Return pump help!

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michellechristine

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Dec 2, 2014
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Hey guys I am trying to figure out what kind of return pump I will need for a 100G display/50G sump. I currently have a Pan World magnetic pump that does about 1270gpg for my closed loop. I have been looking at the Eheim for a return which does around 900gph. Is this enough or do I need something bigger for my return, and if so what would be best to use? I don't want to be limited on what kind of corals I can keep do to not enough water flow so I need some feedback on what I should be researching, thanks!
 
I like to have about 4x to 5x the tank volume going through my sump.
On my 233, I use a eheim 1262. It's a excellent pump that will last forever.
You need to get the in-tank flow from closed loop pumps and powerheads, not the return pump.
 
Keep in mind that your closed loop will provide a lot of your overall water flow. In other words, with the high circulation provided by a closed loop, your system is less sensitive to a lower flow pushing through your sump. I have found this to apply on my 240g reef, with a closed loop. The flow I'm pushing the the sump is decent, but I have grown to not worry about it too much. Best wishes.
 
Yeah mfinn and reimannp have it covered for you.

If your sump is in the same vicinity as your display tank, you dont want more than 10x turnover through it. It will sound like a constantly flushing toilet.
I dont even like having 8x turnover through my sump due to noise.
I would suggest for a 100 gallon tank you stick with a return pump that pushes 1000 gph at the outlet. You can expect to lose between 100-200 gph from head loss easy. I dont like the Danner Pumps or Pond Master pumps because they generate too much heat which gets transferred to your tank.
Whatever pump you chose, its a good idea to use ball valves and unions 1/4 inch larger than the rest of your plumbing to cut down on head loss and also to use them anywhere you think you may need to disassemble plumbing for maintenance.

I would also suggest buying 2 of whatever pump you decide on because pumps never go out when you have the time to play with them.
Setting up your system to be easily worked on and easily and quickly remove and replace essential hardware like pumps makes it easier to maintain.
I've only had a few pumps go south over the years, but they invariably did so when I was on my way out the door to work and I only had a limited amount of time to replace them. Having a back up in a box that only needed to be plugged into the wall and the true union ball valves on the inlet/outlet side of the plumbing made a huge difference.

Plan for disaster, and prepare accordingly and you wont have to worry about it happening.
 
Thanks for the feedback! Sounds like an Eheim 1262 will be enough for my sump, I will plan to get a couple power heads to help with in take flow. Not too worried about the noise because my sump is in a different room, I cut a hole in my wall to put the sump in a closet right next to the tank because I wanted to have more under tank storage and easier access to the sump. Ball valves and unions I agree is a must have, I will definitely be adding that!
 
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