pump for my 65

[jonthefb]

ok, another pump question here.......
i am plumbing my 65 today... it is an aga, reef ready tank with a 1 inch overflow line and a 3/4 inch return line....
i have a mag 12 laying around from a 75g that i had set up a few years ago.... my question to you all is this...do you think a mag 12 is too much for a 65???? the pump is going to be external, and will be about 4.5 feet.
off of the 3/4 outlet of the pump i am goign to tee it off and have one line go to the reef ready return which is 3/4 inch, and the other line i am going to restrict to 1/2 inch to power a 1/2 inch sea swirl per the guy at sea swirls reccommendations.
do you think the mag 12 is too big, and do you see any problems with my plumbign designs? do youthink i should have a ball valve in there anywhere to restrict flow, because as of now i am not planning on it!
thanks in advance guys, any help is appreciated!
good luck
jon

 

[jonthefb]

was thinking about that DVS, but then i decided to get a sea swirl instead... i am still considerign y'ing off the 3/4 return with a loc-line y though and am thinking that that might help as well!
good luck
jon

 

[broomer5]

jon,
I would consider installing a ball valve before the sea swirl.
I think the 1/2" is rated at around 500 gph.
Using a mag12 on 3/4 and 1/2 pipe - you'll have some good velocity. That water will sure zip along.
But I've never actually plumbed one - so it's a guess for now.
Installing a "Y" at the 3/4" return with a couple of flexible nozzles would be trick set up for sure !!!
If it were me- heck I'd try it and see what happens
You could always do the bypass to sump routine too.
Come off the Mag12 with a tee.
Place a ball valve in the branch of the tee and recirc some excess water back to sump, or feed a fuge, or whatever.
This way the Mag12 still gets to run wide open, and you just steal away some extra flow you don't need up above in the display.
Upsizing 1/2 pipe size on ball valves is always a good idea to reduce restrictions.
The "hole" in the ball of a 1/2" ball valve is not 1/2" ( normally )
in other words - use 3/4" ball valves with reducers, on 1/2" pvc pipe.
Good luck -sounds fun !!!!!

 

[jonthefb]

cool..ok so i think ill hook it up the way i am planning right now and see what happens, withthe addition of a ball valve on the 1/2inch sea swirl line....if its kicking too much, i can tee the 1/2 inch line to sea swirl again and run the other half of tee back to fuge (im kinda worried that the water will be rinning too fast through there anyways, but will see! i guess if it was originally used to fuel a 75 it should work a litte better on a 65!
thanks for your responses!
good luck
jon

 

[josh]

Hey John,
Just make sure you use a true wye, and not a T piece. I used the T fitting ( Lasko ) I got from lowe's and it really restricted the flow.
I had a very hard time finding a 3/4" wye at lowe's or home depot. I ended up getting it at savko.com. They are great for getting the unique pieces that are hard to find at most home improvment stores.
Also, I would only use the 3/4" - 1/2" reducer right before the seaswirl. Meaning don't use the reducer off the pump and plumb it with 1/2 all the way up...make sense? Why not just get some 3/4 seawirls or a SCWD. The SCWD is a lot cheaper and works just as well...plus it's 3/4" from the factory.
HTH