ohh Nooo. too big of a pump???

[trouble]

was just reading a thread about a guy that bought a really big pump for his 72 gallon. well i have a 72g running on an fx-5(jack ass guy at lfs) and am slowly organizing info and parts to switch over to a sump. recently purchased a 33g sump(thank you very much finn-a-gin), and ordered a supreme mag drive 1200 which will put out between 8-900 gph at about 6'. Now having read that thread am worried i have over done the amount of return flow thus spending more money than i had too. especially considering i am running 2 koralite #3's(850 gph apiece).Any thoughts.

well we're at it was planning a 2" drain with a 1 1/4" return, is that going to be sufficient. And can some one direct me to some info on the kirby style overflow? please thank you

[TheRealBigAL]

I run a Mag 12 (1200gph)from my 25 gallon sump to the 50 gallon display. I have no problems, with to much flow. I belive you will be fine

[trouble]

thank you that eases my mind a little what size are your drain and return holes? if you don't mind me asking..

[Steve-O-]

when you do you plumbing for your sump put a valve on the line to the tank. Doing this will help you control how much flow you can have i know in my old 75g i did this i have a 1200 mag as well. its better to have more then less i think because you never k now when you need more flow or less flow. I did a split as well i had a small flow going into my fuge with a trickle into my tank and rest of flow into my tank.

I also had 2in drain and 1 1/4 return worked good

[Dolf]

I am not a huge fan of RC; so this may kill me... http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/drain.php
Is a calculator that you can use to figure out roughly what the pipe diameter of your overflow will handle (and from the other figures that I have, they are fairly conservative in the estimation.) In your case it says that your overflow will handle 2200 GPH. You need to plumb for what the pump will return rather than the size of the pipe used to return the water... So yes, your overflow will easily handle it.

Now, as to weather it is overkill... what are you planning on keeping? If clams, then yes- it may be too much flow in your tank as they come from calm areas. If it is SPS, then you are good to go (heck, add another power head if you want. Have you ever seen the volume of water that flows over a reef?)

Good luck.

[sphelps]

You'll be fine it's a Mag 1200 not a 1/3hp pump. The closest thing to that pump that I have installed would probably be the Sequence Reeflo Barracuda (only has 1/4HP motor). I've installed this pump a few times, most recently on a 200 gallon tank located 20 vertical and 20 feet horizontal from the pump. The tank runs a 2" drain to capacity and I still can't open the pump all the way. The next pump up is the Hammerhead which does use a 1/3HP motor and is significantly more powerful than the Barracuda pushing close to 6000gph and even requires a minimum static head of 15 feet.

The Mag 1200 is a little big IMO for you and you'll likely have to turn it down a little but it's not ridiculous.

[Canuckgod420]

Well regardless of what pump I'm planning on using....have you considered what kind of heat a mag 1200 will add to your water?

I have the mag 950(piece of crap by the way) too much draw, not enough flow, and to top it off it adds 3 degrees to my water(yup tested it). At night my tanks with my 2 heaters runs at a nice 78....turned off the pump overnight the tank dropped to 75.2.

Do you have the ability to make it an external pump? Much less heat added to your water.

[reefy]

I am running a mag drive 1800 from my 90g but then is split into three outlet (display,refugium and 29G biocube) so its hard to tell but its always depends on what you are keeping or planning to keep....

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Canuckgod420

Well regardless of what pump I'm planning on using....have you considered what kind of heat a mag 1200 will add to your water?

I have the mag 950(piece of crap by the way) too much draw, not enough flow, and to top it off it adds 3 degrees to my water(yup tested it). At night my tanks with my 2 heaters runs at a nice 78....turned off the pump overnight the tank dropped to 75.2.

Do you have the ability to make it an external pump? Much less heat added to your water.

Hilarious how contradicting one can be, this is thread about flow not heat. Remember you're suppose to stay on topic not point out other potential problems.

Sorry couldn't resist

[my2rotties]

I have ball valves on every single piece of equipment on my tank. I can turn things up or down if I feel the need to do so...