Return pump gph

[salty105]

I’m setting up a new tank.

It’s a 75gal display, and currently I’m choosing the return pump and how many gph I should be running.

I’m looking at the simplicity 1600DC. It has 1600gph but via the chart it should go down to about 900 gph with a head pressure of 5 ft (over estimating what I’ll actually have)

would this be enough to run a mix reef? Or should I go up to the 2100DC for extra flow if needed

 

[commod0re]

I have a Jebao DCP-5000 on a similar setup and I run it at 45% to achieve roughly 3 turnovers per hour through the sump so I think the 1600DC will be plenty for you

 

[mfinn]

I’m setting up a new tank.

It’s a 75gal display, and currently I’m choosing the return pump and how many gph I should be running.

I’m looking at the simplicity 1600DC. It has 1600gph but via the chart it should go down to about 900 gph with a head pressure of 5 ft (over estimating what I’ll actually have)

would this be enough to run a mix reef? Or should I go up to the 2100DC for extra flow if needed

With a 75 gallon tank you would be looking at 4x to 6x the tank volume through the sump.
I would pick a pump that you could get that range of flow, after headloss and run the pump at about 50%.
Assuming you pick the ever popular dc pump.
There are a ton of great ac pumps too.
I happen to like dc.

 

[salty105]

I’m setting up a new tank.

It’s a 75gal display, and currently I’m choosing the return pump and how many gph I should be running.

I’m looking at the simplicity 1600DC. It has 1600gph but via the chart it should go down to about 900 gph with a head pressure of 5 ft (over estimating what I’ll actually have)

would this be enough to run a mix reef? Or should I go up to the 2100DC for extra flow if needed

With a 75 gallon tank you would be looking at 4x to 6x the tank volume through the sump.
I would pick a pump that you could get that range of flow, after headloss and run the pump at about 50%.
Assuming you pick the ever popular dc pump.
There are a ton of great ac pumps too.
I happen to like dc.

I’m going off this chart here. So you’re saying it’d be better to go for the 2100DC so I’d have 1300gph at a head press of 5ft? That’d be running at about 50%

 

[mfinn]

If It were me, I would shoot for about 400 to 450 gph flow through the sump on a 75 gallon display tank.
IMO, running a pump at about 50% should save a little in electricity costs, less chance of noise.
I guess you need to factor in budget too. Bigger pump, more cost.

 

[mfinn]

I've never used a simplicity pump so I know nothing about them.

 

[commod0re]

I’m going off this chart here. So you’re saying it’d be better to go for the 2100DC so I’d have 1300gph at a head press of 5ft? That’d be running at about 50%

For 4x turnovers per hour on 75 gallons you’re looking at a target of like 300 gph after head losses, anything over 500 gph at 5ft head should be plenty

 

[salty105]

I’m going off this chart here. So you’re saying it’d be better to go for the 2100DC so I’d have 1300gph at a head press of 5ft? That’d be running at about 50%

For 4x turnovers per hour on 75 gallons you’re looking at a target of like 300 gph after head losses

lol duh my bad. So yeah, with the correct math then the 1600 should be plenty and I can run it around 50% which still should give me 450ish gph. Thanks for the help!

 

[fish_collector]

I've studied Simplicity pumps at my LFS and it looks like they are just private labelled Jebao pumps. Personally, I'd get a pair of Jebao DCP-3500 ($70 ea) DC pumps for redundancy, I use 5 of these 27watt pumps on my 100g + frag systems and have worked nonstop for over 3 years now. If you must use a single pump, a Jebao DCP 6500 DC is only $104 on Amazon. Jebao pumps are true workhorses and provide the best performance per dollar for a water pump. You can plug them in and forget about them.

Keep in mind all water pumps advertise their output at 0ft of head height which is never how we use them. The output at 5' is always going to be less.

 

[salty105]

I've studied Simplicity pumps at my LFS and it looks like they are just private labelled Jebao pumps. Personally, I'd get a pair of Jebao DCP-3500 ($70 ea) DC pumps for redundancy, I use 5 of these 27watt pumps on my 100g + frag systems and have worked nonstop for over 3 years now. If you must use a single pump, a Jebao DCP 6500 DC is only $104 on Amazon. Jebao pumps are true workhorses and provide the best performance per dollar for a water pump. You can plug them in and forget about them.

Keep in mind all water pumps advertise their output at 0ft of head height which is never how we use them. The output at 5' is always going to be less.

I see for only a few bucks more I could
Do 2 dcp-4000. Would that be worth it to run em at a little lower power?

 

[fish_collector]

Sure if you want to that’s acceptable. You never know when you’ll want to increase the flow through the sump. I’ve opted to increase the flow a bit on my tanks, with the only reason being able to clear the water of suspended debris a little quicker after I’ve stirred it up.

Using bigger pumps also puts more heat into the water, so keep that in mind. It’s not a huge deal but it adds up. It’s not watt for watt like a heater but it’s something that does add heat for sure. The benefit of DC pumps is you can spin it at the speed you want, which limits heat input if it’s less than 100%. The jebao controller has the ability to adjust from 30 to 100%, and the results are displayed in watts. I think you’ll really like the Jebaos, they are truly a very good pump and near dead silent.

 

[salty105]

Sure if you want to that’s acceptable. You never know when you’ll want to increase the flow through the sump. I’ve opted to increase the flow a bit on my tanks, with the only reason being able to clear the water of suspended debris a little quicker after I’ve stirred it up.

Using bigger pumps also puts more heat into the water, so keep that in mind. It’s not a huge deal but it adds up. It’s not watt for watt like a heater but it’s something that does add heat for sure. The benefit of DC pumps is you can spin it at the speed you want, which limits heat input if it’s less than 100%. The jebao controller has the ability to adjust from 30 to 100%, and the results are displayed in watts. I think you’ll really like the Jebaos, they are truly a very good pump and near dead silent.

Thanks for all the good advice! And after looking into em I’ll definitely do the jebao

 

[fish_collector]

Last week I picked up a used Jebao DCP 6500 for $40 at a LFS I go to a lot. Today I swapped out one of my 3500s and put the 6500 in its place. That particular 3500 had to push water through a chiller on its way back to the tank and cut the flow way down even running at 100%. Now that the 6500 is in its place, I can run it about 75% and it has equaled out the flow of the returns.

Jebaos come with 6-8 different adapters depending on what outlet connection one wants to use. I have been using 3/4” silicone hose on mine, but a lot of people will use 1” pipe which is probably better. I would still use a silicone hose to connect hard pipe to the pump for vibration isolation.

The plastic squeeze together clamps work pretty good, but I use 2 zip ties pulled tight and Ive never had a hose blow off, it makes the hose grip the outlet barb tightly.