450g tank pump question

[dww]

We are getting ready to upgrade our 230 to a 450 gallon tank. The new tank ( used) is 8ft long, 2 ft deep and 4 ft tall with 2 overflows and 4 bulkhead fittings in the bottom. All 4 lower fittings were set up for a closed loop system. 2 suctions and 2 returns.
My question : what size pump ( gph ) do need minimum for the closed loop system ?
What size pump do you guys recommend for the sump return ? Any help is greatly appreciated.

[worm5406]

I have wondered on CL and pumps for a while. I would like to know too.

What did the previous owner have setup?

[dww]

The PO had a hammerhead 6000 gph pump. But the pump is bad and I got to replace it. The way the plumbing was done, it must have put a lot of stress on the pump, due to too small of connections. I'm just wondering, as to what size I need for the CL system. I do have currently a 1800 gph pump for my sump, which I plan on using for the 450.

[msderganc]

What do you want to keep? If SPS, and that's your primary water movement method, then you should shoot for 35-50x tank volume. Probably a good idea to use two pumps instead of one, just in case one fails as well.

[dww]

35 to 50 times the volume per day? Or what time period are you talking about ? Not sure, what all we gonna keep in the tank though

[msderganc]

Per hour. I'd suggest you nail down what you're going to keep since it will affect the equipment you buy.

[slief]

Our displays are identical save for the footprint. My tank is 8' long x4' wide x2' tall which is actually 480G. My tank is primarily soft corals and fish with close to 1000 pounds of live rock. I have one 4 sided overflow dead center of the tank. I run a Reeflo Hammerhead Gold for my return which returns through a pair of 1" sea swirls at one end of the tank.. My return pump also drives my reactor and also T's off to feed a chiller in my garage that returns back to the sump.

I have a dart Gold for a recirculation pump that returns through a manifold at the base of the overflow which directs water out under the rocks at the base of the overflow. While it doesn't generate much appreciable circulation in the tank, it keeps anything from settle under the rocks built up around and near the overflow.

I have 2 Tunze 6205's at the opposite end of the tank from the sea swirls and 1 Tunze 6105 mounted to the overflow. All Tunzes are controlled by my Apex and programmed to create several variations in flow which create varying degrees of waves during the day with a some other profiles which I created to stir the water up and suspend anything that has settled on the bottom of the tank. I also have a Koralia 1200 high in the water column on the same end of tank as the two 6205s which works against the Sea Swirls to create a little more chaos on the waters surface. I take flow pretty seriously and I have a lot of it but most of controllable.

I'd estimate that I have well over 20,000 GPH of rated flow in my tank which may seem like a lot but it works pretty well. Especially with the control I have over the Tunze's which go from mild to wild with the change of a profile. They are great and making insane flow patterns by day, at night I have a profile to shut them down to a constant 30% with no waves so that things can get a break. I've got spare 6205's so I might even add another or swap the Koralia with one. I actually removed a few external pond type circulation pumps and mounted the Tunzes on the bulk heads with the wires running out the back of the tank.

Here are a couple pictures of my creative Tunze mounting. If you want to better unstand how I did it, it's documented in my build thread with lots more pictures. It did require soldering though.






This is how the wires for my power heads come out of the tank. When I eliminated the external recirculation pumps, I left a length of pipe outside the tank attached to the bulk heads and rotated them towards the surface of the water so the open end was well above the water line. I then snake the cable through the pipe. This was originally done to accommodate Koralias but I switched out 3 of them for the Tunze's.

[worm5406]

Nice.. I like the cable routing.

YES.. you need lots of flow, per hour.

I have two mp40's that run from 40-100 through out the day at varing sync/anti-sync programs. Then at night the ramp down to a constant 30.

[dww]

Thanks for the info and I will look into your build. However, I'm sure my husband will have a few more questions. He takes care of the plumbing and electrical and I the rest :-) I do have one question, is there a place that is inexpensive for aquarium pumps?

Thanx
Donna

[worm5406]

Just have to shop and compare. There are some good reefcentral supporters that have different specials. The ads are up in the top. On the top there is a listing of supporters too:

http://www.reefcentral.com/index.php/sponsors/