overflow question

[golf nut]

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.

[Canuckgod420]

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.

[sphelps]

What's funnier is you're using 250W+ to push 1200gph. A snapper will do double that at zero head at a fraction of the power consumption. 250W is over $225 a year and close to 1000 kgs of CO2 emissions.

But for what it's worth, yes a Herbie style overflow will typically allow for more flow.

[Canuckgod420]

well its not 250+watts for 1200 gph
Even though the snapper runs at less wattage at zero head? who runs a return pump with no head pressure...that was originally the pump I was going to buy, but after working out the head pressure with rise and elbows on the plumbing I was going to barely break 1200gph, so at least this pump will give me options for expanding to other equipment.

wattage maxed on the pump is 275, when I dial that back it will reduce the wattage, just like the reeflo series.
On top of that once I run this I can remove tho other pumps I spoke of....mag drive 950=93 watts, quiet one 4000HH=120 watts, guiet one 4000=95 watts.

So really not much difference from the wattage being used now, but thanks for the update on my CO2 emmisions, which of course you tank runs completely green right? Of course not.
Again a little off topic, but thanks for the herbie amswer.

[sphelps]

Although the pump will use less power when turned back it only goes so far, for example the snapper can only be turned down to 75W and your pump could be around the 200W range for a minimum. Second your pump efficiency is best around the mid-range where flow curve intersects the power curve. For example look at the snapper flow chart:



The most efficient way to run this pump is at around 8 feet of head pushing around 1400GPH at about 100W. I'm just guessing here but that seems to be perfect for you which is why I recommended it. I would also bet the power you save in one year will pay the difference between your pump and this pump and after two years almost pay for itself. If the snapper is too small the same company actually makes another pump called the Dart which has slightly more power so not sure why that wouldn't have been the next logical choice.

In the end just trying to give you some useful information and advice as well as make sure others don't make the same mistake. Yes a little off topic but I think if someone sees an obvious problem it's good to point it out rather than ignore it. Justify it all you want but there are many good reasons why people don't use actual pool, jacuzzi, or hut tub pumps in this hobby. A lot of times these types of pumps are not meant for continuous use and they don't have the correct seals.

It's that kind of attitude which results in North Americans using 11 times the necessary carbon footprint. Yes not many aquariums are considered green but no point wasting power, two wrongs don't make a right. All my pumps are sized correctly and I've done essentially everything I can to reduce the power consumption of my aquarium. I also car pool which actually offsets the carbon footprint of my aquarium I also thought you might find that fact interesting if saving money didn't, not trying to make anyone join Greenpeace or anything.

[Sebae again]

Good helpful info Sphelps.

[Canuckgod420]

Dont get me wrong, I appreciate your input, but like I said I would be removing 3 other pumps with a larger watt draw than this pump. I have seriously looked at all the reeflo pumps, and there are a couple that seemed right for the job. Although the price seems to climb steeply with each larger pump. I work at a plumbing wholesaler so the cost on this pump was next to nothing. This pump was a smoking deal. By the way if anyone needs a booster pump for their RO unit I can get the same unit that sells for $218.00(before tax) at most retailers for approx. 85 bucks. Sorry off topic....lol

Now as far as this attitude thing you speak of....I dont really appreciate that, I value our planet as much as the next treehugger, I live 5 kms from work, so I ride my bike when its nice, carpool when I can, and drive when nothing else is available. I drive a car with an efficient engine, I spend maybe 80 bucks a month on fuel, how many other people can say that. I bet that reduces my carbon footprint. To further help lower my hydro bill I was actually thinking of ditching my 500W metal halide system for a t5 system, and I've eliminated my chiller.

I know that many of you people have thousands of more posts than I do but that doesnt make me a rookie reef keeper(4 years). I do have a grasp on this hobby(I hope) and I do a lot of research before I take the plunge into something.

[golf nut]

Unfortunately tone of voice doesn't show well in posts, your initial question was about the overflow and not about the pump, however because we want to help we also make comments when we see what could be a potential problem, ie a pump that is too much for the need, and a pump that wasn't designed to run in salt water, if you don't need any comments on the pump then better just not to mention it as there are far to many helpful people on here that would be amiss if they did not say anything.

[Canuckgod420]

So what your saying is I should just shut my mouth and not post anything because others are incapable of sticking to the point?
Inevitably I would have gotten the question as to why I want to increase my flow.....I would have answered and this would be happening anyway.
Like I said, I'm neither a newbie or an idiot, I've done tonnes of research, contacted the manufacturer, and weighed the pros and cons. YES the pump is a little overkill, but since I am also in the planning stages of a 300 gallon tank then all of a sudden this pump is perfect.

I just happened to mention the pump......thanks everyone for the herbie return answers.

[Myka]

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.

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.