Pump Recommnedations

[jonboyb]

About to get started a new cube setup consisting of 2, 30 gallon display cubes and a 20+gallon sump/refugium. Looking for a quiet, reliable pump that I can place in the sump and can provide enough turnoever for the system (80 gallons if running a single pump, 40 gallons if individual pumps are used).

Would I be better off with 2 pumps? What kind of gpm should I be looking for? Thanks.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

IMHO, I would use one pump (less energy cost and less cost for the pumps). I would use something like a Mag 9.5 (950 GPH). I would design your sump/fuge to where you T off the overflow line to put the bulk of the water (700-800gph) through the sump portion and about 100-200gph through the fuge.

You might go with a slightly slower pump (mag 7) if you are going to only put Soft coral or LPS coral in your cubes. SPS will love the higher turn over.

 

[jonboyb]

One display will be mostly SPS. The other will be mainly zoas, LPS (acans in particular), and softies. I plan to run 150w MH + 64w Act on the SPS tank and probably 4x24w T5 on the LPS/Softie tank.

 

[johnr2604]

Gotta agree with Brandon here. I am currently pumbing a frag tank into my 40 breeder and plan on running the whole system off one quiet one 3000. You can put a ball valve on each return line and control the turnover rate for each tank

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Ya, then I would run a Mag 9.5 and tee it off with two ball valves going to each tank. This way you can control the return speed to each tank.

On the overflows, I would do the same thing in reverse OR just make the soft coral tank (less flow) flow into the fuge and the SPS tank flow into the sump.

 

[jonboyb]

As "Flyingarmy" put it, I'm going for dual couch end-nano tables:thumbs: . You guys/gals using ball valves to regulate flow....how do you figure out when enough is enough? Experience or is there a good scientific method (other than buying a flow metering device)?

 

[xyzpdq0121]

"Experience" is what we call it...

There really is no good way. You just kinda of look at the corals and see what they want. It really depends on if you are putting in powerheads or a closed loop for flow that way your return does not have to try to be a flow device as well. It depends on what corals you are keeping and what they like. There is no scientific way to do it. That is why ball valves are nice, if you guess high flow and needed low flow, you can always change it.

 

[johnr2604]

I just use the good old expierience method and play with it untill I get the best results.

 

[jonboyb]

Adding PH's isn't a problem. I have a couple of Koralias and Maxi-Jets lying around.