turnover rate question

[coop245]

water movement in dt help. tank 54 corner bow front, with mag 3 return pump at 4 feet so going with 300 gph. need to know suggestions for water movement in dt. was looking at two 750 hydor but would this be to much and create a sandstorm or also looking at jbj wavemaker kit with 2x 500 cycling. would like to start adding corals currently fowllr. cant afford vortex/tunze stuff but want it to be effective on corals and keeping stuff suppended without too much. any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[EricSIny]

Mag 3 at 4ft will give you 270gph and thats if you have no bends or 90 degree angles in piping. roughly add a foot loss of head pressure for every 90 degree angle. i would consider a mag 7 at minimum, ideally mag 9.

Even for a fowlr i recommend going with atleast 2 jbj 1600gph pumps, its only a couple of bucks more and if you decide to add some softies or LPS corals you'll still have that option.

also, dont worry about a sand storm unless your going with a very fine sugar grain sand.

 

[coop245]

was trying to keep flow in sump down as to allow skimmer and cheato time to do its job. but what do people think do i need more flow thru my sump/fug? chamber one skimmer sc150, chamber two deep sand about six inches and cheato, chamber three bubble trap and mag 3 return pump

 

[discocarp]

Your sump flow is fine. You could even get by with less.

As far as in tank flow, two 750s would be adequate, but I'd go with a little more if it were me.

 

[kc350twin]

Your sump flow is fine. You could even get by with less.

As far as in tank flow, two 750s would be adequate, but I'd go with a little more if it were me.

Totally agree. Mag 7 or 9 is a total overkill. 3-5 times turn over is sufficient and will do exactly what your trying to do. Many forget the electric bill when it comes to tank expenses.


Kc3

 

[sirreal63]

I use a Mag 3 for my 110, it is more than enough for your needs and your thinking is right. If you tell me the pipe size, number of fittings I can get you very close to the actual gph.

 

[EricSIny]

Totally agree. Mag 7 or 9 is a total overkill. 3-5 times turn over is sufficient and will do exactly what your trying to do. Many forget the electric bill when it comes to tank expenses.


Kc3

Overkill really? I have a mag 5 at 4ft and I'm getting 300 gph and wish I would of went with a mag 7. How would a mag 7 be overkill? You can always dial it back if needed using a ball valve plus he would still have the option down the line to add a manifold for reactors if needed and still have efficient flow.Also he could use 1 power head on the opposing side and out the output on the other rather then purchasing another one.

As we all know our tanks evolve in time and we change many things down the road, I was simply stating that a bigger pump might be cost effective and beneficial down the road.

I'm very interested to know what the yearly cost saving would be between a mag 3 or 7 on an electric bill since it sounds like you've done your math. Also let's not forget when we dial back a pump using ball valves it uses less watts.
(this coming from someone using 2 mp40 on a 45g cube?)

I think it was a good suggestion and definitely not overkill, but take my advice with a grain of salt.

 

[EricSIny]

Double post

 

[sirreal63]

The biggest mistake people make is not reading the manual with a Mag. They use 1/2 or 3/4" return plumbing and it kills the flow. Eric, give me the plumbing specs, height, inside diameter of the plumbing and any fittings and I can give the flow you are getting. A mag 7 needs 1-1/2" plumbing to get the rated flow, cut it back to 3/4" and you cut the flow drastically.

 

[EricSIny]

I'm using a mag 5 w/ 3/4" inch PVC w/ 4 90 degree angles and 1 45, about 4ft high. My sump is not located under my stand, about 12 inches behind DT catty cornered.

 

[sirreal63]

Your specs come to about 264 gph. If you went to 1" pipe it would be 290 gph, 1-1/4" would be 302 gph and 1-1/2" would be 305 gph. Your specs and a Mag 7 would be 397 gph. Just for fun, a Mag 3 and 1" pipe with the same elbows, head loss and 45 would be 250 gph, or 14 gph less than you have now.

 

[EricSIny]

Good info to know. :beer:

Unfortunately even with the bigger diameter piping it doesn't sound like I'd have enough flow to run a manifold to supply my reactors (gac,gfo) which I added months later, instead I had to purchase 2 small ehiem pumps to power them.

 

[sirreal63]

Not with a Mag, they are just not very powerful and not efficient. You could replace the Mag with a more efficient pump that has better head capabilities and gain what you want. Mags are bulletproof and work great for mixing salt.

 

[kc350twin]

EricSIny

I agree with you on having more for other things like reactors. The OP didn't state he was going to run other things. I reality all he needs at the tank is 162-270gph. It's not much when you actually measure it and to my eyes I always want more. Do you need more? Nope. Does he want more? Not by his statements.

If it were me I would run a Tunze 1073.020 dialed back. Super quiet and efficient. I uses half the watts of a Mag7. Not a lot of head but we are only pumping 4ft. I have one dialed back and still run both my reactors.


As for the two mp40's I have a 112g cube sitting in the garage. I had traded the owner of the 112g my mp10's for the MP40's due to him down sizing. The new 112g will be up by Aug. hopefully.

It's just my opinion and is not the golden rule. I hate waste and a lot of people waste water and electric in this hobby. I know I did when I first started. My electric bill and water bill has been huge in the past and I do all I can to promote wise and efficient choices from my experience.


KC3

 

[EricSIny]

I hear ya man. I never said a mag 3 wouldnt work but, just giving some opinions on why he might want to consider something bigger since he appears to be new to the hobby. When i was new i never considered reactors, etc, if i did i would of went with a bigger pump.

All in all, i think we all provided some good feedback to answer the OP. Now that hes got a good amount of info he can make an educated decision on what will work best for him. :beer: