Return pump and skimmer math not adding up

WVNed

The fish are staring at me with hungry eyes.
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Not complicated. Just new to you. Pumps are sold rated like they are running in a bucket with nothing attached to them.
But you look at this chart. Most of us running a pump in a sump under a tank have about 3 feet of head. You also loose a little flow to the piping itself.
So you look at this chart or one like it for the brand of pump you are interested in.
serveimage

130 gallons x 5 = 650 gallons per hour
From the chart a Sicce Syncra 3.0 pumps 660 GPH at 3 feet ( dark blue line) and a 4.0 pumps 750 (grey line).
I use 6x tank volume so I suggested the 4.0. I am using a 3.0 now.
With cleaning every 3 months or so it has worked well for a year and remained quiet.

All of my plumbing is done using standard plumbing items from a home improvement store used for drinking water in a house. Mostly PVC pipes and valves. They do have to be glued together. There are tons of pics on here to give you ideas and we can answer any questions.
LOL
Here is my first go in 2007
015-X3.jpg

Looks like a mess but it worked.

If you want black fittings you can get them in the sprayer section of a farm supply store. These usually screw together and I only use them for returns you can see in the tank.
 
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Mariette

Mariette

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Not complicated. Just new to you. Pumps are sold rated like they are running in a bucket with nothing attached to them.
But you look at this chart. Most of us running a pump in a sump under a tank have about 3 feet of head. You also loose a little flow to the piping itself.
So you look at this chart or one like it for the brand of pump you are interested in.
serveimage

130 gallons x 5 = 650 gallons per hour
From the chart a Sicce Syncra 3.0 pumps 660 GPH at 3 feet ( dark blue line) and a 4.0 pumps 750 (grey line).
I use 6x tank volume so I suggested the 4.0. I am using a 3.0 now.
With cleaning every 3 months or so it has worked well for a year and remained quiet.

All of my plumbing is done using standard plumbing items from a home improvement store used for drinking water in a house. Mostly PVC pipes and valves. They do have to be glued together. There are tons of pics on here to give you ideas and we can answer any questions.
LOL
Here is my first go in 2007
015-X3.jpg

Looks like a mess but it worked.

If you want black fittings you can get them in the sprayer section of a farm supply store. These usually screw together and I only use them for returns you can see in the tank.

Thank you for taking the time to explain @WVNed :) good to hear about the pipes. Gotta admit, your picture is stressing me out because I have no idea what I’m looking at but I’ll get there. You’ve been very helpful. Thank you :)
 

ca1ore

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Interesting...May I see a picture I’d your tank?

Well played - that made me laugh. If you go to the monster tank forum here on R2R my build thread is Simon’s 450.
 

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