Hammerhead for return?

[NaClH20NMYVEIN]

Hey Guys,

Trying to decide which return pump would be best suited for my situation. I have a 540G display. The sump is about 8 feet away then the height of the tank is about 6 feet high. Not sure if this calculates to 6' of head pressure or 14', I assume its 14'. The return pump will also be split off to run to frag tank, refugium and so on. These tanks will be within 4 feet of the pump with a height no taller than 6 feet. In my research it seems that the hammerhead would be my best bet with about 4200gph at 14' using only 360W. Anybody have a better suggestion? Noise is not an issue as the pump will be outside in a shed with all the equipment. I would like to have a very efficient pump though. Thanks!

 

[sweetdreamfiji]

Your head pressure will be 6' high plus additions for fittings and the diameter of the pipe you use. the 8' length is multiplied by the head pressure per foot of pipe (you can find a table of additions for fittings and pipe at Aquatic Ecosystems.com). The manufacturer of the pump recommends using a large diameter pipe to reduce head pressure (at least 1.5", but 2" would be better). the hammerhead is known for having low power use and is quiet. the final head should be a little less than 14 feet, but that pump would still be a good choice-- as long as you use the correct pipe. With 1" pipe you will be disappointed.

 

[NaClH20NMYVEIN]

Ahh, I forgot to mention that the current return line is 1.5" but could always be replaced with larger.

 

[NaClH20NMYVEIN]

Anybody?

 

[Ed Reef]

Hammerhead should be more than enough for your returns Ryan.

I used to used Hammerhead and it's one hell of a powerful pump

 

[tylorarm]

I use a hammerhead as return. I have about 12' of head. Also use manifold split off return to feed Ca rx, p04 rx and carbon rx. I also use 1.5" pipe for return. I split the return under the tank and then use eductors on the outlets. The eductors contribute to flow and keep my return turnover low (i shoot for 3x display tank water volume, so for me with 480gl DT that's only 1,440glph. The HH performance has been flawless for a couple years, but i keep a new HH as backup just in case. Mine's not that quiet, was moreso in previous set up where i mounted directly to concrete not wooden shelf structure.

 

[Jflip2002]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15483357#post15483357 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tylorarm
I use a hammerhead as return. I have about 12' of head. Also use manifold split off return to feed Ca rx, p04 rx and carbon rx. I also use 1.5" pipe for return. I split the return under the tank and then use eductors on the outlets. The eductors contribute to flow and keep my return turnover low (i shoot for 3x display tank water volume, so for me with 480gl DT that's only 1,440glph. The HH performance has been flawless for a couple years, but i keep a new HH as backup just in case. Mine's not that quiet, was moreso in previous set up where i mounted directly to concrete not wooden shelf structure.

I wouldnt listen to this man until he posted recent FTS of that 480g Elos Braceless lol

 

[nyvp]

I used a reflo super dart on my 560/g and it was perfect.It went up 10 ft across 15 ft and down 5 ft. dont use your return for flow, just enough to feed the skimmer, anything more and your wasting wattage. There are better usage for wattage and flow then using big pumps on returns. my 560/g was running 600 watt off peek and 1600 watt peek with mostly sps. and 12k gph 1 dart return, 1 dart on closed loop on OM 4 way- 2 6100's tunze and 150 watt skimmer( volcano )small powerhead for the calc reactor 4 X 250 20k MH had no need for heater or cooler always had house at 75 . the name of the game is efficiency. How low can ya go.

 

[tylorarm]

The Dart's enemy is head pressure, you definitely want to calculate the head accurately and check the Dart's flow vs head pressure to see if it fits. At 12' Dart is near zero flow (see reeflo website for charts). I used to use a couple Dart's for closed loops, and i agree the flow per watt is excellent, provided the head is low. However, no way i could use one for a return.

I agree keep the return water volume low to process, especially in a big tank. My 3x figure flows back around 1/2 to BK400ext and 1/2 to refugium with DSB & chaeto.