what size pump

i personally wouldn't go with anything over 500 gph after head loss, unless you have a failsafe. i've had a few spills do to drains being slightly restricted.
 
Similar tank (yours is just taller)

Mag 9.5 at about 10% restriction (ball valve on 3/4" pump output) to balance a 1" drain (fully submerged w/ failsafe backup) + 2 Koralia #3's.

Also my Mag 9.5 is absolutely quiet.. many say they are very noisy... not for me. FYI it does seem to put some heat in the water.. not a problem for me but FYI.

RockLayout.jpg


hope this helps
 
Thanks that helps. I have a mag 12, already - can I slow that down enough to be able to use, if so do I just put a valve on it and adjust it by trial and error (b/c that would be a big "error" if I get it wrong!!)...
 
Yes, You can use the mag 12 and use the ball-valve to slow the flow a little. partially close the valve and turn the return pump on.
Open or Close the valve until you get the drain noise and the flow where you want it and then your all set. The main thing is that nobody comes behind you and opens that valve all the way or you might be in for trouble. Is the sump located under the tank in the stand or is it located somewhere else? One nice thing about having your return pump a little oversized is that you can tee off of the return line and send a water line to carbon and/or Phosphate media if you want without having to plug in a separate pump.
 
is it a built in overflow or a hang on back? From what I have learned, is that about 10x the tank volume or more in GPH is ideal. If another overflow is an option, I would put another one in and unleash the power of that mag 12. Might save you on space since those koralias take a lot of space.

just my .02
 
I was reading on melev's reef about return pumps.
He has a 1 inch overflow on the top of his tank which gives him around 300 gph. So his pump with the head loss should match around 300gph.
In the average size aquarium, an overflow on the surface of the water will give around 300gph for a 1 inch hole and twice as much if the hole is at the bottom.
 
Its a built in overflow, and I know the guy at the LFS told me that it wasn't ideal for water turnover for the size tank it is, but I really like the tank. I am using the tank as a room divider (seen from three sides) So... I only wanted on corner overflow. I didn't want a hang on back b/c of the view and b/c of the risk of failure.
So hopefully I can make it work out ok. Right now my tank is just a bunch of softies, so I think it should be ok.....
 
Back
Top