20 tall pump questions

[Simms142]

I am in the process of putting together a 20 gallon tall reef, with a 16 gallon sump, i plan on having at least 10 gallons of water in it at all times. The tank is going to be drilled in the upper left hand corner for a lock line return, and also in the bottom back right corner(the drain will also inhabit this box), where it will be plumbed to the top of my internal overflow box, and connected to lock line for the 2nd return. The two returns are going to be switched back and forth by a scwd. I would rather not use any powerheads in this tank. I am trying to stay as "clean" as possible on the instalation with nothing over the back

 

Now on to the question. What size/type of pump would you recommend for a tank like this. The pump will be operating with 3-4 feet of head, and from what i have been reading, current should be pretty strong. I also read the scwd ruduces flow by quite a bit.

 

Would you please help and explain some of the pros and cons of some of the aternitives/suggestions.

 

Thanks

Brian

[SaltyMist]

I dont know the answer to this, but Im curious how much the SCWD reduces flow, because Im considering hooking one up in my tank with a canister filter pumping 285gph, and have one outlet on each side of the tank, but not if it reduces flow by "quite a bit", which to me would possible mean up to half.

 

Anyone know how much the SCWD reduces the flowrate by?

[Simms142]

Maybe i should go with 2 pumps? But that just adds to the equipment. Some opinions would be nice

[Korbin]

Don't forget to total up dynamic head loss through your pipes and connections (other than the SCWD). I saw a post somwhere on reefcentral where someone said what the amount of head loss through a SCWD is. Don't remember the #, but you might try searching there.

 

As for sizing the pump. Make sure to get a pump curve (graph showing pump flow rate vs. head) to determine what the flow rate coming out your returns will be.

 

Also - the amount of flow you require will depend on what you plan to keep. All SPS, and you want a LOT of flow. All softies, and you don't need too much.

 

All in all, I think the bare minimum that will give you 1/2 decent water movement for softies would be a 300 gph pump. Thats what I use and it keeps the water moving in the tank but thats about it. I would venture to say that you should be fine going all the way up to almost an 800 gph pump if you plan on all SPS and lots of flow. There are a lot of variables though. Such as return outlet size, shape, position, the amount of water your drain line can handle, etc.

[djp183]

I am running a rio 700 gph in my 20H. It is alot af flow, but I just put my shrooms in the nooks and crannies of my LR. I just use a regular overflow box, but good luck with with drilling your tank!