Overflow box v.s. mag pump

[Gregsf66]

Hey guys and gals,

I went to Austins Aquarium today and the guy there said a Mag 3 would be great for the size overflow box That I just got. Im trying to think of this correct and would like your opinion on the matter.

If the overflow box is a max of 350 gph and the the pump is a max of 250 gph, then the sump should never empty. right? Now is the overflow box is a max of 350 gph and the mag 5 pump is a max of 500 gph, then the sump would empty right?

Im just trying to figure this out and make sure I get the best possible fit. Which one of the statements above are correct. Is the overflow box supposed to be more than the pump. so you are not pumping more than the overflow can handle. or is the pump supposed to be more powerful than the Overflow box?

Im new to the whole sump idea, be Gental!!!

The small internal box is 6"Long X 2 3/4 Wide X 6 1/4 Tall
The Large Box is 6 3/4 Long x 4" wide X 9 1/2 Tall

Any know the correct flow Rate of this box

Greg

[5.0Stang]

A 1" bulkhead will flow 600gph i think if you use 2 j tubes you might get that but it will be loud. If it was me i would go for the mag 5 and Tee off the line taking water back up to the tank and put a ball valve and return the ball valved end to the sump or a fuge. O yea and make sure you make your pipe tall enough so the siphon doesnt break when the pump turns off if ya know what I mean. If not PM me and ill give you details. BTW WELCOME TO MAAST!!!

[caferacermike]

The speed at which your tank empties to the sump is dictated by the pump. You don't have to worry about the overflow sucking the tank dry because it is rated for more flow then your pump can handle. I would be worried that a Mag 3 just wouldn't do anything. I'm thinking that if the system is a normal 5' tall system that between the height that it will push and the couple of PVC fittings you'll probably never even notice it is working. A friend used a Mag5 on a 20g set up and you could barely tell it worked. Check out Danner pumps online and see what types of figures and specs the Mag3 would actually produce in a real world situation. If you can afford it, switch to an Eheim. They use half the power of Mag's for doing the same type of flow rates. Less electricity is better on your wallet, better for the environment and less heat transfer to the tank.

And my guess is 600GPH for your overflow box as was stated above. You have the Utube somewhere right?

Most pumps can handle a little bit of back pressure on them so if you get a pump that is just a little to much for your sump/overflow you can generally put a valve on the discharge side to slow em down.

[alton]

I agree with caferacermike on the advertised issues with mag drive pumps. They work fine untill you want to drive the water up. At five feet you can pretty much cut there advertised gallons in half for all there pumps. I have owned a mag 3, 5 , 7, 9.5 and mag 12.

[jroescher]

Greg,
Your thinking is correct. You don't want to pump more water than your overflow can handle.

A Mag3 pumping up to a height of 5' is rated at 210 gph.

Look here for a chart of flow rates for a mag pumps: http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_powerheads_pumps_danner_mag_drive_supreme .asp?CartId=

[brewercm]

Another thought on this to help you keep from getting your siphon broken every time you loose power. You can also get someone that works in acrylic and have them put a divider in the box that hangs on the back. Make it about two inches higher than your J-tube will sit, this way there will always be water on that side and it will never loose your siphon. The water will just flow over the divider and into the bulkhead down to the sump. Not sure if it all makes since or not, but may be easier to just to like 5.0Stang said and put a piece of pipe in for the drain that sits higher than the bottom of the J-Tube. You may want to silicone the piece in to make sure of a nice leak proof fit so it doesn't drain into the sump over a few hours if the power is out that long. If the siphon breaks and power comes back on and you aren't there, then you can overflow your tank since you'd be emptying the complete contents of your sump into the tank which is normally going to overflow your tank. Just words of caution, but it really is easy to avoid.

BTW, what size tank are you dealing with and about how many gallons is the sump. You also don't want the sump level too high so when you loose power that it overflows. Best way to do that is to set up the tank and get the siphon going to the sump. Once your siphon has stopped draining to the sump top off the sump with water until it's almost to the top. Now start up your return pump and once everything is flowing smoothly (pump, overflow, etc.) take a marker and mark where your water line is "NOW" on your sump. This will be the max water you want to see in the sump with the system running, anything higher and your sump will overflow if you loose power.

It all sounds intimidating but really is easy once you see it in action. If you need help I'm sure any of the Austin folks would be more than willing to give you a hand, or PM any of us for more help if needed.

Again, welcome to MAAST and enjoy the ride. :)

[jroescher]

Also keep in mind that all of your circulation doesn't need to come from your return pump. It only needs to move enough water to perform the functions you need in your sump. The rest of the circulation comes from powerheads in the tank.

Here is a diagram of what brewercm is trying to explain and a lot more information about how it all works: http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

[josephatmbimortgage]

I think mag 7 would be best for that calculating the rate returning to the tank with out a squid . I'm using a similar flow box with 1 inch bulk head from Rivercity with a mag 9.5 on a returning squid.

-Joseph

[Gregsf66]

Something Like This

Be very Honest!!!

Thx for the help guys

Greg

I have a 29 Gallon Tank and I have a 20 Gallon Sump

Corallife 65 super skimmer
Coralife 130W Compact Light
Eheim 2213 Filter on it
Maxi Jet 900

[hobogato]

wow, that is an interesting looking skimmer :lol

[hobogato]

sorry, the only thing you might change on the sump is to make the set of baffles after the skimmer a tripple baffle to eliminate microbubbles. also, if you arent running an auto-topoff, you will be adding water constantly to keep up with evaporation since your return pump section is so small.

[erikharrison]

wow, that is an interesting looking skimmer

lmao I thought the same thing! I scrolled down and saw a definitive body part :P

[hobogato]

:lol :lol

[caferacermike]

Kill two birds with one stone and slap a durso standpipe in that overflow box. ;)

I was just going to say that's what I did for my HOT overflow on the 125g tank. The easiest way is to screw PVC male adapters into the bulkhead on the overflow side. This raises the water level above the UTube and I can assure you that in 4 years I've never once lost suction or had an overflow problem. I shut the system off every week for a water change, so um at least 300 "power outages" later everything works as it should.

[erikharrison]

would someone help with a diagram or pic of one in an overflow box? I'd like to see... I looked it up online and only found them for RR applications.