300g 8ft. Closed Loop or powerheads?

[Sethjamto]

I have an 8ft 300g acrylic I'm in the process of plumbing and setting up. It is used and is predrilled for a CL system with the intake and (4) outputs all in the bottom of the tank. I have a Reeflo dart already to run the CL.

Curious to know ya'lls thoughts. Should I run the CL like this, or cap it all off and run powerheads? If so, would two Jebao WP-60's be sufficient for flow along with the return? I'll be running a Reeflo Dart for the return pump also with about 6ft of head pressure.

If powerheads is the way to go, what is the best way for safely capping the CL holes? Should I put the bulkheads in and do a threaded cap (this way they can be used in the future if I ever chose to), or should I seal them with acrylic?

 

[ca1ore]

Personally I hate bottom plumbed closed loops. Too much potential for a leak and complete drain down of the tank. If it were my tank, I'd just patch the holes with equivalent thickness acrylic and go with power-heads. Am a glass tank guy myself, so perhaps someone else can chime in with the best way to patch the holes.

 

[Sethjamto]

I've done some reading and figured that if I go the powerhead route that I'll fully patch the holes with 3/4" acrylic and Weldon 16. That's the easy part. The hard part is making that decision! The plumbing will be MUCH MUCH easier to do and the underside of the tank will have much more room if I go with powerheads....I think I almost have myself talked into it!

 

[dave.m]

Totally a matter of personal taste. I prefer the closed loop. You can test for any leaks when you first set up the tank to make sure you have the bulkheads on securely. I hate the look and noise of powerheads but if that is what you prefer it is up to you.

Dave.M

 

[Aquatron]

I like close loop myself +1 above I use sch 80 bulkheads you feel the seal when tightening. Even if your holes are for standard size ABS bulkheads Lowes sells a round sanding pack cheap. Put on a drill and upsize to sch 80 its very easy to do....fyi

 

[fishpureluck]

I kind of did a mix, I took out the closed loop, extended the 8 returns from the closed loop to the water level, and plumbed my main pump into them. I have 8 returns and an end overflow and it works great. I can point the flow anywhere I want with those flexable return nozzles. I put a large koralia on each side of my overflow and attached them to a battery backup in case of power outage or main pump failure. Plus an added bonus, I was able to stack my rock higher in the middle because they are supported by the return pipes. I used sprinkler extenders for those pipes.

 

[HVAC Guy]

I run a closed loop on my 225gal mixed reef display. I like the openness with no powerheads in the tank. I have an ocean motion that changes the flow 2 of 4 outlets. I also have a 220gal anemone tank with powerheads in it. I had an anemone get stuck on a CL intake. It didn't end well.

 

[ca1ore]

I've done some reading and figured that if I go the powerhead route that I'll fully patch the holes with 3/4" acrylic and Weldon 16. That's the easy part. The hard part is making that decision! The plumbing will be MUCH MUCH easier to do and the underside of the tank will have much more room if I go with powerheads....I think I almost have myself talked into it!

FWIW, I run a 265 with both power-heads and a closed-loop, I just don't have the latter plumbed through the bottom. In my view, they both have a role to play, if a somewhat different one. I use my closed-loop to provide directed flow to prevent dead spots in certain areas of the tank; something power-heads don't do all that well. I use my power-heads (Vortechs) to provide broad flow; something closed-loops don't do all that well. I just wouldn't ever plumb a pump through an unconstrained bulkhead in the bottom of the tank - fittings can split, pump seals can fail, valves can fail - no thanks!

 

[Raoul5Duke]

I don't have experience but am in process of building a similar size acrylic tank. I plan on going with 4 vortechs because of the control I will have and the simplicity of the plumbing design.