return pump question

laurie01

laurie01

Member
Hi everyone! This is my first post, even though I have been reading this message board every chance I get for about the past month. I have a couple questions that I can't figure out by just reading (although, maybe I missed the information somewhere). I will post my other question in the Aggressive fish forum.
My first question - I need a new return pump for my wet/dry back to the aquarium. I have an AGA 120 gallon, which is 48"x24"x24". My aquarium has two built-in overflows. From what I learned on here, the overflows have a flow rate of 600 gph. Considering there probably is 5' head from the pump to the top of the aquarium, how large of a pump should I get? I understand the turnover for the tank should be about 10x the volume (this will be a FOWLER tank). I was looking at getting a Quiet One pump (I saw them on sale). I can't figure out if I should get one rated for 1017gph, or one for 1506 gph. Most of the water flow will come from this return pump. I do have a fluidized bed filter, which will contribute some to the water flow. Any help you could give is appreciated!
Thanks,
Laurie
 
sign guy

sign guy

Active Member
welcome to swf.com
im a big fan of danner mag pumps and imo you will need 1500gph with head considered that will be around 1200gph or lower. Are you going to have a closed loop?
 
laurie01

laurie01

Member
Thank you for your comments. I was actually thinking about an external pump; my wet/dry already has a port for an external one. 1500 gph sounds good to me. Thanks.
About the closed loops - I just learned about them on here. That is where I would connect one of the pipes on the overflow (that would normally go to the filter) simply to a second return pump, then to the second return pipe going to the tank? I hadn't really thought about setting up my tank that way; although it would be easy since I have two built in overflows. Do you think that would be necessary? If so, what size pump should I use for that? I was just going to connect both overflows to the filter; then from the return pump, use a T to split the pipes.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
On the CL issue......The CL has to have it's own dedicated drain and return.......Basically your making nothing more than a loop within the tank system.....The nice thing with a CL as opposed to an overflow you can't overflow a container or your sump, because the water doesn't actually leave the tank.....
It would go from the tank through hose, bulkhead whatever directly to the pump and then from the pump right back to the tank......There aren't any openings within those lines so regardless if power would go out it can't drain anywhere, and if the main pump were off it would just circulate through the pump and back to the tank.......
 
laurie01

laurie01

Member
Thanks! That's what I thought a closed loop was. I could easily hook one up on my tank. I would be able to get more water flow that way.
btw...ever try to type on a keyboard around your cat? (see my avatar - she's now sitting in between me & the keyboard - getting annoyed when I keep bumping her.) :happyfish
 
laurie01

laurie01

Member
Yes, sorry I wasn't making myself very clear. But what I meant is exactly what you (much better) described. Thanks. Any suggestions for a pump size on a CL? Still the same as the one through the filter?
 
laurie01

laurie01

Member
Sorry not to have gotten back to you right away - I took my cat and went to bed.
I am planning a FOWLER tank; therefore I don't need as much water flow as a reef tank would need. I'm just trying to make sure I get the right amount. I am planning on putting in aggressive/semi-aggressive fish. I have a separate thread on that forum; but (at the moment) I am thinking about something like a dwarf lion, maybe a pink trigger & a snowflake eel. I'm still working on the fish though.
My goal this time is to plan carefully & set it up the way it is supposed to. I'm now discovering that the last time, the people I asked for advice (who I thought knew what they were talking about) didn't know as much as I thought they did. In that case, lack of money was an advantage - I didn't have as much money to spend on fish, thus inadvertently killing them. I have learned quite a bit just from reading these forums. Thank you to all you experienced people who are willing to share information with the rest of us.
 
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