LF return pump - GOT ONE!
 

I am clueless when it come to what size of pump I will be needing but I need one. I am researching this tonight.

120 gallon reef 40 gallon sump with about 16 feet of head .

Anyone selling something that might be of interest to me.

Can anyone help me out with what I should be looking for and why?

Located in Calgary area only please.

Thanks,

Jeff

16 feet of head!? Wow, I didn't realize your sump was in the basement :-) The first step is to decide what flowrate you want through your sump taking into consideration how much flow our skimmer supports and how much flow your overflow supports and head loss. Just make sure your return pump does not flow more than your overflow. If your overflow supports more flow than your return pump, then your overflow will flow whatever your return flow is at.

Admittedly, it is a bit of a balancing act. If you are worried or uncertain though, just 'T' in a valve somewhere in the return line so you can flow some return back into the sump. This is handy for other uses as well so I would recommend doing it anyway.

I have never seen anyone with a basement sump that was able to use an in-sump pump as their return, although I am sure there must be some out there? Maybe? You may have to look at external pumps like the Dart, etc.

ummmm....... i think my 16 feet of head was out to lunch now.

See i said I was clueless

measure the distance from the top of the water in the sump to the top of the tank, (mines 3 feet) then add about 1/2 feet per 90 degree elbow, i have 3 feet up a 90 and a 45 my head is 3-4 feet

hope this helps

Ok, so not sure what your head loss is now since you're rethinking that calculation, but I will be doing a basement sump setup soon and have purchased a lightly used Panworld NH-150PS external pump in anticipation. Don't have the flow chart numbers at my fingertips but I do know it is pressure rated/biased for up to 23 feet of head. I anticipate having somewhere between 11 and 16 feet of head loss and I believe the NH-150PS will deliver around 700 gph under that.

Panworlds are similar/comparable to Iwaki pumps but somewhat less costly and I've seen only positive reviews on various forums so far. I've run mine for a short period in a mock up scenario with only a few feet of head pressure and it works well. A good hum to it but not overly noisy. Noise is not a huge factor with a basement sump anyhow.

I had originally wanted to do a 90 gal, but will probably go with a 120 now so I'm pretty sure this pump will fit the bill. I will be teeing off the return with a manifold to regulate any excess flow as suggested by Kien. Should be no trouble finding a use for any extra flow with refugium, skimmer etc. Can always plumb multiple return nozzles to distribute the flow in the display as well. On the discussion of external vs. internal, I've actually been contemplating running both, external in summer and internal in winter to help warm the water since it's cool in the basement.

Mike, I would really like to see this once it's done. On my next build I will be doing a basement fish-room/sump with a Sequence 3600 Blackfin that I bought.

Look at the Mag Drives. I just replace my return 2 days ago with one of these. It is almost silent, very very quiet!!! They are also very small and epoxy based, so nothing to leak if it ever breaks.

Gold's has the full line. I bought the Model 18 ($200) and it does 1800GPH. My tank is a 180G with 2 overflows into a 105G refuge/sump. I use Durso Standpipes and everything is really nicely balanced. I don't have to regulate any flow with the valves (overflow or return)

They make quite a few smaller models and one larger one (Model 24, does 2400GPH)

I highly recommend, very solid and quiet. My other return OceanRunner 6500 developed into a noisy machine, this is the reason I changed it out. It was under 2 years old, no reason for it, but oh well.

Oh Yeah, the Mag Drives have a 3 year warranty that Dennis @ Gold's supports, so you just take it back to him. That was another selling feature.

Ha, ha, sure thing Mark, but be advised, nothing happens very fast with me. I have finally gotten around to tearing out a wall separating the laundry room from the workshop in the basement and roughing in the 'sump' room. Painted the walls and floor white, not sure how I want to finish it along the concrete wall, leave open studs or apply some sort of water resistant drywall. The other two walls will of course be covered with something to keep crap from the workshop out. Here are a couple of recent photos. You'll see the water containers you asked about in another thread a while back. Blue one I got at Swan Lake Nursery Land for $25 and the translucent whitish one at Madcappers Brew On Premises for $45.

View into the sump room. The wall on the left which is not really that visible, adds extra support for the tank upstairs since it will be lengthwise over only 2, maybe 3 floor joists;

http://hlj1yw.blu.livefilestore.com/.../P1010894a.JPG

View in the other direction. Currently using the drums to collect RO/DI waste water which I try to recycle around the house. Think I might use the white one for mixing saltwater in the future;

http://hlj1yw.blu.livefilestore.com/.../P1010897a.JPG

I'm looking forward to seeing this...slow or not.