what type of pump for return

[Skeptic9962]

im finally got my new tank setup and plumbed up to the point of getting a nice return pump i got a quite one thats supposed to be pushing around 500-600gph but when i put it on it feels very light out the return so im guessing there not really the best pump so anyone have any ideas on best pump for return and for closed loop in a 33gal. tank its going to be all SPS and clams thats about it possibly some very rare zoos/LPS but pretty much all hard corals for the most part. any input is great

thanks

 

[Krish]

Yeah, you will need a bit more than that for that tank. When I had my 38gal I ran 2 Quiet one pumps that put out 1506 gph each and was real happy with the flow (I also had 950 gph for my return). The only problem I had was heat the pumps added to the water. Not sure if that was just my particular pumps or if they had issues with that series ( I think it was the 6000's), but if heat wasn't an issue, the Quiet One's like you have, but with more gph is a nice pump. Not noisey at all and really great flow with a pretty good price tag. I'll grab a few pics for you in a sec to show you some of the flow produced by the 2 pumps. Give me a sec

 

[Krish]

Here are the pictures. Some may say it was over kill with a bit over 100x turnover rate, but everything in the tank seemed happy. I tried the single pump (1506 gph) first and felt I needed a bit more so I added in another pump. So how it was set up was one suction for each pump and two returns for each pump, but I had each return "Y"ed to cut down on the velocity at which the flow came out each nozzle with. By looking at the second picture you can see what I mean. There's tons of flow coming out of the nozzles and that's with a "Y" up top and on the bottom Hope that helps...If not for a pump, atleast with giving you an idea on what size pump you'd need for your tank. As I said, my tank was a 38gal which was not far off from yours

 

[Scooterman]

I wouldn't push high flow for a return pump, I'd separate Tank Flow from sump return or other pumps used. Eheim makes probably one of the best submersibles on the market for hobbyist. I know the QO's have always had heat issues & to me seems that hasn't gotten better with the new design. If your getting a reliable return already, consider a closed loop or tunze stream maybe a better choice & get real flow inside. Not to confuse what Krish is telling you, talking about sump return vrs tank flow! JMO Krish'es set-up is really nice but I'd use the Eheims for that also, again JMO

 

[Krish]

He said return pump hey? Saw the word flow and went crazy I agree with Scooty on the Eheim pumps. I used a mag950 for my return and was happy with the flow etc, but heard real good things about Eheim which I said would be a pump I'd try next. I think they have one around 800-900 gph for about $125 or so that should do the trick

 

[Scooterman]

Hey Krish, I'm the one that come out of surgery LOL! I'm going to start calling Krish the "Flow king" LOL

 

[Krish]

Hey Krish, I'm the one that come out of surgery LOL! I'm going to start calling Krish the "Flow king" LOL

LOL!! I'm the one who's naturally like he just came out of surgury so I'm excused

 

[trido]

I tend to agree with the two guys posting before me. IMO the pump you have should be fine as a return pump. Its only purpose it to get water to and from the display( into the sump)to be cleaned and heated. I have a much bigger system with a smaller pump and it works fine.

Just do some research and find a nice 1500GPH pump for your closed loop and you will have a steady 40x turnover of flow in your tank, your corals and clams will be happy.
My philosify is volume, not necessarily velocity. You have to find the right balance of turbulance to keep acros happy though.

 

[Skeptic9962]

yeah i was told that eheim is one of the best ones..was told to use a bigger pump for my closed loop...my closed loop is setup on a spraybar that will be behind the rocks...should i have a real strong pump for that for flow and just a semi strong for the return what where recomended to me was the eheim 1250 for the return and the 1260 for the closed loop how would both of those do together? any idea if thats good enough..heres a pic of what is going on the two top flows on each side are for the return and the spray bar is for return check out the pics



http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28774

 

[Scooterman]

That would be good choices, If you want to deal with an external pump for the CL you would need to up-size the intake & outlets, lot more plumbing & larger all the way around. Spray bars do take up a lot of pump, you need flow up top also so that would be my only concern, what size plumbing do you have on that bar, BH's, PVC & the outlets? Also what else will you have on that CL up top?