Newbie still in the planning stages...

[ddc1993]

Hey guys,
I am a newbie here. I have been planning for a while. I have purchased lots of equipment but life has been getting in the way of setting up my tank. My current question is in regards to what size pump to return water to the display tank. I have the space that I can afford placing my refugium in the basement (used to be laundry) and have my display tank on the first floor (almost directly above). I have read many sites about how to calculate head. My plumbing run would lay out as follows (from refugium to display tank):

6' run vertical
90 deg elbow
10' run horizontal
90 deg elbow
5' run vertical
90 deg elbow into display tank

My display is 60 gal and I have yet to figure out what size refugium tank I want.
Any thoughts/experience would be great.
Thanks
Derek

 

[homer1475]

Best way to figure out head loss is the calculator right here on RC. Just input your plumbing and height.

http://www.reefcentral.com/index.php/head-loss-calculator

 

[ddc1993]

Great thanks for that. My only hesitation with this calculator is picking a pump. Would it error if I pick a pump that is not sufficient?

 

[homer1475]

If your over the pumps rated head height, it will show 0gph for flow rate.

 

[ddc1993]

Would the best choice be exterior pumps for my application?

 

[ddc1993]

Sorry for all the questions but I am not sure I understand the results of the calculator. I entered my info and choose a pump. The pump I choose had a max head of 17.7ft and 600GPH. Am I reading the results correctly that my head loss would be 13.54 and drops the GPH from 600 to 274?

Total losses are 13.54 feet of head pressure, or 5.85 PSI. with a flow rate of 274 GPH. Process took 74 iterations.