90 gallon- return pump, small sump

[sea student]

I would like to upgrade the return pump on my 90 gallon. It needs to be submersible and the sump is a 29 gallon aquarium. It would be replacing a ViaAqua 2600. Now, the top of my tank does not always stay clear. I'm assuming that means I need better return flow? Thanks!

[mano1192]

Do yoiu have a overflow to skim the water surface? That will get the proteins off the sirface of the tank and make it look clear :)

[sea student]

Yes, I have an overflow, but it is at one end of the tank since my tank is in-wall. The far end gets the build up of stuff. I think I need more surface movement. Thanks for helping me clarify and I appreciate any advice.

[clsanchez77]

For surface movement, I would use a powerhead or closed loop. As far as a sump return, I use a Mag7 on a 90g disply with 30g sump. I get about 400gph using 3/4" flex hose. I do run three Tunze Streams in the tank for high flow action though. I just don't believe in overpowerd sump returns as it is not energy efficient and requires a larger (and sometimes louder) pump to deliver the higher flows a 4' static head.

Chris

[mano1192]

Yea I agree I use a 900GPH Eheim return which @3' of head is lucky to see 600GPH but I also have 2 Tunzes on a controller for flow. I would save the money on a return pump and get a pair of Tunzes.

[DrBDC]

You only need to send through the sump the gph your skimmer feeds at. Maybe slightly more if you're feeding a fuge too. As these guys were saying, get the flow in the tank via powerheads or closed loop if that is an option. Go for a wide flow pattern like the seios, tunze's, and mjmods.

[clsanchez77]

You only need to send through the sump the gph your skimmer feeds at.
I completely agree. I am at twice my skimmer capacity though because I also run a chiller and I wanted to maintain the minimum chiller rating. So to build off that, I would say size the return to the minimum requirements of the largest item in the sump. Also, you would only need more for the fuge if it is parallel to the skimmer, but not if it is inline.

Tunze is the way to go. I was skeptical at first b/c of price, but as I said, I now have three.

Chris

[detroit_fan]

i don't know how big of a pump you want but i just e-mailed Eheim about their 1262 b/c i have a high head height and they said it had 520 GPH at 5.5 ft and 475 at 6 ft.

[sea student]

I switched powerheads to a Tunze 6060 and the problem is solved. Thanks everyone!