Pumps on a new 180

180Bob · 10-23-2004, 11:25 PM

I'm in the process of settin up a new 180 gal tank and am thinking of using two sequene Darts for pumps. On for a return the other for a closed loop. What do people think? Is this a reasonalbe choice? Any thought would be appreciated.

Bob

Geoff · 10-25-2004, 11:01 PM

Welcome to TRT!!!

a sequence pump may be to big for a return pump. that is a lot of water needing to be removed from the tank. that is a lot of overflows. it looks like it is adjustable from 600-3200gph!! i think you will end up on the lower output side of that pump. there are other pumps like the Velocity line that are just as quiet yet move less water and are a little cheaper.

as for a CLS that pump looks like a great choice. i would suggest drilling the tank for the CLS. this will allow the maximum amount of flow for your system.

G~

180Bob · 10-26-2004, 01:20 AM

Thanks for the reply. My plans are to drill the back of the tank with four 1.5" overflows. Two would drain to the sump and two for the closed loop. I looked on reefcentral and it calculted that I should be able to ~1400 gph though a 1.5" overflow. With two of these I should be able to run ~2800 gph. When I look at the performance curve of the Sequence Dart:

I should get about 2500 gph. Thus I think I should not have problems with the overflow size. Even if I did, I would only have to throttle the pump back a small amount. I did look at the velocity pumps that you recomended and they seem to give about half of the flow per watt compared to the sequence Darts.

Have you heard anything about the reliabilty of the Reeflo pumps?

Bob

wanareef · 10-26-2004, 04:22 AM

If you rethink the drilling, what about 4 for the over flows into a coast to coast and for the CL drill low and use two for the intake. This will lessen the "suction" and not trap any anamials. Here's a link to a nicely designed tank: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=371622

I would use something smaller for the return as mentioned. Why "shoestring" a big pump when you can run a smaller one at rated capacity?

I can see you are thinking "less electricity" usage- that's great, but if you throttle back a 'big" pump, IMO you will be shortening the life of it. Maybe save on usage but spend more on replacement

just my .02

180Bob · 10-26-2004, 10:30 PM

Wannareef:

Thanks for the link. The idea of using 4 1.5" overflows behink a coast-to-coast sounds interesting. That way I would be sure to have enough overflow capacity. Have you heard anything about the Reeflo sequence pump series??

Bob

mnreefgeek · 10-27-2004, 12:11 AM

I would do the CLS low in hte tank to ensure that if you should drain, power out, the OF you are not restarting the pump dry in the event of a power outage.

I would think htat you would want a lower flow through the sump too.

wanareef · 10-27-2004, 05:23 AM

Bob

Have heard some using them, but no direct experience with the new pumps. I am/will be using the standard 750 series of Sequence pump (it's just sitting here getting dusty - for the next upgrade) the 4200. Those new pumps have the "see" thru housing and it's a type of plastic. The one that I have is made of aluminum as all the others are and have the salt seal's. Got it from azponds.com for a great price.

good luck

180Bob · 10-28-2004, 12:57 AM

So the 4200 seems like a good choice for the CLS. What about using a gen-x mak4 for the return. I already have one to drive my skimmer and a second seems to make sense to me.

Bob

Doug1 · 10-28-2004, 01:20 AM

What size sump are you looking at using?

wanareef · 10-28-2004, 06:02 AM

The gen x is a good pump. Remember, it's not the flow from the overflow or return but the other mechanical means of moving water aka/CL

180Bob · 10-28-2004, 09:02 PM

As to sump size, I haven't decided yet, other than it must fit under the stand. I guess what is floating around in the back of my mind is something like 20gal sump, 20 gal refuge.

Geoff · 10-29-2004, 10:36 AM

the more flow through a sump or fuge the greater the chance for flooding and bubbles back into the tank. depending on the size of the pump a 180g tank could easily overflow a couple of 20's if the power were to go out.

also fast flow through a sump will not allow enough time for the bubbles from a skimmer or even the overflow to escape. they will be pumped back up into the display. this is why a lot of people recommend only pushing enough water through a sump that your skimmer actually processes.

G~

180Bob · 10-29-2004, 11:28 AM

Geoff:

Thanks for the thoughts. This gives me another reason to think about putting a coast-to-coast overflow on the back. The amount of water that a sump has to accomodate at power down must be related to both the total flow and the over-flow design. The more linear inches in the overflow the less the water level will fall at power down and thus the less water that ends up in the sump.

wanareef · 10-29-2004, 02:44 PM

If you have the room, I would put something bigger than a 20gal for a sump. If you baffle it off with some room on top for the overflow-drainage, you'll be safe. IE take a 90 gal aga (my next sump) the baffles will be about 14" tall so the water cap is about 65 gals and above this is the "extra" for when you turn off the return or power goes out about 25gals or so.

Whatever flow you get from the overflow - just remember to add head pressure + the extamated flow.

I have 2 diy hang-on-overflow on my current 100aga, using 2x "U" tubes each box that will flow 1000gal but using a 1" BH for ech drain. The return pump is a MD 40 and if I just even take one of those "U" tubes out of service the flow is disrupted enough that you can see the difference.

180Bob · 10-30-2004, 01:32 AM

Just did a quick calculation and it looks like I'm going to need about 15 gal of excess capacity to deal with overflow at shutdown so it seems that my thoughts of around 20 gals have just jumped to at least 35gal. I will have to spend some time this weekend with pen and paper working out a design.