Mag 9.5 return line dia and spray bar

[FroMan]

I have a mag 9.5 that I'm going to use as my return pump.

Has anyone observed any major differences between going with a 1" line as opposed to a 1.5"?

The head loss calcualtor shows a differenec of about 84 gph (713 gal vs 797) . The 1.5" pipe dia would exceed the flow rate of the overflow box I have (life reef - rated ~700 gal/hr), forcing me to throttle back and divert some of the water being sent back up to the tank.

I'm considering going with the 1", but I don't want to put too much restriction on the motor making it work too hard. Any knows issues here?

I was also wondering about spray bars. What is the purpose and what is the advantage to these as opposed to fixed or rotating outlets?

thanks

FroMan

 

[sjm817]

3/4" will kill the flow, 1" cuts it back, but nowhere near as dramatic. 1.5" really puts out a ton of flow. I think 1" would be fine.