Plumbing first tank

[abbynemmy]

I'm in the planning stage of my first reef tank. I have a 75g megaflow tank. The tank has an internal overflow and the drain and return are in the bottom of the overflow. Here is a diagram if you are not familiar.

http://www.all-glass.com/products/aquariums/megaflow_demo.shtml

My plan is to have the overflow drain into a homemade sump. Have the return run through a chiller and up into the overflow box. Hidden inside the overflow have a SCWD attached to the return line. Then run lines up to the back top edge of the tank then over to the back corners. The overflow and the chiller can handle up to 600gph. What pump would you recommend I use for this setup, the quieter(wife friendly) the better. Also would this be enough flow for a 75g reef? I'm trying to keep the tank as uncluttered as possible. With this setup nothing should be visible. Also this setup will allow me to put the tank tight against the wall. Thanks.

 

[mg426]

A mag 7 should do the trick. At that much head I believe it would provide in the neighborhood of 500 gallons per hr, Its on the web somewhere I just cant remember right off. as for flow/circulation you will most likely need more flow than that. You could use power heads or a closed loop system. Closed loops are easy and cheap. try and shoot for at LEAST 10x tank volume per hour.

 

[abbynemmy]

Thanks for the advice MG426. Anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[timmy_boy188]

A mag 7 will do great, very quiet if you put the rubber pad under the pump, if your doing a DIY sump than try and make room for a refugium section, that will help, you dont need a chiller, even if your running metal halides if you keep your house around 75 degrees you should be ok

 

[Fast Fred]

You may also want to reconsider the SCWD. I've never owned one, but it is my understanding the they significantly reduce the flow of the pump. If you insist on using one, consider using it with a closed loop sysyem.

 

[BarkingCrab]

I'm running a mag 7 on my 75g and it handles the return chore pretty well.

As far as your flow question is concerned though, I think you need to consider what you are going to keep for livestock to make this determination. The return flow is only part of the equation - if you are going to keep LPS/SPS then I think you need to consider other flow in the tank via powerheads, closed loops, etc.

 

[gsxrguru2]

I'll second the use of a closed loop. I have one on my 125g powered by a Dart and the flow in the tank is awesome. It does a great job at keeping things suspended in the water so that it can be filtered out easily and more effeciently