NEW AND need help

[dustywb79]

im setting up a 29 gallon and im not sure on water flow,how many gpm do i need to push in to it and how much would be over kill.

I just finished my Sump/refugium project with a 1300gph water pump and im trying to get the rest of it going like what size bulk head to use water flow and so no.

well my thinking was to run every thing off the one 1300gph water pump ie less electricity and less heat .if im wrong please let me know.
so how many bulk heads do i need if i use 1" bulk heads or do i need biger ones.

any help would be great thanks

 

[Chichas01]

You only want about 3-5X tank volume through the sump so that your skimmer and other filtration have moer contact time with the water. The pump you have sounds like plenty depending on the amount of head you have between sump and your return nozzels/display. You will probably need to use a gate valve to trim the flow back a bit.
You don't want one pump providing all your flow. Use powerheads or another pump running a closed loop to get your flow requirements up to what your livestock requires. It almost sounds like you could buy a smaller return pump and use that 1300GPH pump to make a nice closed loop. But that depends on your space availability.

What is your ultimate end goal on livestock? SPS, LPS, softies, mixed reef, fish only?

 

[Skimmy]

im setting up a 29 gallon and im not sure on water flow,how many gpm do i need to push in to it and how much would be over kill.

I just finished my Sump/refugium project with a 1300gph water pump and im trying to get the rest of it going like what size bulk head to use water flow and so no.

well my thinking was to run every thing off the one 1300gph water pump ie less electricity and less heat .if im wrong please let me know.
so how many bulk heads do i need if i use 1" bulk heads or do i need biger ones.

any help would be great thanks

completely innapropriate pump for a return pump.
you need to change that out.
for a 29g you should have a pump that gives you about 150gph @ 4' of head, so you have like 30 TIMES more flow than you should have through the sump. the protein skimmer and media reactors employed in your sump usually only pump about 1x-3x of your main display per hour into them, so providing more flow to the sump than that does absolutely nothing for you. also, the only filtration that would be able to utilize that high flow through the sump would be mechanical(fiter socks or pads) and should not be used 24/7 on reef systems because corals feed on detritus. also, if you have a refugium it will work better with slower flow through it.

it is a common noob mistake to attempt to make the flow through the sump accomodate the high flow requirements of the main display tank, so dont feel bad.

a good return pump for a 29g would be an eheim 1250 with a valve on it to throttle back the power slightly.

now, the powerhead in your main display should be like 1300+gph, and a wide outlet for softer flow as well.
look at the tunze/vortec/koralia style powerheads, you can get a single powerhead that will provide your whole tank with enough flow and then set it up in a gyre configuration. furthermore you could probably hide it behind a rock so you wont see it.

 

[mcoomer]

Yeah, that's a lot of pump for your tank. You can put a valve on the outlet to throttle it back but some pumps don't like running like that. Frankly, as skimmerwhisperer says your best bet may be to sell it and get one that is better suited for your tank, or run it as a closed loop as Chichas suggested. I've got a 125 and I'm running 1360 gph, give or take.

Mike

 

[ReefferMan]

gate back your return pump with a ball valve, and i would add 2 maxijet 1200's cheap and reliable, they make mods to up the power if you need in the future. Make sure to point the maxi's up to ripple the top of the water. Happy reeffing.

 

[jrgilles]

Unfortunately I would have to agree, your return pump is way too powerful. I'm using a 900 GPH on my system, and even that I think is moving water slightly faster than my equipment can handle. My system is a 75 DT, 50 sump, 20 fuge.

Also, not to disagree with the other posts here about throttling down the return line with a gate or ball valve, but throttling down the pump this way makes your pump work harder. You're better off T-ing it off and having a line go back to the sump (with a ball valve on that to control the flow.) So instead of constricting the line, you can just divert some of the flow back to the sump. Your pump will like you better doing it this way, and will last longer.

On my return, I actually put a 4 way splitter in (a "+" shaped piece.) So the main return line goes straight up to the tank, then to the right I have a pipe with a valve go out and it turns down to return water to the sump (incase I want to throttle down flow) and to the left I have another valve and then a hose barb to use as a drain line (so I can use the power of the return pump to do water changes. Makes it VERY fast.) If that makes any sense.

I'm a bit of a noob at this, but I just designed my tank and spent a lot of time combing forums and web sites in order to design my plumbing, etc.

I have some pics I could post of my plumbing if you want, and if you are ever around the Central District (I live near 23rd and jackson), you're welcome to stop by and I could talk to you/show you what I figured out when plumbing my tank, since its all fresh in my mind. (Such as drain types, pipe diameter, plumbing design, etc.)

rob

 

[dustywb79]

the pump puts out 423 gph at 4 feet head thats way i was thinking i
could "T" off to the protein skimmer,UV light, media reactors,refugium thats 4 "T"s
plus the "T" to the tank, thats why i was thinking big flow, not just to the tank but to run
everything elso because the more i hook up the weaker the flow will get to the tank with
6 "T"s. and 6 ball valves (i will be useing ball valve on each line to control the flow.)

my end goal is to slowly move up as i learn.
i tying to learn on a little tank and up size the tank later and move
everything to the bigger tank.thats also why i am trying to go bigger now that way
i dont have to get anything later, just up size the tank and keep on going

but i do see that it would still be moving 1300gph through my sump and
thats why i am asking.

the question is can i run it all off one pump if it gets the flow down.
or is it just a bad idea.
please tell me thats why im here to learn
tell me what i need....to do

 

[tike]

Listen to skimmie! +1 on it.

 

[bigblue141]

Sell your massive pump, or keep it in the box and save it until you upgrade.

Purchase a return pump like skimerwhisperer said.

Your Fuge and skimmer should have thier own pumps. Use quality equipment and the heat transferred to your water will be minimal.

You also need a couple of power heads in your main display tank.

 

[agc]

I've had my 29 gallon running for a couple of years now. I have one bulkhead and I think that's enough.

I split the cabinet space under the stand into one side for the 3 gallon topoff and all electrical stuff.

The other side has a homemade acrylic sump with the return pump, phosban reactor, skimmer and refugium all stuffed inside. So, basically, it is a stand alone system with all the junk crazy stuffed in the stand

I'm trying to remember what size my return pump is...I think it is something on the order of 540 gph, but it runs much much slower because of the 4ft of head on it and I have it throddled back a little. I still think that might still be more than what a 29 gallon really needs.

 

[Red C Aquarium]

Stop bye sometime and we can talk about your system

 

[Skimmy]

no, you definately shouldnt use one pump to power all your stuff,
and for that matter probably cant unless you plan on designing a sump filter using 10-15 yr old technology.
(which isnt the best thing to do)

so, what are you using as a sump?
and what skimmer are you planning on using?
once you know what return pump and skimmer your using, you can design the sump a little better.
it sounds like your going to drill a hole in your tank for an overflow, yes??
1 1' drain would be more than enough for a 29g.

here's a few skimmers to look at
http://www.shop.reeffiltration.com/product.sc?productId=40&categoryId=2
http://www.nuocean.com/skimmers/bubble-magus-nac6.html
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...Product_Code=ES-PSK-100&Category_Code=es-skim

 

[dustywb79]

yes IM going to drill THE hole in my tank for an overflow
and i have a 10 gallon wet/dry tank.big enough?

no sump thats way i was asking about water flow from wet/dry to tank,how much is needed?

no skimmers havent got that far yet

so use 1" inch drains? how many?

what size returns? how many?