Upgrade time !

[Craigdillman]

Thanks yea good call, what size do you think would give me good fuge and room for everything? Is a 40 breeder ok or go bigger?

[Craigdillman]

Well...
Scoped out and picked up a gently used tank from a reefer up north who was upgrading tank was built from a concept in Calgary, drilled bean animal overflow, 2 returns, just finish cleaning the tank up and getting excited

72"x20"x20" 125 gallon display
48"x15.5"x16.5" Sump




Next step is plumbing (which I know nothing about and have never done so it will be an adventure)

[Craigdillman]

Just planning out my plumbing, is it better to plumb the refugium to be filled off the return or run one of the overflows too it?

[RDNanoGuy]

Plumb it off your return. That way you can control the amount of flow through it with a valve. Plus if you plumb it off the tank drain the refuge will fill up with debris instead of being caught by your filter socks.

[Craigdillman]

Ah good call, so do I basically mock up the plumbing and then choose a return pump or?

Just trying to figure out how to start first time plumbing anything lol

[RDNanoGuy]

It's always a good idea to mock up your plumbing before you glue anything together. Also it helps you to make sure you have shut off valves and unions in all the right places so you can service your equipment.

The pump choice is determined by the amount of flow you want through the system. Most aquarists' like to run about 5 times the display tanks volume through the sump per hour. Also when choosing your pump don't forget to account for the head loss due to the height back to the display. Most pump manufacturers provide a chart to help estimate the loss for a given height.
Also add maybe20% more to account for the flow you will divert to the refugeium.

[Craigdillman]

Thanks alot for the help

[RDNanoGuy]

In your tanks case you pump requirements will look something like this:

125g display x 5 turnover per hour = 625gph

625gph x 20% for refuge = 750gph

You should therefore look for a pump that will provide 750gph @ whatever vertical distance is from the pump to the display return nozzle.

Also don't be afraid to use a slightly oversize pump maybe. 20% larger and use a ball valve on the output. This can be advantageous in 3 ways:

1. You can dial in the perfect flow, which is helpful in quieting noisy overflows.
2. You can use the excess capacity later to run other accessories like carbon and phosban reactors thereby saving the price of another pump.
3. Restricted pumps run more efficiently and use less. Electricity.