sump questions???

lazcar45

New Member
Im new to this whole salt water fish thing....
Ive had my tank set up for about 2 months, and have loved every minute of it. Ive been doing a lot of reading over the past few months and have decided to set up a sump, and my question is..
what kind of flow rate (GPH) would I need for the overflow, and return pump, on a 30 gal fowlr.
I have heard alot of people say that the natural Filter systems have much better results than that of mechanical filters, thats why i decided to go with the sump. And also a DSP in my tank. Any advice would be greatly apreciated.
thanks. Adam
 

nm reef

Active Member
Hey...I have a nephew named Adam from Utah!
The answer depends on the rating of your over flow. I've not got much experience in the type system you are asking about...but if your over flow is rated for say 200 gal per hour then your return pump would need to pump less back into the system than your overflow could handle...does that make sense or help any!?!My understanding is that the return pump should be returning water at a lower rate than the maximum rate of your overflow. More and you'd have a flood at the display!
Now please understand....this isn't from experience...I'm just tryin to help a fellow Adam from Utah....and by the way...Welcome to the board!!! :cool:
 

lazcar45

New Member
Thanks for the advise NMReef, I really apreciate any advice i can get. now that i know that the return pump needs to have a lower flow-rate than the overflow rate.... does anyone know what flow-rate (gph) would would work best for the size of my tank and sump. My tank is 30 gal. and i was thinking of a sump of 10 gal.
again... thanks for the advice NMreef.
 
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