Return Upgrade?

[Johnny Reefer]

The overflows on both my recently moved and revamped FOWLR and Reef setups have slowed down to a trickle. I attribute this to increased head on each system as well as the inevitable growth within the return lines. I have concluded that the Aquaclear 901 powerheads I’m using for return pumps are inadequate. Therefore, I want to make the jump to a proper return pump for each system. “Jump to the pump”, if you will. Okay. Lame joke. Anyway, I have my eye on a Pentair Quiet One 6000 for each system. My linear overflow capacity for each tank measures 22”. This will allow 1450 GPH and a 6000 pushes 1506 GPH at 0 head. So I think this choice of pump will do the job. However, never having used this type of pump before (pump dummy here), I do have some questions and I’m hoping this site might provide some insight.

I am currently pushing my return water through ⅝” ID Fluval hose and I would like to continue using this hose. Is this advisable? Maybe this is the problem in the first place and I just need to get 1” hose? Is it possible to get a reducer fitting to reduce the 1” pump output down to ⅝”?

I am also concerned about the input. It appears on the Pentair website that this pump’s input is not screened. I do not see any such screen accessory available on their website. Do any Quiet One users out there know of such a thing?

Bottomline is I’m not sure how to go about connecting a return line to a Quiet One pump (I would prefer not to hard plumb) and I’m not sure about how to screen the input.

Thanx much,