Return Pump

Well ok finally got my tank setup and the return pump that came with it is to powerful. Its rated at a 750gph. Well it drains my sump to fast and fills my tank to quick to compensate itself. So now the question is what size return would be good for me. I have a 65g DT and and 20g Sump. Need help ASAP.

 

So what you have is probably a 300GPH overflow, which is a good number given the size of the tank. 5x turnover from DT to Sump is OK. There are a few things you can do. You can get a smaller pump (a Mag 5 with a ball valve would suffice) or get an overflow rated at about 600GPH and put a ball valve on the pump you already have. I would not put a ball valve on the current pump with the current overflow as dialing back that much may be a little detrimental to the unit.

 

okie doke thanks so much ima go with the 300gph flow thru the return. I was really freaking out because it started to go over the top of the tank and little and since im crazy new to the hobby I really started goign nuts thinking omg wtf did I do wrong. I have a k4 and a k2 for DT flow.

Thanks Pharmrjohn

 

also since theres no current and I just added live rock should i turn my powerheads on to make flow for the rock? Im goign to pickup another pump tomorrow from my LFS in the morning

 

Just one of those things. You should have seen my try to put my DT and sump together for the first time. Ever see the apes discovering the monolith in 2001? That was me with the tank. Yeah, just get a smaller pump, dial it down and you're good to go. You could probably get away with a Rio 1700 also. There is a price difference, but there is also a quality difference. That being said, I have been running my return off of a Rio 2100+ since I began. The first one went bad, so I bought another. It has been running strong for nine months. I bought a back up just in case. The burnt out powerhead, it turned out, just needed cleaning. Oops. Noob.

If you have a K-4 and a K-2, you are on your way. With, say 300GPH with the return, that gives you a total of around 2100GPH total or 32x turnover (in tank). I generally suggest a 50x turnover for FOWLR/LPS/Softie tanks. You could add two more K-2s and get there. Better than one K-4. More flow to spread around. On my 90, I run a 500GPH return, three K-3s and one K-4. My tank is happy.

 

cool, ya ill prolly go with the 1700 then since i want to do it right, lol but back to the powerheads. Since the tank is just sitting filled with water and rock with no flow should I just turn on the k4 that way some flow in the tank for the LR that was just put in before my problems took off

 

Turn them all on. No problem with flow in a new tank. You are just chasing away (or minimizing) algae and bacteria (cyano) growth. The bacteria you want will remain unaffected.

Also, I was unclear in my post. The Rio is the lesser quality pump. The Mag series is by far higher quality unit. I just mentioned the Rio because it is a cheaper alternative that I have had success with. The Mag is better.

 

ok cool, ya ima go with the 300gph since it wont be over shot and my tank wont spill over the tank. Pharmrjohn you rock thanks so much for the help with this. LOL i just turned on my k4 and its moving some of my sand around but theres some flow in my tank so maybe the good bacteria will start invading my base rock.

 

Yeah....get it off the sand though. When that sandbed gets mature with all of it's nice layers, it is something you will not want to disturb. Now, it's not so much of a problem, but you want that to sit and cook as well as the tank itself.

 

lol ya since its like 2 am here my time ima mess with it tomorrow and adjust once i get the pump up and running, I just want some flow thru the tank so its not tsome stagment water just sitting there