flow questions
 

i just got a new 120 gallon tank with a 33 gallon sump <my first ever drilled tank>and am wondering on what size /flow of sump pump i should look at getting .i want to try some sps coral in new tank .right now i have a little giant 500 that flows roughly 500 g/p/h /tank has 2 returns in it .also would 2 koralia 4 be ok ? thanks

Most sps guys shoot for above 50-60 times turnover/hour inside the display....I have around 10000g/per hour inside the display which works out to 96Xs turnover...I would consider finding a return pump with a little more "jam"....something around the 1000 gph size

Oh and have fun with the new tank....

A high turn over is accepted for SPS but sort of two views on flow through the sump. There's from match your return pump to your GPH rating of the skimmer to having the return contributing a significant amount of the display turnover. I'm of the latter but having a high flow through the sump can add problems such as noise and microbubbles.

Idea though is get a good overall flow, not blasting it all out of one or two nozzles.

Always liked this thread for an idea of what others are doing flow-wise.

I don`t think you want to go over 5x your display volume going through the sump per hour. As mentionned before it can cause problems. The bulk of movement for SPSs should be made by powerheads. As mentionned before 50x is a common guideline, but it's just that, a guideline. Placement of corals and orientation of flow is pretty important too

You can push a lot through a sump, I had 2000gph (now lowered to 1000gph) with my 75g sump, just need to be prepared (bubble towers, filter socks, foam blocks).

For the OP, I'd just keep the return you have now, give your Koralia's a try. If looking like you need/want more flow, add another or switch to higher flow PH (Tunze Stream).

The pump he has now is rated for 500gph at 1' of head.. http://www.lgpc.com/Product/ItemDeta...ProductID=1512 ...at 3' of head he will barely be moving any water:wink:

my mom bought me a hydor 8 for xmas for inside tank and was looking at a mag 8 or a quitone 600 for my return .going use the little giant to set set up pluming /test for leaks

While that's not a pump, (thought he meant 500gph at head).

Mytank, take a look on RC head loss calculator to help select a return pump.

Gonna be a little tricky doing it that way....the outlet on the little giant is only 1/2", I think you meant Quietone 6000, no?....If you did the output on that pump is 1"....not sure about the output on the "mag"....its will probably be less hassle and $ for you to just do the plumbing once with the pump you intend on using...

Which pump is that, Lil Giant make many pumps.