Need Advice on this pump

[Zacktosterone]

Im lookong at the Dart/Snapper Hybrid - 3600/2600GPH - Reeflo return pump

I have a 200 gallon system with a 20 gallon frag tank, the return pump will also be handelling 2 carbon and gfo reacyors. My return pump is going to handle all of it. The pump will be using the larger 3600 gph impeller, pump is rated for 12' head height.

My questions are,
Is it reliable?
Is it quiet?
How much headloss? (pipe goes straight up 5' to output with 1 elbow.

 

[acer]

The quietness of a pump is very relative.... These larger pumps are not super quiet compared to a pump that is half its size or pushes 1/2 the water ( the exception is the new DC pumps- but they have their own issues) . But they are not really loud either.

Reeflo pumps are considered very reliable. TO figure out the head pressure use the reef central calculator. SO you know 5 feet + one elbow ( 90 or 180 degrees?) , plus the losses from the reactors. Then use the flow chart on the Reeflo website.

http://www.reeflopumps.com/

So say your Head pressure is 12 ( accounting for the height, turns, and the manifold for the 2 reactors) - then your well under 1000 GPH into the display and at the max head pressure of the pump - which means it will be louder. I don't know how to figure out exact head pressure from a manifold scenario.

The hard part is the fact that all reactors change as the media gets clogged up. So you may start with plenty of water flow to each tank and reactor but after a week or 2 the reactors starts requiring more water flow to get thru the media. So, as you direct more flow into the reactors, that will effect how much water goes thru the system.

Its a tough decision - One large pump for everything or 2 smaller pumps = 1 for flow to the frag/display and another for the reactors. If your worried about noise= then IMO using 2 pumps will be quieter. I guess it depends on how much flow you want to go to the frag and display tanks. Does the 200 tank have vertex or other wave type pumps in it? Are you planning on having corals that require a lot of flow. All good questions that require proper planning.

Good luck - hope this helps.

 

[Zacktosterone]

The quietness of a pump is very relative.... These larger pumps are not super quiet compared to a pump that is half its size or pushes 1/2 the water ( the exception is the new DC pumps- but they have their own issues) . But they are not really loud either.

Reeflo pumps are considered very reliable. TO figure out the head pressure use the reef central calculator. SO you know 5 feet + one elbow ( 90 or 180 degrees?) , plus the losses from the reactors. Then use the flow chart on the Reeflo website.

http://www.reeflopumps.com/

So say your Head pressure is 12 ( accounting for the height, turns, and the manifold for the 2 reactors) - then your well under 1000 GPH into the display and at the max head pressure of the pump - which means it will be louder. I don't know how to figure out exact head pressure from a manifold scenario.

The hard part is the fact that all reactors change as the media gets clogged up. So you may start with plenty of water flow to each tank and reactor but after a week or 2 the reactors starts requiring more water flow to get thru the media. So, as you direct more flow into the reactors, that will effect how much water goes thru the system.

Its a tough decision - One large pump for everything or 2 smaller pumps = 1 for flow to the frag/display and another for the reactors. If your worried about noise= then IMO using 2 pumps will be quieter. I guess it depends on how much flow you want to go to the frag and display tanks. Does the 200 tank have vertex or other wave type pumps in it? Are you planning on having corals that require a lot of flow. All good questions that require proper planning.

Good luck - hope this helps.

The pump is simply to transfer water from the tank to the sump, as well as run the reactors and frag tank. I have wave makers for everything else.

 

[acer]

Well- that "simply" is the big question now isn't it. The "as well as" puts the difficulty into the equation.

Is the frag tank gravity fed from the display- so it does not add to the head pressure?

How large is your sump?

How much water flow (GPH) are you hoping for into the main display tank ? If your thinking 800 GPH then your A-OK with the one pump you listed to do everything - assuming you keep your media reactors fairly clean. Some say you need 10 times the gallons of the tank so 2000 GPH for a 200 gallon tank. But I think that is old school = before the wave type pumps ( vertex, etc.) in the display tanks. Now, I think most people are saying it is more like about 5x. The 800GPH is at 4x = Probably good enough if you have a few good wave pumps.

So- really to be sure, you need to figure out a good estimate of the head pressure.

Because even without the media reactors your at 6-7 with 5 feet of lift and a 180 bend (2 x 90's ) - are you splitting it to both sides of the tank? If yes, then that adds head pressure.

Example = My situation = sump in basement = so 10 feet for lift, a "t" to split it to both sides of the tank ( this is the same as 2 x 90's) , plus the 2 x 90's to bring it back into the tank = 10 + 2 +2 = 14-15 head pressure ( not including the friction on the sides of the hoses) . So if I bought your pump- I would get ZERO , no water, back in to the display because I am over the 12 max head pressure that the pump is built to pump against.

 

[Zacktosterone]

Well- that "simply" is the big question now isn't it. The "as well as" puts the difficulty into the equation.

Is the frag tank gravity fed from the display- so it does not add to the head pressure?

How large is your sump?

How much water flow (GPH) are you hoping for into the main display tank ? If your thinking 800 GPH then your A-OK with the one pump you listed to do everything - assuming you keep your media reactors fairly clean. Some say you need 10 times the gallons of the tank so 2000 GPH for a 200 gallon tank. But I think that is old school = before the wave type pumps ( vertex, etc.) in the display tanks. Now, I think most people are saying it is more like about 5x. The 800GPH is at 4x = Probably good enough if you have a few good wave pumps.

So- really to be sure, you need to figure out a good estimate of the head pressure.

Because even without the media reactors your at 6-7 with 5 feet of lift and a 180 bend (2 x 90's ) - are you splitting it to both sides of the tank? If yes, then that adds head pressure.

Example = My situation = sump in basement = so 10 feet for lift, a "t" to split it to both sides of the tank ( this is the same as 2 x 90's) , plus the 2 x 90's to bring it back into the tank = 10 + 2 +2 = 14-15 head pressure ( not including the friction on the sides of the hoses) . So if I bought your pump- I would get ZERO , no water, back in to the display because I am over the 12 max head pressure that the pump is built to pump against.

I don't think it's that complicated. I figured out that it would pump 2500 gph minus whatever i want to put in the reactors and tank. all i care about is that it's above 2100 gph into the display when is all done. but thank you for the answer. Im going to run the equation and figure it out