what is a closed loop and what does it do?

[The Reefer91]

what are the benifits of a closed loop, and what is it?

 

[qy7400]

Closed loops are for circulation, pulls water from one are of the tank to another. Think of it as a very large powerhead with many returns.

 

[reef_dude76]

A closed loop is a way to circulate a large amount of water for the purpose of generating current for the corals in our tanks. They are most commonly used on sps tanks where these corals require alot of flow and prestine water conditions, however any tank will benefit from adequate water movement that is constructed to match the requirements needed by the tank's inhabitants.

They also allow for division of flow generation between the closed loop and the sump. Essentially, you can slow down the flow throught your sump to allow more time for a skimmer, refugium, carbon media, etc to do their job by creating more contact time with the water in the sump, as opposed to continually circulating it to provide adequate flow for the corals in the tank.

Closed loop also means that the plumbing of system is "closed" to air, unlike a sump which is open to air or an "open" system.

Hope this helps.

 

[The Reefer91]

thanks
so is before the return, or after(still don't quite get it)

 

[zukihara]

Its not hooked onto the return at all. Its just sucks water in and puts it back into the tank. Basically one big in into a dedicated pump then splits the water up into several returns specific to the loop. A way to not use ugly power heads and still direct flow to various parts of the tank.