breaking down my tank

[areskasparian]

hey guys im breaking down my 150g tank cuz its just too big and to much work to maintain im going to a 30 gallon tall tank. im gonna be still using my old sump and refugium thats a 29 gallon sump with maybe 20gallons of water. now my. question was will 1200gph return pump be to much to run on a 30 gallon tank?

 

[shifty51008]

You only want around 3-5x turnover through the sump so yes that is way to much. You push that much flow through the sump and alot of the water doesnt get filtered like it should

 

[areskasparian]

right now my sump is not really my main filter anyways i have probably like 200-250 pounds of mature live rock. ill proabbly move about 15-25pounds to the 30 disply then what ever i can fit in the sump

 

[areskasparian]

my only thing is will it be to much flow for the fish or corals? , right now i have two mp40qd but i doubt it will be nesseary for a 30 gallon tank if i get that much flow in it. or maybe ill leave one and put it on very low rate

 

[whosurcaddie]

1200 is a lot for a 30 I have about 900 on my 120. You can put a ball valve in the plumbing to reduce the flow. Just don't reduce flow going into the pump that can seriously damage it.

 

[jml1149]

Instead of just putting a ball valve on the output, I would put a tee on the output and return one to the DT and one back to the sump. Then, put a ball valve on the sump side and use that to control what goes back to the DT. This will allow the pump to run full wide without back pressuring the pump.

 

[SALTYwaterDOG]

Some pumps are designed to run with some back pressure. Especially pumps designed to handle head pressure. they'll pump more water, pull less amp's, extending the life of the pump. basically run more efficiently. Running these pumps open discarge can damage them. All depends on specific pump design. :thumbsup:

 

[koral_lover]

I'd shoot for 600-800 gph return on a 30...maybe even low as 500 gph...a mag 7 or mag 5, or one of the eheims would be good and reliable....you may not want too big of a return pump for the fact of how much heat it will generate in a smaller tank, also a smaller pump may save some in the power bill long term...just some thoughts