help with plumbing

[joe kirner]

So i just bought a new 150 gallon tank. It is drilled in back crners for two 1.5 inch overflows bottom is drilled for 3 3/4 inch retuns two in front crners one in back middle. my question is how should i divide my flow between sump and closed loop .I plan on using my 55 gallon tank i have now for sump.what kind of water volume should i shoot for in each system.for my best performance.thanks for any input.

 

[mcoomer]

To be clear, you're not going to plumb the holes in the bottom of the tank to your sump, right? If you do that the first time the power goes off you're going to drain your tank.

If you're going to run a closed loop and return loop then I'd use the middle hole in the bottom to feed the closed loop pump and the two end holes as outlets. For the return I'd use both of the corner drains on the back for overflows and simply build a PVC manifold for the return circulation to the tank. This is what I did. With drain plumbing at each end of the tank you can build a coast to coast overflow and get great surface skimming. Even if you build to separate overflow boxes you'll get better surface skimming with drains at each end.

As far as flow, I'd shoot for 1500 gph through the sump (10X turnover) or less. The amount you push through your closed loop will largely depend on what you're going to keep in the tank. SPS reef, stick a Reeflo Hammerhead on there and let 'er rip. Fish only or softies I'd dial that back to probably another 1500-2500. Put a couple 3/4" Loc-line Y fittings on each outlet and you've got 4 streams of flow that you can adjust to suit your needs.

Mike

 

[Scooterman]

JMO I'd probably do as Mike said with the return, anything around 1,000 to maybe 1,500 gph would be fine, just be careful to account head when designing the system.
I'd maybe use an 1265 Eheim 900gph pump or a little larger external type pump for the sump return.
I would probably use a Sequence or Dolphin ampmaster external pump for the CL depending on how much flow you think you'll need or plan on needing for your corals etc. There are a ton of pumps that would be great for your tank, just look at what others are using and suggest to get more ideas.
:washing: