Return Pump Flow question

[YaTampaBoy]

I know you’re supposed to have between 3X and 5x turnover for the flow of your return pump. But how do you know if your flow is too much or too little?

My tank is a Red Sea Reefer 170 and a sicce sdc 3.0 pump.

I have no clue how much head pressure the Red Sea plumbing is so the diagram on the sicce box is pretty much useless for me. Someone mentioned go by “noise of the water” but the gate valve seems to take care of that for me so I’m at a complete loss if I’m running mine too low (currently at 55%).

Is there anyone out there that could help me with this?

 

[workhz]

I suppose if you really can’t figure out head height you could fill a bottle or cup or jug or something and calculate what’s coming out at the top.

What’s the prob with calculating head height? Too many twists and turns on the return?

 

[disaster999]

There are calculators online that can generally estimate/calculate how much pressure head the plumbing have. I dont know the Red Sea tanks that well and cant really find any information on the plumbing, but from the specs, the display tank water volume is 130L, 5x that is 650L/h turnover rate, I assumed the piping diameter for the return is around 20mm, pumping 1m high to the nozzle and the total piping length is around 1.5m, the require pump head is just over 1m. Meaning, you need to find a pump that can pump out at least 650L/h at 1m.

Looking at the Sicce pump graph, at around 1m, the Syncra 3.0 can pump out more than double the require flow so your pump have plenty of flow to fulfill the 3-5x turnover rate. Since you have a DC pump, you can dial the pump speed back to achieve the desired flow rate. Since there are not information on the flow characteristics on each speed for each pump, I cant really tell you at what pump speed will you get the required flow. That you may need to do the old fashion way of measuring how much water is pumped out through the nozzle in 1min.

 

[YaTampaBoy]

There are calculators online that can generally estimate/calculate how much pressure head the plumbing have. I dont know the Red Sea tanks that well and cant really find any information on the plumbing, but from the specs, the display tank water volume is 130L, 5x that is 650L/h turnover rate, I assumed the piping diameter for the return is around 20mm, pumping 1m high to the nozzle and the total piping length is around 1.5m, the require pump head is just over 1m. Meaning, you need to find a pump that can pump out at least 650L/h at 1m.

Looking at the Sicce pump graph, at around 1m, the Syncra 3.0 can pump out more than double the require flow so your pump have plenty of flow to fulfill the 3-5x turnover rate. Since you have a DC pump, you can dial the pump speed back to achieve the desired flow rate. Since there are not information on the flow characteristics on each speed for each pump, I cant really tell you at what pump speed will you get the required flow. That you may need to do the old fashion way of measuring how much water is pumped out through the nozzle in 1min.

Yeah I saw the calculators when I did a google search, but I must be a complete idiot because they make absolutely no sense to me at all.

And to confuse myself even more, should I use the total system volume or should I try to guess the displaced water volume with rock and sand?

I’ve been running the pump at 55% for a year but like I said that could be way too low and I have no clue

 

[disaster999]

Yeah I saw the calculators when I did a google search, but I must be a complete idiot because they make absolutely no sense to me at all.

And to confuse myself even more, should I use the total system volume or should I try to guess the displaced water volume with rock and sand?

I’ve been running the pump at 55% for a year but like I said that could be way too low and I have no clue

honestly, those x turn over rate for return pump and y turn over rate for powerhead is nothing more than a suggestion to help people buy their gear to be in the ballpark. Whats most important is how your corals/fish react. If everything in your tank is thriving, then the flow is obviously fine, dont stress too much about it.

 

[YaTampaBoy]

honestly, those x turn over rate for return pump and y turn over rate for powerhead is nothing more than a suggestion to help people buy their gear to be in the ballpark. Whats most important is how your corals/fish react. If everything in your tank is thriving, then the flow is obviously fine, dont stress too much about it.

By your calculations do you think 55% is enough or should I go higher? I have absolutely no way to tell. Any advice would be great!

 

[workhz]

By your calculations do you think 55% is enough or should I go higher? I have absolutely no way to tell. Any advice would be great!

You have absolutely no way to tell what? Did measuring fail?

 

[YaTampaBoy]

You have absolutely no way to tell what? Did measuring fail?

Why do you feel the need to respond when you didn’t read the entirety of the posts? I don’t get internet warriors like yourself that feel the need to talk…just to talk. Go on a date, talk to your partner, pet, or something so you can fulfill this need that you have. I’ll wait for the constructive feedback I was receiving from the other user. Have a great night!

 

[workhz]

Why do you feel the need to respond when you didn’t read the entirety of the posts? I don’t get internet warriors like yourself that feel the need to talk…just to talk. Go on a date, talk to your partner, pet, or something so you can fulfill this need that you have. I’ll wait for the constructive feedback I was receiving from the other user. Have a great night!

I guess you missed my first response attempting to help you. Have you tried any of the suggestions people have provided or will you continue to want to be spoon fed?

 

[KStatefan]

Unless someone has the same pump and plumbing it will be different for everyone. You can get some hints by looking at your overflow. If it is barley above the bottom of the teeth you might need more flow and if at the top you might have to much.

 

[exnisstech]

On a reefer 170 don't even worry about about gph. Set the flow using the over flow water level. You want the level to be just below the emergency drain or just a trickle going down. Any higher than than that and it will be noisy. If your 170 is like mine it will require occasionally tweaking because the diaphragm valve can be a bit finicky. TBO I have 3 tanks running and couldn't tell you how much flow any of them have. I set them all up using the overflow level to get them as quiet as possible.

 

[YaTampaBoy]

On a reefer 170 don't even worry about about gph. Set the flow using the over flow water level. You want the level to be just below the emergency drain or just a trickle going down. Any higher than than that and it will be noisy. If your 170 is like mine it will require occasionally tweaking because the diaphragm valve can be a bit finicky. TBO I have 3 tanks running and couldn't tell you how much flow any of them have. I set them all up using the overflow level to get them as quiet as possible.

This!! This is what I’ve been doing for the past 1.5 years that it’s been set up. I’ve only really used the gate valve to adjust the weir. But the. Someone mentioned my flow rate and that it should be 3X to 5x and you can tell when it’s in the “sweet spot” but I have no clue what the heck that means. When I adjust the gph on my pump I notice no difference on the water speed thru my socks. The only difference I’m seeing is it makes me adjust the gate valve if I mess with the pump speed, but the flow thru the socks looks to be the same to me..

 

[YaTampaBoy]

I guess you missed my first response attempting to help you. Have you tried any of the suggestions people have provided or will you continue to want to be spoon fed?

Spoon fed please

 

[exnisstech]

Just keep doing what you've been doing and use the overflow level and forget about turn over rate is what I would do. I watch coral movement and how food blows around. IMO trying to calculate an exact turnover rate isn't necessary. I've only been reefing for 9 years but have had quite a few tanks in that time. This is one of my 3 tanks currently running. It's acro dominant and I couldn't even give you a guess as to how many gph the return or the power heads have. I suppose there's nothing wrong knowing but I personally don't bother calculating it.

 

[X-37B]

I have the same tank and pump. Just adjust the overflow to about 1/2 way down and your good. That will be plenty of flow through the sump. In tank flow is done with a powerhead. I use a dmp20.
I did add a ball valve to the return for better control. The red sea gate valve is not the best, imo.