That's a good idea Dez.

Hustler, you wanted an excuse to replace that return pump anyway didn't you? ;) Why don't you use the skimmer pump for the return, and tee it like Dez describes. Then you could slow down the flow to the display like I suggested awhile back in one of your other threads. You only need about 2000 gph going to your display anyway...use the rest of that 3800 gph for the skimmer.

What do you think Steve? About 1500 gph (after head loss and all that) good for that Beckett skimmer?

Mind you my skimmer is huge too. With 3800gph, it should be cake. The only thing is you should look for a backup pump in case anything fails. I have the exact same backup pump cause one pump literally runs everything on my tank. So if your pump dies, you're hooped without a quick replacement.

He could use the current return pump as the back up. He's using a huge spa pump for a return right now.

that should do it. one becket will run fine on 800gph (at the becket)

I have a 1/2 built skimmer in the shop right now that is 42" tall and probably about 15 gal of water in size (9" main body on a box with a 12" colection cup) I was going to do dual backet on it using two maK4's but now that I have had time to think about it I am going to make it in to a recirulating skimmer, using a couple needle wheel pumps and then have a flow of about 3 to 400 gal per hour flowing through it. this way you could easily feed it off the overflow of the tank.

I like Dez's idea of one pump for everything but like he said you need two of the exact same pumps to do that.
personaly I am having a hard time with the set up and how its plummed. do you have a better picture of the right side of your sump. it looks like that is where your "sucking from" and are you returning to the left end chamber with your skimmer? maybe a pic of the sump operating and then a description of whats comming and going from where..

I had a simular problem with my 33 gal sump I made and I had to do a couple designe changes for it to handle the 5000 gph I had going through that.

Steve

I will get a pic up asap,
The way its set up i have the skimmer draining into the bulkhead on the left where my overflow dump and my return inline taking it from far right
Myka, I bought 2 pumps 1 to replace my spa pump and the other for the skimmer :)
as of right now im running the 3800gpg as my return and its still overkill as far as sump flow over the baffles and i still have the 5800gph just sitting here plus my old spa pump so i should be covered for a back up either way :)
My rona was out of 1 1/2" Ts (always something) so im hooped till monday unless i find them elsewhere but this is the plan im sticking with LOL :)

You sure like big pumps... :lol: That's gonna burn your butt in a sw tank though.

I know maddame.. Im trying to kick the habbit... With all the headaches ive found i have to unlearn what i have learned... But atleast ill be prepared for whatever the next step is lo

You will have all sorts of FW "bad habits". ;)

ok, I wasn't going to ask... but whats wrong with big pumps in a SW tank? I use way bigger pumps in SW than I did in FW.

Steve

Steve, I was referring to a past conversation with Hustler about the 5000 gph return pump.