The Puffer Forum

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

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.

Fantastic - thank you!

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.

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

Bumping doesn't help around here.

Sorry cant help, suck at math

Don't ask a pictus cat!

sevenyearnight wrote:Don't ask a pictus cat!

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

Bwahahaha! Oui oui!

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.

Thanks, Doc I appreciate getting some real advice.

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

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.

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?