TeapotMaster
New Member
Hello all,
New reefer here, with a recently post-cycled tank.
My first couple of weeks were spent trying to figure out equipment specs. One of the main ones I was trying to dial in was finding the right return pump that would fit in my pump and deliver the right turnover to my 48 gal tank. I went by the rules of thumb to calculate head loss -- to each foot of vertical height, add 1ft for 90 degree elbows, for every 10ft of pipe, so forth an so on. In my case, I have a bit over 3 ft of vertical rise, four 90 degree turns, for a total of approx. 8 ft of head. Based on this info, I purchased a Varios2 which, based on published info, delivers at max speed ~250 gph at 8ft of head pressure. A little over 5x turnover, should do the trick if cranked full.
Then, I decided to ask my handy dandy AI for some help, which suggested I only had about 3.4 feet of head, since rule of thumb of 1ft per 90 degree elbow is bunk. Based on this, it estimated that i should be able to hit 10x turnover at speed 3 on the pump. No way, I said. So, I chopped up my plumbing to fit a tee at the top of one of the return lines and ran a hose for a bucket test.
Lo and behold, at speed 3, I am cranking out ~470 gph. Tested it several times with consistent results.
So, although I am absolutely stoked about the pump I bought (I could not hear it operating inside a monastery while wearing a stethoscope) I clearly spent a bit extra on an overpowered pump, when a much smaller Sicce silent would have done the trick.
The question is, am I missing something? Based on the above, the "rule of thumb" estimated double the true head pressure for my system. That's nowhere close. And if I am not missing anything, why are we still citing a rule of thumb that is in no way an approximation of reality?
New reefer here, with a recently post-cycled tank.
My first couple of weeks were spent trying to figure out equipment specs. One of the main ones I was trying to dial in was finding the right return pump that would fit in my pump and deliver the right turnover to my 48 gal tank. I went by the rules of thumb to calculate head loss -- to each foot of vertical height, add 1ft for 90 degree elbows, for every 10ft of pipe, so forth an so on. In my case, I have a bit over 3 ft of vertical rise, four 90 degree turns, for a total of approx. 8 ft of head. Based on this info, I purchased a Varios2 which, based on published info, delivers at max speed ~250 gph at 8ft of head pressure. A little over 5x turnover, should do the trick if cranked full.
Then, I decided to ask my handy dandy AI for some help, which suggested I only had about 3.4 feet of head, since rule of thumb of 1ft per 90 degree elbow is bunk. Based on this, it estimated that i should be able to hit 10x turnover at speed 3 on the pump. No way, I said. So, I chopped up my plumbing to fit a tee at the top of one of the return lines and ran a hose for a bucket test.
Lo and behold, at speed 3, I am cranking out ~470 gph. Tested it several times with consistent results.
So, although I am absolutely stoked about the pump I bought (I could not hear it operating inside a monastery while wearing a stethoscope) I clearly spent a bit extra on an overpowered pump, when a much smaller Sicce silent would have done the trick.
The question is, am I missing something? Based on the above, the "rule of thumb" estimated double the true head pressure for my system. That's nowhere close. And if I am not missing anything, why are we still citing a rule of thumb that is in no way an approximation of reality?
