Pump Size? Need input fast THANKS? Help EXPERTS

[robandmel]

I am running my filtration system down to my basement. Which is running into 2 drum around 30 gallons each then back up to my tank... My tank is a 72 bow... It is about a 8 ft distance from basement to tank. What size pump would I need? I am looking at 2 pumps ... One is a Aquar pump that pushes 1640 gph but at 8 ft it comes to about 750 gph.... The second pump is the new Rio 32hp which say it pushes 3900 gph but don't quote me on that but I am close ,and my figures on that at 8 ft is about 1100 gph? SO which would be better?

 

[eugenecjr]

Have you taken a look at the Mag line. They have some really good pumps that seem to do a great job. I do not have the specs in front of me, but I know that they will have a pump that will work for you. 8ft is quite a distance where I am only pushing up 6 ft.

 

[saltynewbie]

i love my mag drive 5... im pushing water from my fuge to my display, which is an over head distance of about 4'. works great!

 

[eugenecjr]

I could be wrong, but I would venture to say that many people either have would like to have a mag drive. I will warn you and tell you that you will probably want to look for them online. I have seen prices as much as $129.00 for the Mag 9.5 locally where as on the internet you can get it for $69.00.

 

[robandmel]

What sizes do they come in?

 

[eugenecjr]

Here are the ones that I know about:
Mag 5 500 GPH
Mag 7 700 GPH
Mag 9.5 950 GPH
Mag 12 1200 GPH
Mag 18 1800 GPH
Mag 24 2400 GPH
Mag 36 3600 GPH
I am sure that I am missing some, but here is what I have.

 

[robandmel]

What size would be good for me? I am running probably around 100 gallons with a around 8 ft height.... Also what is the gph for a saltwater tank? I am learning on the 1800

 

[eugenecjr]

Well I would have to see the information, but on each box it will indicate the flow rate at a certain distance. The trick is that you need to put a ball joint on the out flow. This will allow you to fine tune the flow so with that said you should be a little high, however you do not want to over do it because you will then restrict the flow to much. Here are the specs for the Mag 18
Mag 18
It looks that at around 8 ft you will get about 950 GPH.
Eugene

 

[robandmel]

Ok saying 950 gph is that too little or too high or ok for my tank? What should your gph be? for my tank sitting about 100 gallons?

 

[eugenecjr]

I think that I would take a look at the Mag 12 it should pump around 710 gph at 8 feet. This is a little over 7x your tank at 100 gallons. This is at the upside of what I would like to displace but should work fine.

 

[rescue]

is it just me or does it seem like thats a little on the high side for a 72 gallon tank. I have two pumps feeding into my tank on opposite ends at about 500 gph and my water movement is pretty fast seems like 1000gph would blow corals right of the rock.

 

[robandmel]

Sorry abou this I don't want to be a bother but I have one more thing. I forgot to tell you that I also have in the same line as my filtration 3 canasters Mechanical,Chemical, and a UV will this change anything? And isn't the water GPH suppose to be 7 to 12 time the volume of the tank? I heard this somewhere just checking to see if this is right? And last again will those canaster make a difference? I just wanted to say thanks a million for you help you have been a life saver!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Rob

 

[rescue]

I'm a newbie here too so take for whats its worth. I believe the added friction of the canisters will definately effect your pumping. as far as the gph I dont know but it seems like the pressure of 1000 gph + reentering a 72 gallon tank would be exsessive but wait and see what others say.

 

[eugenecjr]

If I remember correctly your tank is 100 gallons right. As for the cansiters, you will just want to make sure that the flow from one system does not interact with the other system and couse problems with blowing over corals.
Just to let you know rescue, I have a 150 gallon and I have over 950 gph on my system. Then I also have some canisters that are also running. I do have to watch were I place my corals, but I am sure that many people have this same problem.

 

[broomer5]

robandmel
What size is your tank's overflow drain(s) ?
Number one question when selecting a pump is "how much tankwater can I safely drain through the overflow(s)."
Once you know this - the rest is pretty straight forward.

 

[robandmel]

Actually the canaster are in the same line as the rest of the filtration.Meaning from my pump it will then go into the canasters then back to the tank. All in one line so will that cause a problem or will the 1200 still be ok?

 

[robandmel]

I am not sure I bought a wetdry system and I am just using that overflow.. that wet dry was setup for 150 gallons I think? If you give me some insight on how to check I will go do so. Like measurement on the over flow?

 

[eugenecjr]

What is the brand of the over flow and does it have one or two ports.

 

[robandmel]

It has one port. I am not sure the brand..... Is there a way to give it measurement to find out? well your the expert you might know?

 

[eugenecjr]

Since you said that it is for a 150 I would say that it has about an OD of about 1 1/4". That would tell me that the flow is going to be about 600 GPH so if you go with the MAG 12 you will have about 710 GPH and that will allow you to use a ball valve to cut it down a little and room to make sure that you have what you need. Now this is without the canisters.
Now about the canisters, what is the max flow that they can handle. Do you have any inforamation on the restriction that they may cause. As long as it is not more then about 180 GPH loss (because you need some room) then you should be fine. The real problem with putting canisters inline is that when the get clogged so to speak they will slow the flow. If you have these on your return then you may over flow the sump, and if you have them on the down transfer you may over pump the sump. So the best advice that I can give you is that you put them on a seperate system.