Help choosing return pump & plumbing

[Rtankster]

I have narrowed it down to one of the Quiet One pumps for the return from my sump/refuge. I have a 120g 4'X2'X2' with dual megaflows, each with a 1" drain and 3/4" return, I believe they are each rated for 600 gph.

I will be connecting the 2 drains & returns together with a T and then through the wall directly behind the tank, so a couple of feet horizontal and a couple vertical. I will also have either a closed loop or a couple of Tunze streams for additional flow.


What size plumbing should I use?

From drain to T
From T to sump
From pump to T
From T to return


Which model pump should I select?


Model Max Head Fittings GPH Watts

4000 10 ft 1" 1017 50
4000HH* 13 ft 3/4" 980 120
6000 12.2 ft 1" 1506 140
9000 19 ft 1-1/2" 2328 145

Thank you!

[d.can82]

I would go with the 4000 and count on the tunze's and closed loop for your additional circualtion. No real need to have TOO much flow through your sump unless you have a specific reason for it (high flow refugium, etc).
As for the plumbing, 1" draining to two 3/4 after the tee sound reasonable to me. From the pump, it has 1" inlets and outlets, so I say stick with that and you shouldn't have a problem. After the T to from the return, you could probably use 3/4" to go to the tank.
HTH!
Daniel

[Rtankster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6746278#post6746278 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by d.can82
As for the plumbing, 1" draining to two 3/4 after the tee sound reasonable to me.


Thanks for the reply do I understand you correctly

Two 1" lines to a T that reduces to one 3/4" line to the sump?



Rick

[Saaack]

I don't think he meant two 1" pipes into a single 3/4" drain. A single 3/4" drain will only flow about 300 GPH. A Quiet One 4000 flows 400-500 GPH at six feet of head through a 3/4" return. This will overwhelm your drain pipe and flood. I agree you don't need to max out your overflows, but you need more flow than a single Quite One 4000.

I would plumb two separate 1" returns (larger if they will have a long horizontal run) all the way to the sump, this gives you the full capacity of your overflows (about 1200 GPH). Use the head pressure calculator on this site and find a return pump that will give you the flow you want. I would run about 900-1000 GPH, this gives you some room for error.

You can run two smaller return pumps (one to each return) or a single larger pump. If you use a T-fitting to split a single pump to separate returns, use a larger pipe diameter and T-fitting all the way to the bulkheads (like 1" or 1 1/4"). T-fittings create alot of head pressure, reducing flow.

[d.can82]

Sorry about that, I forgot that its TWO drains, not one. I wouldn't bother teeing the drain as that just means you have to get larger pipe after the tee to accomidate BOTH drains and that just means more cost. If you keep each drain seperate, you can also decide to direct them each to different spots in the sump, say, one to the skimmer and one to a refugium. Just an idea.

As for the return, you could go larger, but you dont really NEED anything more then 500 gph going through the sump as long as you have other circulation means. You CAN go bigger, but this depends more on the size of the sump and whether it can support higher flow without microbubbles being sucked up into your return pump. The more flow and the smaller the sump, the more likely you are to have microbubble problems.