120 Gallon AGA - Dual overflows - How big of a return pump?

[fedeuma]

Hello,

This is the first time I'm setting up a Reef Tank and I'm in desparate need on return pump advise. I currently have a 40 gallon breeder as my sump and I guess I'm stuck on what kind of return pump to use. External or internal and how many GPH? I also know that If I decide to go with a external pump, I have to drill the sump. I was looking at the ReeFlo Dart Pump with a 3600 GPH max flow. Is this too much of a pump for 120 gallon tank with Dual Overflows? To my understanding, these pumps can be slow down and/or "valve down". Tank dimmensions are 2'x2'x4'.

Thanks in advance!
Fed

 

[mizzoumed02]

I've got basically the same setup and I'm using a Mag 2300 internal as my return pump.

 

[fedeuma]

Is your 40 gallon sump divided in sections? At the moment, my sump is just one big section with no baffles. I'm planning on housing just the skimmer and the heater in it. Everything else will be sitting outside the sump (reactors, dosing pumps, ect...). I will be using a very precise ATO to keep water level at 8 inches all the time (or at least I will try...:wink. I also want to keep the temperature low as I do not want to run a chiller. The tank is located in a room where temperature runs 66-68 degrees year round. So I think I can get away without using a chiller.

Does anyone else have any type of advise on external pumps?

Thanks for the reply.

 

[jledon4]

That pump is a monster!!!! (but i like it...) it all depends on what is the turnover you would like to have from tank to sump. the pump size also depends on what you will be feeding with it, for example my pump goes to a chiller, bio pellet reactor and also gives me a good 20X turnover ratio. i believe in a good turnover other say that it's not that important, the ones who say its not important have to supply the tank with other pumps like a vortech (which helps create a lot of turbulence) and a closed loop pump. for sps your turnover should be at least 10X but you should be careful that your sump could handle it, sometimes if water moves too fast in the sump the air bubbles will follow and it might create micro-bubbles in your display. the display should have a flow of 15X to 30X the display tank volume, have all the polyps swirling around and stoping for a slight second (best if polyps not in one direction since they don't like linear flow but turbulence). for soft corals it doesn't matter that much because the presence of organics in the tank is not too much of a bad thing. the more water you bring down to your sump, the more organics you remove from it. good luck

 

[Troylee]

1500 gph would be a good start... i would recommend a laguna 1500...

 

[pickupman66]

I ahve a dart on my 180. I use it for a closed loop. while they are AWESOME pumps, that is WAY too much for your tank. with the size sump you will never get the microbubbles out of it. it will have to be valved way back. a general rule of thumb is to shoot for 5-10X turnover thru your sump and make the rest of the turnover with circulation with powerheads or closed loop type things. this means you want something that will give you roughly 1200 gph under head pressure at the rim of your tank (measure from the floor up to the rim). something like a Genx PCX 40 or similar Iwaki would work very good for that application. if you go with submersible, I personally have had good luck with Mag pumps from Danner. a mag 12 would be plenty for you.

this advise considers you want to use the return pump for just that, and not adding other options to it. most do it this way.

on my 180, I have a 150 gallon rubbermaid tub as a sump. it is about 1/3 full of water. it also has baffles in it to aid in bubble reduction. I use a Barracuda (4600gph) as my return pump. even with 10 feet of head pressure, that is still WAY TOO MUCH for my tank and sump system to handle. I have it valved back to deliver ~1500 gph to the display. with the remaining pressure and water, I use it for my chiller, MR2 Skimmer, CA reactor, GRO reactor, Bio Pellet reactor, Coil denitrator and UV (when hooked up). I still have plenty of pressure in my system. The DT circualtion is then done by a Dart wide open and a pair of Koralia 4's. this gives me about 60x turnover in the DT

 

[marclwheeler]

Im running a mag 36 on my system and its waaaay too much... I had to throttle it back... anywho.... put baffles in your sum and you won't be dissapointed... go out to like a lowes or homepot and get the glass cut and then get 100% silicone and do it all yourself...

 

[HiroPro]

I'm currently setting up the same size system - AGA 120 with 40B sump - and decided to go with the Eheim 1262. I did remove the internal overflows and put in a beananimal external overflow system though.

IMO Eheims are the quietest pumps on the market and the most reliable and I wouldn't use anything else.

Depending on your sump/return configuration, you might look at the 1260. It's 602gph and should be plenty. I agree with pickupman66 that 1500gph is WAY too much! Water movement in the DT should be accomplished with a closed-loop or powerheads and NOT your return pump.

 

[fedeuma]

THIS IS ALL GREAT INFORMATION!!! Thank You all for your response!

Okay, so maybe I'm over-shooting buying a dart pump for my 120. At the moment the pump will only be feeding the DT and my overhead is probably 4 feet. If I end-up buying this pump I will definately be due to future plans. As for the sump I will probably be installing baffles to keep microbubbles in-check. I will be using a Vertex IN-180 skimmer and I don't know how bad micro-bubbles are but I hope I can dial it so I won't get many. I really wanted to keep things simple and didn't want to install baffles in my sump but I guess it is a necessity. Thanks for the info on the silicone.

Some of my future plans include dosing pump(s) to replenish ALK, CAL and MAG. I really don't want to install a CAL Reactor as I have no experience with it. Again, trying to keep things simple. I'm really buying into the Probiotics method for nutrient reduction but again I think that adequate waterflow is the best start for nutrient export.

Please feel free to pick apart my plans and/or add to them.

Thanks again!

 

[corsi1330]

I have the same system but with a 100g sump. I use a mag18 and it also feeds my calcium reactor. Been going good for over a year and am very happy with it. I actually have an extra mag 18 if you want to pm me maybe we can work something out? hope this helps.

 

[nixer]

i have a snapper on my 180 running everything, but the skimmer and i think i could move up to a dart.
i can also say that the snapper will toilet flush if i didnt have 2 reactors on it. it really depends on how your going to run your plumbing. are you going to try to run anything else from that pump? (i.e. fragtank, pellet or carbon reactors)

 

[fedeuma]

I really don't want to toilet flush my tank :tongue: and yes I'm planning on running probably both carbon and pellet reactor in the near future. I guess one of the things to consider is having a pump that I can add stuff to it but the DART is still a bit too much. I will consider a different pump for my setup.

Pickupman66, thanks for your advise. I will redrawing my plumbing.

 

[elblond]

I have the same tank, SPS dominated, my pump pass water by my chiller and then up to my tank, I successfully use a Mag 1200! I have a friend that have two of them without chiller and he successfully use Mag 950.

 

[skinz78]

I have the same setup as well but I have baffles in my sump . I am currently using a Rio 1700 and a Rio 2500, one for each return line. I am thinking that this is way too much flow as I am still getting micro bubbles into my tank.

 

[nixer]

I really don't want to toilet flush my tank :tongue: and yes I'm planning on running probably both carbon and pellet reactor in the near future. I guess one of the things to consider is having a pump that I can add stuff to it but the DART is still a bit too much. I will consider a different pump for my setup.

Pickupman66, thanks for your advise. I will redrawing my plumbing.

you could go snapper hybrid. it comes with another impeller to upgrade it to a dart later if its not enough flow.

 

[fedeuma]

WOW... a lot of pumps to choose from. Snapper hybrid huh! I will be doing some research tonight!!!

From everyone's experience, are baffles really nessesary in a sump to isolate the skimmer section? Again, the sump will host a heater and a Vertex skimmer IN-180. Does anyone know if microbubbles are a big issue with this skimmer? I know that they run better when is sitting on 7 to 8 inches of water. Any advise will be greatly appreciated.

 

[arnaldo]

I HAVE A 120 AGA I USE MAG 18 BUT MAG 12 OR EVEN MAG 950 WORKS !!!!I HAVE A 40 BR SUMP GLASS HOLES 1500 OVERFLOW KIT WITH TWO 3/4 RETURN NOZZLES.:bigsmile:

 

[skinz78]

I think baffles are very much so needed. They are super easy to install too.

 

[arnaldo]

HEY FEDEUMA !!!FROM EXPERIENCE I LOVE MAGDRIVES THOSE RUN FOREVER EASY TO FIND PARTS. MY BROTHER HAVE A MAG 7 IN HIS AQUARIUM AND STILL WORKS 11 YEARS!!!:neutral:

 

[fedeuma]

Great advise everyone! Thanks!!!