Faux closed loop

[defigart]

I am going to be setting up a 46 Gallon Bowfront. I thought about pvc to create somewhat of a closed loop for the return. I would use 3/4" or 1" PVC around the tank, and have several ( 6, 8 or 10) places for it to "vent" to the tank.

The plan is still in my head, so I can't actually show you, yet.

Has anyone tried this before?

Doran

 

[Skimmy]

in that size tank i would omit the closed loop and just do a couple of nano tunze powerheads...they are small, consume less watts, and provide better quality of flow than closed loop nozzels. how many and what size would depend on the corals you want to keep (sps more flow, softies/lps less flow)

for a 46g bowfront the return pump shouldnt be anywhere near enough flow to power a closed loop, because you really only want about 3-4x going through your sump, so that would be 150-200 gph going from your sump to your tank...
an eheim 1250 should be perfect w/ 4 feet of head on it.

you dont really want to make the return pump provide the high flow the tank needs, because you want more dwell time in the filter, the skimmer/fuge/carbon can clean the water more effectively that way.

 

[defigart]

Ok thanks for the info. I have been in the FW hobby for over 20 years, but I am new to the reef side of things.

What would be the best flow rate, to keep a mix of sps, lps, and softies?