Return Pump Recomendations

[brewercm]

I'm wanting to get a good idea of what pump I want as my return on my 180 when I get it set up.
I'm going to be returning through two 3/4 inch sea swirls, so I just wasn't sure if it would be best to go with about 1200 GPH or closer to 2000. By the way there is approx 5.5 foot head.

Any suggestions since I've seen a lot where people are throttling down due to airreturning into their tanks lately. Also do any external pumps react better if you throttle back (ball valve closing down) than others (as far as pump wear)?

[NaCl_H2O]

I don't think any pump will do well if you throttle back the flow with a ball valve. It is OK for a short period of time for some testing, but long term I think it would wear out the pump.

No experience with the sea swirls, so not sure what the min/max GPH is required for them?

In general, I prefer 5X or so turn over through the return pump, and the rest from closed loops. For a 180, that would be < 900 GPH through the sump. This isn't a real popular setup, lots of folks seem to be pushing Niagra Falls through their sump - but my experience is that slower flow through the sump is more effective.

[Gator]

i have a 180 bowfront, and i am using 2 1 in sea swirls using a blueline hd 70 for return. The 2 3/4 returns will almost not keep up, so i definitly would not recomend a pump bigger than the 70

[cvonseggern]

One way to throttle the return without adding stress to the pump is to put a "T" in the return that leads back into the sump, with a ball valve on *that*. Then you can run the pump all day and just control how much of the output returns to the tank vs. circulating back to the sump.

Chris

[StephenA]

I have an Ehiem 1260 and a Mag12. I like them both. They are easy to clean and it takes a while for them to fade between cleanings.

[captexas]

Cliff - The 3/4in. SeaSwirls are supposed to be rated at 800 to 850gph max. So I would look for a pump pushing maybe 1500 to 1600gph max with whatever head reduction you will have on your setup. I'm currently running an Ampmaster 2100 (2700gph@0ft. head) as a return pump to my two Sea Swirls, but have a lot of pipe and fittings that reduce the flow. As Gator mentioned, it also depends on what size drain you will have for the closed loop. You want to make sure the pump will have a steady supply of water.

Other than that, I'm running a Mag 12 on my closed loop on my 75g. I tried the GenX Mak IV pump and it was much stronger than the Mag. Also much noiser though.

[brewercm]

The skimmer I have at the moment will need minimum 1200 GPH to run correctly. I was thinking of running a GenX Mak4 for the return from the sump teed off into two and going out locklines into the tank so I can adjust the flow direction. A larger pump that would be strictly closed loop system and that would be teed off and returning out the seaswirls. Then I'm going to run my tunze stream across some way once I've got it all figured out.

The only holes that are drilled are in the bottom corners. I have two 1 inch bulkheads in each corner, one in each corner will be straight to the inlet of the closed loop pump. The other in each corner will drain to the sump through a durso pipe.
Does any of this sound like a possible problem?

Looks something like this looking down, Ok not the best artis.

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[brewercm]

I was curious about that and didn't think it would work either actually. most likely will use the other set of holes as the returns from the sump and figure it out from there. I really don't want to take it and have it drilled again, my back just can't handle that many moves. I may just try and figure a different way for a closed loop system.
By the way those are supposed to be on opposite ends, when it came back up the drawing was all screwed up.

[brewercm]

OK Joshua what do you think abouthtis working for the closed loop portion to cut down on the extra plumbing inside the tank.

I drill a bulkhead into the side of the overflow boxes about 4 inches below the water level and then plumb through the extra holes in the bottom down into a pump for the closed loop. This way it will be working the same as drilling through the tank and won't be using the water from inside the overflow. I'm guessing when someone drills closed loop system like this you are using some sort of screen cover over the outlet drains.

[Ram_Puppy]

I am curious as to how a pump differentiates between being restricted by head pressure, and being restricted by a ball valve, I guess I am naive, but I don't see the difference. (not arguing, wanting to be educated!)

[brewercm]

I used a ball valve for quite a while on my fuge to make sure not too much flow was going in before. Now that was on a cheapo Mag5 though, I just wasn't sure if it would make a diff with an external. I definately see your point though, just like making a pump think it's fighting 8 feet of head instead of 4 feet to cut the flow down.