Another Sump / Flow question

[subman]

Greg is right about sump turn over. Although I don't see the down side of more flow.

[gregzz4]

With my limited experience, the only downside I see with more flow is faster sock pluggage ( good thing ) and less truly skimmed water re-entering the DT ( not so good )
I'd think that introducing un-skimmed water back to the DT is kinda counter-productive where surface water is concerned

[ensquire]

Originally Posted by subman

Greg is right about sump turn over. Although I don't see the down side of more flow.

Originally Posted by subman

I have an 1-1/2 drain and 2 1600+gph pumps and my gate is almost closed as well. At full siphon it will handle wayyy more than that. The only problem Ive come across is setting the gate with that much flow it becomes very sensitive.

I don't know why it bugs me so much LOL even considering reducing drain pipe diameter just so I can open up valve more

Originally Posted by gregzz4

I've read that flow rate through a sump, for proper skimming efficiency, is 6.1 times per hour
This would, of course, be comprised of your total system volume
1-1/2" drain has a potential of about 1350gph

Edit - apparently the calculator I use is way off for the drain

[sphelps]

what size is your back up drain?

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

One thing to consider when going with high flow through the sump is that your return pump is going 24/7 so the higher the flow, usually the more electricity you'll use. Just discussed online with another reefer how his hydro bill went up $100 due to his tank and he had a Mag18 on a ~45g display which uses almost three times the electricity of the much smaller return pump on my 165g display (90g wide sump). Our hydro bill went up 7% this past month and so having a powerhog of a return pump going 24/7 is a real concern for me.

Just a thought.

[Myka]

Electricity is one thing to consider when choosing a return pump. Here, it costs 11.35 cents per kWh. So for every 100 watts run 24/7 it costs about $100 per year for me. I have a hard time believing a 45 gallon tank would cost $100 per month though. If all devices on my tank (powerheads, skimmer, heater, lights, and pumps) ran 24/7 on my 90 gallon reef it wouldn't cost me $100/month.

Here is a nifty calculator:
http://www.citytrf.net/costs_calculator.htm

Another drawback to more flow through the sump is that the higher flow usually drags microbubbles with it which get chopped up even further in your return pump and blown into your tank. This affects the visual clarity of your tank, and irritates from corals.

[ensquire]

Originally Posted by Myka

Electricity is one thing to consider when choosing a return pump. Here, it costs 11.35 cents per kWh. So for every 100 watts run 24/7 it costs about $100 per year for me. I have a hard time believing a 45 gallon tank would cost $100 per month though. If all devices on my tank (powerheads, skimmer, heater, lights, and pumps) ran 24/7 on my 90 gallon reef it wouldn't cost me $100/month.

Here is a nifty calculator:
http://www.citytrf.net/costs_calculator.htm

Another drawback to more flow through the sump is that the higher flow usually drags microbubbles with it which get chopped up even further in your return pump and blown into your tank. This affects the visual clarity of your tank, and irritates from corals.

What pump are you running??

[ensquire]

Originally Posted by sphelps

what size is your back up drain?

1" Emergency drain, could swap them, I suppose. Probably fine the way it is.

Originally Posted by SeaHorse_Fanatic

One thing to consider when going with high flow through the sump is that your return pump is going 24/7 so the higher the flow, usually the more electricity you'll use. Just discussed online with another reefer how his hydro bill went up $100 due to his tank and he had a Mag18 on a ~45g display which uses almost three times the electricity of the much smaller return pump on my 165g display (90g wide sump). Our hydro bill went up 7% this past month and so having a powerhog of a return pump going 24/7 is a real concern for me.

Just a thought.

HMMMMMM, yeah . Not really sure if I want me power bill to go much higher. The DC pump uses 40W at full speed.

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by ensquire

1" Emergency drain, could swap them, I suppose. Probably fine the way it is

would be a good idea to switch, the emergency drain determines your max flow rate and they don't usually run full siphon. Close your gate valve completely and then determine your max flow rate.

[ensquire]

My biggest concern is just this.

This nice big 1 1/2" pipe



Turns into this narrow 1/4" slit at the gate valve.



Wouldn't take much to plug that up.
I found a couple of reducers. I will try downsizing to 1" on the drain and see if that changes.

Sorry about the size of pics didn't get them downsized before posting