crpeck
Premium Member
My quest to replace my Mag pump with a restart problem has turned into a major research project that is making me nuts. It's hard to separate new information based on hard facts from fads and trends that have no basis.
My 55 gal tank was set up July 4th, 2003. Everything I read and was told about flow was "more is better". My drain is BIG and my return is geared to handle pumps around 1,000 gph or so (before head loss). My tank was originally set up with a Mag 9.5, which after head loss was probably getting 10 -12X or so turnover. That pump had problems and only a Mag 7 was in stock and that's what's been running the last 3 years. I started searching for pumps with the idea that I should increase my flow back up to around the Mag 9.5 level to get what was originally recommended for my tank under the theory of trying to get the most flow through my sump that my plumbing can handle.
Now, I find that the current thought is to drop the flow through the sump down to 3 - 5X and get water turnover through lower wattage/higher efficiency power heads. The theory is that skimmers in the sump benefit by having more water contact time with slower flow. Also, they say high sump turnover is uneccessary and an inferior method of creating flow with the new generation of powerheads like the Tunzes and such that have a wider path of flow that can be directed as needed to give the most turbulence/flow with the least power use. Proponents of this claim: better skimmer performance, electricity savings, quieter operation, and better refugium pod survival for those with sump based refugiums.
Others still claim that the more water run by their skimmer and filtration the better and that turnover through the sump should be a fast as it can handle. Another argument for this theory is that excessive power heads in the tank are ugly and unnatural looking and they don't want to rely on powerheads all over the place.
I suppose one key part of the argument is whether or not you have a closed loop on the tank. If so, then you probably could get away with lowering your exchange through the sump and keep a lot of flow without ugly powerheads. I don't want to get distracted by all the possibilities for getting flow in the tank. I don't have a closed loop and can't really plumb one the way my tank is set up. I'd really like to drill the question down to what the optimal flow through the sump is ..... high or low?
I've tried 2 1,000 gpg pumps that both were bad (1 noisy and the other one leaks) so am back to square one in deciding which pump to buy.
Help me please oh WTMRAC reef gurus.
My 55 gal tank was set up July 4th, 2003. Everything I read and was told about flow was "more is better". My drain is BIG and my return is geared to handle pumps around 1,000 gph or so (before head loss). My tank was originally set up with a Mag 9.5, which after head loss was probably getting 10 -12X or so turnover. That pump had problems and only a Mag 7 was in stock and that's what's been running the last 3 years. I started searching for pumps with the idea that I should increase my flow back up to around the Mag 9.5 level to get what was originally recommended for my tank under the theory of trying to get the most flow through my sump that my plumbing can handle.
Now, I find that the current thought is to drop the flow through the sump down to 3 - 5X and get water turnover through lower wattage/higher efficiency power heads. The theory is that skimmers in the sump benefit by having more water contact time with slower flow. Also, they say high sump turnover is uneccessary and an inferior method of creating flow with the new generation of powerheads like the Tunzes and such that have a wider path of flow that can be directed as needed to give the most turbulence/flow with the least power use. Proponents of this claim: better skimmer performance, electricity savings, quieter operation, and better refugium pod survival for those with sump based refugiums.
Others still claim that the more water run by their skimmer and filtration the better and that turnover through the sump should be a fast as it can handle. Another argument for this theory is that excessive power heads in the tank are ugly and unnatural looking and they don't want to rely on powerheads all over the place.
I suppose one key part of the argument is whether or not you have a closed loop on the tank. If so, then you probably could get away with lowering your exchange through the sump and keep a lot of flow without ugly powerheads. I don't want to get distracted by all the possibilities for getting flow in the tank. I don't have a closed loop and can't really plumb one the way my tank is set up. I'd really like to drill the question down to what the optimal flow through the sump is ..... high or low?
I've tried 2 1,000 gpg pumps that both were bad (1 noisy and the other one leaks) so am back to square one in deciding which pump to buy.
Help me please oh WTMRAC reef gurus.
