Closed Loop Help

jer77

Phish Lover
I have a 75 gallon tank which already has water in it so it will be plumbed over the tank. I was thinking of setting it up similar to Melev's by having the SCWD wavemaker. I'm wondering how strong the pump should be, how wide the plumbing should be, and is there anything else I should consider? Also what brands of external pumps are good?
 
is this going to be your main source of flow?

if so, you probably want a pump that will turn over your tank volume approximately 20 times an hour (if you plan on having corals).

as far as pump brands, iwaki, mag, sequence, gen-x are all good but as far as noise goes, i think mag is the quietest. the brand to me isn't as important as how quiet the pump is, unless sound isn't an issue. i'm sure some others will offer some input on noise ratings.

good luck!
 
I used the Blueline 40 X and it turns 1270 gph I believe. I used four returns on the closed loop. Two up top and two that ran down the back of the tank and across the bottom so I would have two nozzels that blew water upward from the bottom.

Three things that really helped me out and was a life saver was using Spa Flex PVC, putting a ball valve on each return and a union ball valve on the pump.

The Spa Flex was suggested so there would be some give in the lines with wouldn't put undue pressure on your bulkhead which could be a possible leak area.

The ball valve on each return gave me the ability to adjust each head so I could limit or increase flow to a certain area.

The union ball valve on both sides of the pump give you the ability to disconnect the pump without draining the closed loop. Very important if you ever had to service or change it out.

Hope this helps
 
Right now I have a mag9.5 return pumping approximately 515 gph into the tank with 2 outputs. I also have a seio M820 and two maxi-jet 1200's So all together there is 1925 gph, which makes it 25.67X flow. If I do add a closed loop I will take out the maxi-jets and maybe even the seio.
Right now I have mostly softies and LPS in the tank, but plan to SPS in the future.
 
yeah i would get rid of both of the pumps that are in the display tank. maybe even get a mag 12 or 18 for your closed loop...

i wish i had bought a larger pump... i didn't realize how much of an effect head pressure has on a pump
 
I think I'm looking for a pump rated at atleast 1200 gph, but probably a liitle more like 1600-1800 with all the head loss.
 
A pump that size won't work with a SCWD unless you modify the SCWD, it'll probably just blow the thing apart. You shouldn't put the SCWD anywhere you can't handle a major flow restriction either.

If this closed loop is your main source of flow you won't be happy with a SCWD. If you look at the size of piping required to run a large pump (usually at least twice the diameter of the pump connection) and the connection on a SCWD (like 3/8 or something?) it will give you an idea of what a low-flow device it is.

All of the pump ideas above are great, but you gotta lose the SCWD.
 
I was thinking that the SCWD wouldn't work too. Ya it probably would blow the thing apart. Scrap the SCWD. That sort of goes along with my original question. What size plumbing should the intake and output be? Do the size of the pump fittings matter?
 
Be carefull using a mag externally as they have a tendancy to leak. I would stick to a pump specifiaclly designed to be external and not either or.
 
I was thinking of that too. I might consider a GenX-Mak4 at 1200 gph with 3/4'' in and out. Or maybe a Blueline Velocity T4 at 1225 gph with 1'' in and out.
 
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