Water turn over.

[Reefstick]

Hey Guys & Gals,

I was just reading in an article from the Albert J. Thiel. On coral disease and solutions. But I came out of it with a question.

How much water (per hour) should flow from the tank to the sump and back?
I have a 75G reef with 15G sump/refugium. If I go by what is written in this article I would need 1500GPH flow rate:bugout: . If I do this, then I think my plants down in the sump will not only uproot but end up in the main tank after being munched by the pump.
Or am I wrong on this assumption?

Here is the article I am referring to.

http://www.netpets.org/fish/reference/reefref/schiemer.html

 

[Woodstock]

The turnover rate suggested for a tank is including all powerheads, pumps, filters, etc. The flow rate going through the sump is only part of the total turnover rate The suggested turnover rate is 10-20 times per tank volume; so for your 75 gal tank, you should have 750 - 1300 gph current.

You will add the return pump's gph after the head loss and any power heads and filters.

 

[BoomerD]

Way too many people make the mistake of trying to force all their turnover thru their sumps. If you can get 600-700 gph thru your sump, you'd be golden, and supplement that with powerheads, closed loop, Seio's or Tunze streams. My 90 gallon had over 2500 gph in total turn over, but only about 700 gph thru the sump.
The amount of TTO you need will depend on your tank and it's inhabitants. 10X (750) would be an absolute minimum, ( say, for Fish only)but, for a mixed corals reef, 20X your tank's gallonage (1500 gph) would be better, and if it's a dedicated SPS tank, then 40X (3000 gph) wouldn't be too much.

 

[Reefstick]

Thank you, I didn't think it was a good idea to try and shove 1500GPH through the sump. If I count the power heads I have little over 2300GPH total. Although I may need to go get a new sump pump anyway because it is only a Rio 1700, and I know for a fact that thing isn't returning more than 200GPH from the sump. I was thinking Mag 9.5.

Thanks for the input.

Mark

 

[Woodstock]

I would remove the RIO ASAP! They are reknown for shorting out/stopping; I would not rely on it..especially for the main return pump.