one tme per hr and then for th sump you only want 4 to 5 times the tanks volume per hr passing through the sump past the skimmer.

100 gal tank a 10 gal fuge and then 10 gph through fuge and 400 to 500 gph though the sump portion to allow the skimmer some times to do it job.
A mag 7 is the pump you would want a 5 also would do.

 

so a 3 gallon tank?

 

for a fuge only yes. here is my design using a 10 gallon tank. I am using the CPR overflow rated at 300 gph and the mag 7 return pump. I have a 36 gallon aquarium so our tanks are similar sized. Sumps are a good place to put skimmers, media, etc also. I am also building mine using the pressure locking baffles setup here:baffles

This will give me flexibility if i ever need to change the setup to accomadate a bigger skimmer etc.