Need help with pump.

[azuryte]

Hello, I'm new to the boards here. My return pump burned up and I need to buy a replacment. I have a 150 gal with a 20 gal refugium. The pump came with the tank as I bought it used, so I have no idea how powerful it was. In the meantime, I pulled the pump off my skimmer to keep the water flowing until I get a new one.
I was reading lion_crazz 's 101 tips and he recommends 15-20 times turnover per hr which would come to 20x150= 3000 gal/hr. The biggest pump at my LFS is a pondmaster 1800 which they want over $300. This would supposedly be underpowered by lion-crazz's recommendation, however the pump looks to be bigger than the one I originally had.
I looked through the paperwork that I was given when I bought the tank which has the instructions for the pumps, but doesn't tell me how strong they are. One is for a pondmaster 24/36 and one is for a pondmaster 9.5/12/18. I can only assume that the 24/36 is the larger pump and the other was for the skimmer. I'm also assuming 24/36 represents 2400-3600 gal.
I saw on epay a couple of pondmaster 3000's going for about $200 shipped. Is that the best way to go. I don't have room in my sump to go with x2 1800's from my local shop. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[sickboy]

Well the size of return pump you need would depend on how much your overflow can handle. The 15-20 times turnover would include your powerheads and not just your return pump.

 

[natclanwy]

You definetly don't need a pump that large, you don't have to run 15-20x turnover through your sump. What type and size is your overflow the size can be determined from the number of drains and their diameter?

 

[azuryte]

I'll have to check and see how big the fittings are exactly. If I were to guess thier size, I'd say theres one large overflow in the center, that drains to a large 2-4" thats splits into two smaller outlets to the sump maybe 1" - 1 1/2". My returns are much smaller 1/2 " - 3/4 " at the most.

 

[natclanwy]

My best guess is your tank has the ability to drain 1200gph so look for a pump that is capable of producing 800-1200gph after headloss is subtracted.
Mag 12, Mag 9.5, Quietone 4000hh, Quietone 5000 would all be good choices.