Water flow

[gclackum]

I have a water flow question. My tank is 125 gal overflows and returns at each end. My return pump is 1/10hp I think it is rated at 1350 gph. I am looking for some advice on additional flow. I currently have at my disposal one Maxijet 1200, 2 Maxijet 900, and two smaller powerheads. What would be the best orientation for my powerheads, how should they cycle, will these give me enough flow, should I add more should I eliminate some. Thank you in advance for your input.

George C

 

[showtime305]

<span style="color: black;">What are the dimensions of your tank? I think you should point the return lines to the opposite corners of the tank. The MJ1200 should go in the middle and point straight. The MJ900 should be closer the overflows and facing to the corners of the tank. The smaller powerheads won't be very effective. You will most likely find yourself upgrading to more powerful powerhead and/or return pump. You can always upgrade the powerheads to Seio, Hydro or Tunze pumps to add more flow.</span>

 

[george]

A good move, if you have the money, is to replace those powerheads with Hydor, Seio, or Tunze flow pumps (or even mod the Maxijets, if you're the DIY type). They will add much less heat than the powerheads and out perform them at flow tasks.

Believe me, unless you have another stash of powerheads lying around, you'll have uses for those. Just not in your tank adding heat.

 

[cameron]

gclackum wrote: I have a water flow question. My tank is 125 gal overflows and returns at each end. My return pump is 1/10hp I think it is rated at 1350 gph.

Is this a closed loop or are you running this through your sump? If this is going through your sump this fast, you should slow it down and give your skimmer more time to skim. Figure about 2-5 times per hour through the sump for maximum efficiency (and probably less noise). Assuming this is not closed loop, you could plumb one of the returns as a closed loop and leave the other for the sump.

Next question what are you keeping in your tank? If this is a fish only setup, you won't need as much flow. If this is a reef tank with some tough corals or filter feeders, you are going to want to turn your tank over probably 20x times or greater an hour which means better pumps or modding your MaxiJet (you can get a mod kit from mjmods.com for about 25 bucks).

 

[gclackum]

Ok now I'm confused. I understand that I need to modify my MJ 1200, 900, 900 or replace them. Its the closed loop sump loop stuff that is over my head. I have two overflows, one in each corner of a 6' long by 18" wide tank, they gravity drain into a sump which then is pumped through a tee back into the tank one return at each of the overflows ( This does not sound like a closed loop ). I understand that I need more flow, although heat doesn't seem to be a problem. Maybe someone could do me a sketch at the next meeting showing me a good schematic for flow.

Thanks

 

[vettesarebest]

I have a Diagram that I just drew but it will not let me post it?

 

[gclackum]

Thanks Bryan, If you're at the meeting you can let me see it then.

 

[vettesarebest]

Not a problem, its not the best but I don't know what program to use to make it "professional". Ill be there and i'll print it out and I think I have a good book that has some good diagrams about flow and different options that you can do.

 

[cameron]

gclackum wrote: Ok now I'm confused. I understand that I need to modify my MJ 1200, 900, 900 or replace them. Its the closed loop sump loop stuff that is over my head. I have two overflows, one in each corner of a 6' long by 18" wide tank, they gravity drain into a sump which then is pumped through a tee back into the tank one return at each of the overflows ( This does not sound like a closed loop ). I understand that I need more flow, although heat doesn't seem to be a problem. Maybe someone could do me a sketch at the next meeting showing me a good schematic for flow.

Yes your system is an open loop. The sump makes it an open loop which simply means the water at some point is exposed or "open". A closed loop system is one drain hooked to a pump and then hooked to a return. This simply provides flow.

If you push water through your sump as fast as you can, your skimmer isn't getting as much contact time to suck in the water process it and push it back out. There are many that believe it doesn't help much to slow things down in the sump however, but most of the people who are considered universal experts (Fenner, Borneman for example) use a 5x or less flow through there sumps. The secondary advantages of slowing things down are less noise, generally less heat as you don't need as large a pump to return the water, less electricity due to a smaller pump and a smaller investment in the pump itself. These may or may not be problems for you, but if they are slowing down will help.

Check out these two links for a better idea of what an open/closed system is.

Open Loop Sump Design: http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html">http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html</a>

Closed Loop Design: [IMG]http://www.melevsreef.com/closedloop.html">http://www.melevsreef.com/closedloop.html</a>

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Cameron, That closed loop is about how I designed my circulation system. I LOVE the thing. I will never use another powerhead again! Thanks for the link, I did not design a priming feature into mine and it is a pain. I think I will Mod next week when I do major work to my tank.