Return pump question

[cable guy]

I have a 20 gallon AIO the return pump says it dose about 400gph, is that too much or ok? I also have a hygger mini it says 1600ghp but I have it set at 40%..

 

[UncommonSense]

I have a 20 gallon AIO the return pump says it dose about 400gph, is that too much or ok? I also have a hygger mini it says 1600ghp but I have it set at 40%..

It’s a lot, but my little 13.5g AIO quarantine tank is running a 270gph-ish return pump, and the same hygger mini on variable…

The tank is a constant vortex, but I’ve used it to nurse multiple rescued leathers and LPS back to health with great success! — clearly it works!

(Edit: this tank is bare-bottom, residual sand grains end up spiraling in the center)

 

[D.WhiteShark]

Should be fine. Maybe split the return to 2 or 3 nozzles. as long as your sand isn't blowing all over, it's better to have too much instead of not enough

 

[cable guy]

No issues with sand blowing, my return nozzle is on right side of tank and I have it pushing towards the front of glass slightly downward and to the left, my powerhead is on the left side glass towards the back pushing towards the right.. so the tank has a circular type flow kinda… I could get a double head and use one head for more surface agitation maybe..

 

[mcarroll]

I have a 20 gallon AIO the return pump says it dose about 400gph, is that too much or ok? I also have a hygger mini it says 1600ghp but I have it set at 40%..

20 gallons * 4x tank turnover = 80 GPH.

Measure it (eg with a 1 quart container and stopwatch) to be sure, but I'm guessing you have more than plenty of filter flow....maybe enough you could even back it down to a smaller (quieter/cheaper/<watts) pump.

You have the other pump for circulation, so IMO you're golden. Maybe consider adding a second circulation pump since sometimes one pump leaves too many "flow shadows" to do a great job, in spite of adequate GPH numbers. Might not need to worry about that until later when corals are grown some tho.