Help with closed loop design

[Holygral]

I am getting ready to up grade to a 125 closed loop system. Have the stand finished, sump/refugium finished and tank ordered. Tank has two 1 or 1.25" holes in each corner. 30 gal sump has Oct. 200 in first chamber, small refugium in the middle and return section next. Looking for the hows, where to get parts and what kind and size of pump. I would like to keep all power heads out of the tank. There will be about 5 ft of head. Gone from 55 to 75 to 125 and I want it to be right, as I hope this is the last upgrade. I have look at a ton of different pumps and really need some help to get this set up.

Thank Bunches

PS It is a mixed reef.

 

[Myteemouse]

I have a 125 ordered and I'm gonna use a DART pump (3600 gph)
but I;m gonna suspend my pump right under my tank so there is no head!

 

[Holygral]

anyone else want to help?

 

[burning2nd]

Ill be jumping on the Closed loop band wagon really soon... (thats a first for me)

Ill be tuned in to this... for i think my 75.. will only have 2 tunzes and a slow flow to a large sump...... then a closed loop and maybe connection somewhere in there for a lagoon...

 

[bill_fit]

I'll help you. Here's some pics of my system to give you some ideas. In your post you mentioned there would be five feet of head. If you were talking about the closed loop then it wouldn't be a closed loop.

In this pic you can see two white pipes running vertically at each end of tank. Wish I had painted them black. Each one of these pipes have a check valve in them. These two pipes are the seperate intakes for each of the closed loops.

In this pic you see the closed loop return manifold. I ran the returns from each pump into a common manifold with 14 outputs. Each output has a piece of lock line on it so it can be aimed where ever.

See the red valve in this pic? Thats to purge the air from that intake line when initially starting the closed loop.

In this pic you see the lines running from the tank to the garage. Closed loop and the return pump.

 

[bill_fit]

And here's the two closed loop pumps. There is a valve in each intake and output with a union for easy maintenance. Notice the garden hose addaptors? These have a valve right behind them and are in the intake section that also has the check valve. That is so you can pump water into the closed loop intake to remove all the air. Before I start pumping I have to open that first valve I showed you at the tank. When water starts running out the tank valve it is closed then the garden hose valve is closed.

 

[ReefJunkie]

A closed loop system does not originate from your sump. Are you wanting to know a good pump size for your return from the sump? If so, I use a ReeFlo Barracuda pump for my return and love it. It is very, very quiet and has a good head ratio. You may want to check that one out. Good luck.

 

[Holygral]

Bare with me here. I have a 125 with (2) 1" corner holes in each rear corner. I have a 30 gal sump. I would assume that , that would be for one inlet and one outlet in each corner? If so I need to get water to my sump with the return a mag 7. My skimmer is also in the sump. Plus I want to get a pump that will be plumbed to create the flow for the tank. Do I use the two outlets for feed to the pump and then make a manifold with 4 or 6 flexible nozzles for the return and flow, and then use an over flow for the sump. Or is there a way to feed both (the sump and flow) with just the 4 drilled holes? I have always just had overflows and in tank PH's for flow and would like to get away from this setup. So I guess I am talking about a closed system but I also need to feed water to the sump.

thanks to all and any for the help.

tom

 

[bill_fit]

The holes you have are, in each corner, one for the water to the sump and one for the return, you have no holes already drilled in the tank for a closed loop system. Thats why I showed you the pictures of my closed loop intake. My tank is drilled the same as yours

I started my closed loop system with sequence darts, about half the size of a barracuda, and they were to noisy, had to switch to the sequence snapper. My pumps are in the garage in a cabinet lined with sound board.

Since noise is going to be a subjective issue, as we all perceive sound differently, I suggest you get multiple opinions here or listen to the pumps before buying

 

[Willy]

Since noise is going to be a subjective issue, as we all perceive sound differently, I suggest you get multiple opinions here or listen to the pumps before buying

IF you get a Reeflo dart make sure you get one with a Baldor motor on it. I had one with an A.O. Smith motor and it was slightly noisy from day one. I now have a dart with a Baldor and it is dead silent!

 

[bill_fit]

Thanks Willy and that makes sense to me . The noise from the dart came from the motor not the wet end. Maybe I can get these darts I got laying around working

 

[arc eye]

I'm using a snapper (A.O. Smith motor) for a closed loop right now. It is very very quiet.

From what i have read/seen, the dart should be very quiet too. Proper plumbing on the intake side is key with reeflo pumps. If the intake plumbing is too small they cavitate and become noisy. They should be as unrestricted as possible.

Large plumbing is a pain in the @#$, but that's the trade off for high flow, low wattage, and silence.