overflow question

xtreme · #1 04-12-2009, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fkshiu

Too much flow throug the sump causes more noise, micro-bubbles and salt creep and reduces the effectiveness of your skimmer.

What is the recommended flow through a sump?

RuGlu6 · #2 04-12-2009, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtreme

What is the recommended flow through a sump?

you tank volume x few times /hr, just to have enough to feed your skimmer and to replace water effluent from you calcium reactor etc. so minimal return from sump is OK imo.

sphelps · #3 04-12-2009, 10:41 PM

haha 1/3hp! The reeflow barracuda is smaller and that pushes 4500gph! Hopefully you didn't purchase a utility or sump pump from Canadian Tire or somewhere similar. Well at least it will sound good

Canuckgod420 · #4 04-13-2009, 12:42 AM

The pump is not your run of the mill sump pump.....I work at Andrew Sheret and its a replacement jacuzzi tub pump, made by pentair, I called there customer service and they said the pump is fine for this purpous.

Anyway the pump is gonna be branched off to my chiller, tank return, and frag tank.
External so less heat and almost half the electricity of all the other pumps combined. and if I can get enough flow back to my tank maybe I can reduce at least 1 of my ugly powerheads in my display.

So what is kinda funny though is I completely forgot about the flow coming back into my sump........so yeah obviously some issues there with too much flow.

Pazil · #5 04-13-2009, 01:13 AM

I agree what what the others have said in regards to the amount of flow through the sump being important..... However if the sump is designed properly for a higher flow you will not get micro bubbles and the a good skimmer should still work effectively. I run a Dart return on full throttle... which means I am putting approx. 3000 gph @ 4' of head loss(20x turn over)through my sump and have no micro bubbles and have to empty my skimmer cup every 2 days. I run no powerheads and only have the return pump and a Tunze nano wavemaker for internal flow. There are no dead spots in the tank and no settlement of debris.

Cheers
Lawrence

sphelps · #6 04-13-2009, 01:22 AM

for reference a Dart is 1/8 HP and reeflow pumps are essentially hot tub pumps however they have different seals so they can be used for saltwater. In addition they are quiet, have you ever been in a hot tub with the pump going?

Just a friendly FYI, that pump will cause you problems, not sure it was worth the money you saved.

Canuckgod420 · #7 04-13-2009, 01:49 AM

Its not a hottub pump its for an indoor jacuzzi tub, I've heard the one in action in our showroom, not loud at all, and I am going to have to dial back the flow with a ball valve anyways.

So even if i push 600gph into both the frag tank and my main display I will still be getting 1200gph into my sump. So for that I guess I will need a series of baffles in my sump.
Time for a bigger sump i guess.

Its kinda funny how this thread turned into a discussion about a pump, I was wondering if the herbie would give me more flow than the durso I have now. I have 2 holes in my tank bottom 1 for the herbie the other for the emergency overflow.

golf nut · #8 04-13-2009, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canuckgod420

Anyway the pump is gonna be branched off to my chiller, tank return, and frag tank.

You could likely run it up the street and feed Pazils tank and still have enough left over for Mr Phelps.

Myka · #9 04-13-2009, 07:46 PM

Herbie will generally give you a bit more flow ability, but may be noisey since there will probably be some water overflowing into the emergency drain if you run it full out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canuckgod420

The pump is not your run of the mill sump pump.....I work at Andrew Sheret and its a replacement jacuzzi tub pump, made by pentair, I called there customer service and they said the pump is fine for this purpous.

What question did you ask Andrew Sheret that they said the pump would be suitable? As others have pointed out, I'm worried about seals, and it leaking residues, oils or greases into your reef. Did you specifically ask them if the pump is designed for continual use, and if it's suitable for saltwater?

The pump should still have a GPH rating, if you don't know it a Google search on the brand and model number/name might come up with an answer. A quick Google search came up with a 1/3 HP Jacuzzi pump and it does 1100 GPH at 0' head.

http://www.poolsupplies.com/cgi-bin/...676_a_7c561825

Your tank should have 215-430 GPH (3-6x turnover). Depending on the size of your sump, and frag tank you could make it work. If you dialed the pump back 25% (I wouldn't do more than that) it would run at 825 GPH which would be suitable for a total system volume of 140-275 gallons (3-6x turnover). PROVIDED you pump is actually 1100 GPH. That's not taking 5' of head pressure into consideration either though. Considering jacuzzi pumps aren't designed for much head pressure, I wouldn't be surprised if it lost 25% in 5' of head, so you could merely have 825 GPH at 5' head before dialling it back.

As a (barely) educated guess the pump is probably not overly large for the tank, but draws SOOO much wattage that it would not even be considerable (for any price) IMO.

Canuckgod420 · #10 04-13-2009, 07:53 PM

Again.....thanks for the herbie info.
I didnt ask Andrew Sheret anything....I work there.
I called the pump manufacturer and got my info.
There is NO difference between this pumps wattage and the 3 pumps it is going to replace, actually what will happen is my overall temp should drop a few degrees because I am removing 3 internal pumps for 1 external....again, I am not a newbie and I have done so much research on this and many other pumps.....remember this pump is made by pentair, the same company that makes the quiet one series.