Shore Tang
New member
I purchased a 54 corner bow that is drilled. I can't seem to find any specs on the overflow. It came with a Megaflow overflow kit. Can anyone tell me or direct me to where I can find the gph rating for the tank.
How much flow in my overflow?
- Thread starter Shore Tang
- Start date
well. first off you are thinking about it the wrong way.
it isnt about cramming as much flow through your overflow as it can take
its about making your skimmer operate as efficiently as possible and you do this by giving it the dirtiest water as possible. This is done my roughly mathcing your sump flow with your skimmers processing ability, therefore making a attempt at skimming all water before it is returned to the display
There are lots of different tricks to skimming efficiently from overflow design and water routing through the sump to name a couple, but hands down the most crucial of which is matching sump flow to skimmers processing ability
as far as your specific question, we just need to know the size of the drain pipe(s) to answer that
it isnt about cramming as much flow through your overflow as it can take
its about making your skimmer operate as efficiently as possible and you do this by giving it the dirtiest water as possible. This is done my roughly mathcing your sump flow with your skimmers processing ability, therefore making a attempt at skimming all water before it is returned to the display
There are lots of different tricks to skimming efficiently from overflow design and water routing through the sump to name a couple, but hands down the most crucial of which is matching sump flow to skimmers processing ability
as far as your specific question, we just need to know the size of the drain pipe(s) to answer that
Shore Tang
New member
The drain pipe is 1"
Shore Tang
New member
The reason why I want to know the max low through the tube is I want to keep as clean a tank as possible. I would like to have no power heads and only use my return pump.
spsfragger
New member
its going to be very loud!
Shore Tang
New member
I forgot about the rating calculators on the home page. So i know what i can do now. I guess I'll see what happens. I have feeling that I am going to feel real stupid about this one. I have to try for the look I have in my head though. Try now. Change later. 
The MF will safely flow about 600 gph, which is no where near enough flow for your tank. Flyyyguy is correct, match your return to your skimmer or a little slower, it does make a difference. Normally 3-5x the display per hour is all you need but the tank may need 20-100 times turnover in flow per hour, depending on what you wish to keep.
Shore Tang
New member
I have raised sorties for the last ten yrs. I am really interested in sps now but, I do not want to put any equipment in the display. Do you think if I drill the drain hole out I can increase the flow? I understand the concept of the turnover to match the skimmer production. That is not my concern. I want cleanliness in the display. No wires, plastic boxes, heaters, power heads, etc. Any suggestions?
If you want sps, consider 40-100 x the display for adequate flow, and the flow should be random. A couple of Vortechs or Tunzes will do it, or a closed loop with an OM, but you will still see it. You can hide a closed loop better than a Vortech and Tunze does make rock that the powerheads fit in, but you still have cables to conceal. I have black Tunzes and a black back on my tank and they are not very noticeable at all. You will not get that much flow from the return and the drain is tempered, you cannot increase it's size. In short you will not achieve that goal very easily with the tank you have.
LPS_Blasto
New member
Think of it as 2 different systems. You have a filtration system. Thats your sump.
And then you have a circulation system. Thats either powerheads - which you don't want because they are ugly - or you want a closed loop.
They are 2 independent systems. System #1 = Filtration. System #2 = Circulation.
You don't want to use your sump and return pump to get all the flow required in the tank. Thats backwards. It's a 54g tank. You want 3x - 5x the tank through your sump per hour. So 3x the tank volume per hour is about 162gph. 5x would be about 270gph. You want a skimmer that can process about that much water per hour or even a little more.
If you want to run SPS in the tank, you'll need high circulation/flow in the tank. As others have already pointed out, that means about 50x per hour on the low side. At 50x turnover you'll need a closed loop pump that can push about 2700gph. Trying to push all that water through your sump is going to make your sump look like the Colorado river during spring thaw. It's going to be a loud, rushing, foamed up mess. You can't push 2700gph through a sump. The sump is your filtration system and it is SLOW flow.
The rest of the flow in the tank is going to have to come from a closed loop. If you don't want powerheads in the display tank, then a closed loop is your next best option. This is your circulation system. It's a completely different system than your filtration system.
And then you have a circulation system. Thats either powerheads - which you don't want because they are ugly - or you want a closed loop.
They are 2 independent systems. System #1 = Filtration. System #2 = Circulation.
You don't want to use your sump and return pump to get all the flow required in the tank. Thats backwards. It's a 54g tank. You want 3x - 5x the tank through your sump per hour. So 3x the tank volume per hour is about 162gph. 5x would be about 270gph. You want a skimmer that can process about that much water per hour or even a little more.
If you want to run SPS in the tank, you'll need high circulation/flow in the tank. As others have already pointed out, that means about 50x per hour on the low side. At 50x turnover you'll need a closed loop pump that can push about 2700gph. Trying to push all that water through your sump is going to make your sump look like the Colorado river during spring thaw. It's going to be a loud, rushing, foamed up mess. You can't push 2700gph through a sump. The sump is your filtration system and it is SLOW flow.
The rest of the flow in the tank is going to have to come from a closed loop. If you don't want powerheads in the display tank, then a closed loop is your next best option. This is your circulation system. It's a completely different system than your filtration system.
Shore Tang
New member
Didn't consider a closed loop before. Thanks for that idea. I guess I will have to do that if I want sps. I'm not going to be able to set this up they way I want. Thanks for the info before I make a stupid mistake.
Shore Tang
New member
Or the other options that that sirreal63 discussed
Keep in mind that hiding a closed loop is not easy either and involves a lot of plumbing. I would look into a couple Tunze rock's and some nice 6105's so you can direct and alternate that flow. The bottom of the tank is probably tempered so you can forget about adding any piping from the bottom. A closed loop with an Oceans Motion 4-way would be great, but that is a lot of plumbing on a corner bow vs two cords that can blended into the back wall or ran through the overflow. I guess I am just simplistic, but that is a better option to me.
LPS_Blasto
New member
I'd run powerheads too, but he said he's trying to keep it clean.
For me, there's a point where clean doesn't outweigh the cost and headache of the plumbing involved. So I just use powerheads. :lol:
For me, there's a point where clean doesn't outweigh the cost and headache of the plumbing involved. So I just use powerheads. :lol:
iamwrasseman
New member
i would suggest that you use slower return pump and a couple of powerheads as its difficult to get flow down in the lower part of your tank if you only use your return pump . been there done that
ccLansman
New member
+1 running slower through your sump has a number of benefits
1)More skimming time, always a good thing
2)Less drain noise/less air getting into the sump, with a faster return
pump on my setup i get a hell of a burping and more bubbles down in
the sump then i really want/want to deal with.
I have two mp40s for circ. and its plenty/overkill if i turned them up all the way. The pumps in the tank as mentioned above help remove dead spots by pulling flow off the bottom and moving it back around the tank.
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