Poll: Flow turnover rate

[Aquanaut]

HERE IS A GREAT HEAD LOSS CALCULATOR AND EASY TO USE:

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php

 

[Myteemouse]

2x 3200 GPH power heads (6400GPH)
1x 3600 GPH closed loop
1x 1500 GPH return pump
11500 GPH total 125 gallon tank BUT running at about 100 Gallons with the one inch of tank above the water and the rock SOOOOO

I'm rocking about 110+ times an hour!!!

 

[Myteemouse]

TW my pump (CL) is rated 3600 at 4 feet of head and I have about exactly that with 32" head (up) and the pluming and bulkhead loss.

 

[trido]

HERE IS A GREAT HEAD LOSS CALCULATOR AND EASY TO USE:

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php

I would use that calculator with a bit of caution. In the past, I used a mj1200 with 3/4 pipe at 4' of head. The calculator claims that even at 3' the MJ wont work and will only give 52GPH at 2' of head pressure. Somehow, my mj1200 defied physics and worked as a return pump at 4' of head pressure.

Currently, I use a Gen X PCX-55 pressure rated pump rated for 1180GPH at 26ft of head. With 6' of head 20 feet of vertical, one inch pipe, a couple elbows, a couple valves, etc. The head loss calculator claims this pump will only push 893GPH for my application, yet if I run this pump wide open my two 600GPH (1200GPH) overflows will be maxed out.

I quit worrying about head pressure and I definately quit using this head loss calculator years ago.

 

[Darthv247]

In my opinion numbers are just numbers sometimes. u can have as much gph as you want and it still has to be used wisely. blasting flow into objects or against the glass wont give u much true flow in the tank. whereas flow into open current with lots of room to travel will give u even more flow than the pump is listed at for the most part. so turnover doesn't exactly equal flow in my opinion but it definitely helps u in deciding what pumps to use/purchase.

 

[user 26995]

In my opinion numbers are just numbers sometimes. u can have as much gph as you want and it still has to be used wisely. blasting flow into objects or against the glass wont give u much true flow in the tank. whereas flow into open current with lots of room to travel will give u even more flow than the pump is listed at for the most part. so turnover doesn't exactly equal flow in my opinion but it definitely helps u in deciding what pumps to use/purchase.

I agree that placement of the pump and direction of flow is very important. You can have lower turnover with the flow positioned just right to keep the water moving and work better than having twice the turnover and wrong positioning.

 

[Krish]

I agree that placement of the pump and direction of flow is very important. You can have lower turnover with the flow positioned just right to keep the water moving and work better than having twice the turnover and wrong positioning.

Definately! Some people just like to have something as a starting point to work with instead of walking in completely blind. Just like the 1-2lb per gal "rule" people follow when buying rock for their tank. 10lbs of one rock could be more beneficial than 30lbs of another, but you have to admit, 100+ x turnover rate in a little 38 gal, you can't help but to cover the whole tank and avoid deadspots especially with 9 nozzles that can all be adjusted independantly :lol: :lol:

 

[akunochi]

That is another topic to get into though. I am able to get away with a much lower turnover in the cube vs my old peninsula because I am able to create a Gyre effect via Vortech programming. The concept of using the fluid dynamics in the tank to increase the overall force of water movement can become a complicated topic especially since it is going to be unique to everyone's individual tank.

For instance. I use my MP 40's on the back wall with the MP10 at the front panels all pointing to create a counter clockwise gyre. The outlets from the Dart go into the atoll and cut across each other in a X pattern to create turbulence within the rock work. This allows me to use less Powerheads while maintaining a very strong flow and no dead spots.

 

[Krish]

I'm a big Tunze fan but really dying to try some vortechs. It will all depend on what the next tank is.