Internal or External Pump

[hankstanks]

I am going to run the pluming from a 60gl reef to the basement into a 30gl directly below it on a shelf in the basement.

Curious if I should use an internal (submergable or external pump). Any thoughts or suggestions on how you may have done it.

I figure I will use a continous syphion overflow to get the water into the 30gl below. draining through a bunch of Floss for mechanical, run the skimmer and wet/dry canister filter on the 30 and pump it back up. All without micro bubbles and overflows!

[RWD]

I like external pumps because MOST of them add less heat to the water then a comparable internal pump.

[Casey]

External would be fine or if you want the easy way just drop in a
submersible either will work fine.

[aquadude]

I have a Iwaki Pump in the basement running water from a sump up to main floor, through about 20 - 25 feet of plumbing & the water flow from the pump must be restricted in order to keep from overwhelming the overflows in the main tank. Bottom line is an external pump is going to give you the power you need if you have a long head (distance between the pump and the release of the water).

I have read the same that RWD had noted in the previous post, internal pumps add more heat to water than external pumps. When I did my research before setting up my system (basement sump), everyone I researched with a sump in the basement used an external pump. Perhaps it is best to "go with the flow" on this one.

Good Luck!

[hankstanks]

The total distance from the pump to the top of the main tank will be about 11 feet. On the return, it will be doing 2 90 degree turns through the UV steralizer and then of course the bend back into the tank (I was thinking about using the Aqua Flow return valves).

When looking for a pump, External or internal, how do I calculate how much restriction I need on the pump. I understand that I will need at least 12 feet of Head pressure on the pump but dont want to over power the CPR continous Syphion Overflow with the pump either.

Someday I will get to enjoy this hobby if I can ever quit working on it (where have we all heard that before)

Thanks for all your help!

[aquadude]

You know, I rember reading somewhere during my research that you should add 5 feet to your head calculation for every 90 degree bend in the plumbing. If this is so, you would want to consider 20 feet of head? Can anybody confirm this? The pump should have a rating on the maxium head the pump can handle.

In regards to restricting the flow from the pump to tank so not to overflow the tank, you wil need to get a ball valve or a gate value on the return from the pump - this will allow you to slow down the flow to the tank. Needless to say, since your pump is in the basement and you will more than likely want the ball valve or gate valve in the basement so you can easily get to it (instead of under the tank or in back of the tank), getting the right flow is a two person job with a couple of cell phones.

One person watches the water level in tank, while the other person adjust the valve. Once you get the correct rate of flow you will be set. I have not had any mishaps since I set my tank up (4 months); but if you are real worried about an overflow you can get a float valve for your tank that is set to turn your pump off if the water level in the tank rises too high. Oh yeah and keeping the snail guards clean is probably a good idea too.

Also you might end up getting an increase in the gurgling noise due to the increased distance between the tank and the sump - you may want to check out information on a stockman pipe or a durso pipe. I constructed the stockman pipe for my overflows (Side of tank bulkheads) & it worked great.

Good luck.