Pump Size?

[Puffing Billy's Mum]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if anyone could give me some practical advice because I've read so many contradictory things about pumps that I think my head might explode! Essentially, I'm setting up a 140L marine tank with a sump for Billy, my GSP; the only vital piece of equipment I don't yet have is a pump! Some people say 5-8 times your tank volume per hour and others have said 10-20... That's a huge differential! Also, exactly how much does head height, elbows in pipes and entry/exit into water effect performance?

Pleeeease can somebody give me some advice so I can finally get everything set up? Do any of you have a similar sized tank? What do you use?

Thanks in advance, everyone.

M

[Dadof4]

The usual recommended for a puffer tank is 10x your tank volume per hour. ReefCentral has a great calculator to figure out for head height and elbows.

[Puffing Billy's Mum]

Fantastic - thank you!

[Puffing Billy's Mum]

Hmmm... ReefCentral's calculator is good but only if you already have a pump, which I don't. What would be your best guess with the inlet into the tank being approximately 3ft away from the pump (loacated below in the sump) with only one 90deg bend and a couple of approx. 100deg bends (we have a flexible hose)?

Sorry to be a pain, I'm just completely stuck

Thanks again.

[Puffing Billy's Mum]

Really sorry to 'bump' here but I'm getting a bit desparate

[Pufferpunk]

Bumping doesn't help around here.

[xrayjeeper83]

Sorry cant help, suck at math

[sevenyearnight]

Don't ask a pictus cat!

[DrKennethNoisewater]

Don't ask a pictus cat!

a pictus would say no pump at all is best! than swim back to france with his buddies.

[sevenyearnight]

Bwahahaha! Oui oui!

[DrKennethNoisewater]

by the way if this isnt to old to throw an actual comment on..... i have a tank that i monitor very closely, do a water change 2 out of every 3 days, and have a VERY small filter on. my fish seem more than happy. a lot of people may disagree with this but i truly believe its a pretty good option, as long as your are more than committed to the constant water changes, your filter doesnt have to be too crazy. basically mines rated for a 20gal and its in a 40.

i have heard of people running saltwater tanks in this method with no skimmer and it being a very healthy tank, sometimes with no filter at all. but do your research.

[Puffing Billy's Mum]

Thanks, Doc I appreciate getting some real advice.

[RTR]

Unfortunately, filtration and water changes do different things* and are not interchangeable other than in flow-through tanks**, which are highly rare in hobby set-ups. Hobby tanks must have adequate and fully mature biofiltration (by bacterial biofiltration, large-scale plant or algae bed filters, or LR in SW) to avoid toxicity from unoxidized metabolites. The requirement for particle filtration is less demanding and varies with individual.

*library/tnk-mgr/waterfiltration/

**Flow-through systems are those having constant or intermittent new water additions daily to continuously sufficient to keep unoxidized metabolites (ammonia and/or nitrite) at undetectable levels(by hobby-grade test kits) at all times. These are commonly automated, but could be done manually as a high-risk option.

HTH

[fahucker]

I have seen people used dark hot tub piping. From what I have read and understand it works great and it has a good amount of flex and doesn't break. It bends through links not flexible materials. Not sure how everyone would feel about this, but just what I have heard from other people I have talked to.

[BryanG]

I wouldn't imagine you would need anything more than a pump pushing around 200-300 GPH. Also it is best to eliminate as many elbows on the return as possible. Also, take into consideration, if the tank is not pre-drilled, how much water flow is your overflow box rated for?