pump size

[mpleleaf]

Does anyone have good info on picking out the pump size needed in a sump and also how to figure out the amount of head you have with all things considered like elbow and "t"s . This would be very helpful , Thanks , Kevin

[ajx22]

Originally posted by mpleleaf
Does anyone have good info on picking out the pump size needed in a sump and also how to figure out the amount of head you have with all things considered like elbow and "t"s . This would be very helpful , Thanks , Kevin

Your return pump size will depend on what you want to keep + your desired flow rate. You want to have about 10x the tanks volume per hour - so if you have a 100Gal tank with a 20Gal sump/refugium - you would want to have at least a pump that moves 1200GPH. This is just a standard rule of thumb. In my 220Gal tank that had 80Gal of sump and an additional 40Gal of rufugium - I was using a pump rated @ 1800GPH despite the tanks water volume being closer to 300Gal. Take into consideration that your substrate + Live Rock, etc take away from your actual water volume. If you are going to keep a lot of SPS corals - then you will want MORE flow then the 10x / hour.

To calculate your head loss - check out this calculator:
Head Loss Calculator (http://reefcentral.com/calc/hlc.php)

It is one of the best ones that I have found that doesn't involve a ton of math on the users part...just enter the figures and click submit!

Hope this info helps...

BTW...where in NB are ya? My family lives in F'ton as did I for years! Nice to see a Maritimer on-board! ;)

Best regards always,

[mpleleaf]

Hello ajx22 , I was raised in Saint John & surrounding area but recently (3yrs) I bought a house near Hampton . I did quite of bit of snooping around Fredericton when most of my friends attended UNB . Really liked it up there ! Live in Moncton for a year , great place as well . There's no denying it there's no place like home , do you come home often ? I was talking to Brian L just a day or so ago about starting a local club or maybe even something province wide seeing since we now know quite a few salties in the neighborhood.
Thanks again for the info , Kevin:wave: