VarioS 8 Flow GPH seems... wrong

[jasonamyers]

So I got a VarioS 8 in my Red Sea Reefer 425. The pump is about a half inch from the front of the refugium. It has a 1.25" output that I have a reducer down to 1" right at the pump exit. I run 1" up the height of the sump minus 4" where there is a 45 to the top and side walls. There is a 90 turn there that goes towards the back of the sump and has a Neptune 1" flow sensor on it. From there it does a 90 into my manifold where it has three Ts in succession each T has a reducer bushing down to 1/2" then a Spears gate value that leads to my reactors. Right now I'm only using one reactor. From the end of the three Ts of the manifold, I then make a loop with 4 90s into the return pipe of the tank (3/4" I believe). So with one reactor going at 68 gph and the return flow is showing 498 gph, so that's 430 gph cycled through my tank... that just seems super low for a pump this powerful. I have it on the setting one from the max, and if I push it up to the max setting I'll get another 11-20 gph. Still not what I'm wanting flowing through my tank. I expected more from this pump.

Prior to the VarioS 8 I had a VarioS 6 and it was getting roughly the same numbers on max the 8 is getting now. I know the VarioS pumps aren't pressure rated, but I wasn't sure that was relevant in this case.

I'm off next week and I wanna get this up to proper levels that I expect. I've got fresh new plumbing parts coming to replace the plumbing and I could eliminate some 90s and one of the Ts in my design (I don't need three reactor ports.) However, I'm not sure that is the issue. Is it time to get a new pump, and what would that be?

Leopard L160? Abyss? Red Dragon 3? Am I crazy? Is it really all the plumbing?

Flow Numbers:

Manifold outside of tank:

Overall plumbing:

Return pump from front:

Return pump from top:

 

[Mrx7899]

Probably the combination of the too the pump not being pressure rated and the plumbing being reduced and all the 90s, 45s and T they take away alot from the flow. Google head pressure calculator and see how much head pressure you have.

 

[jasonamyers]

So I tried one and got:

another:

Varios 8 Specs:

So assuming either are relatively right, my guess is the truth lies somewhere towards the 16ft range suggested by the later. I've got the wrong pump since it's rated for a max head height of 18ft.

So... now what pump do I get?
Do I just put the manifold on its own pump?
Do I just do away with the manifold and put my reactor on a pump itself?

 

[Mrx7899]

You could try a pump with better head pressure rating but 14ft is good amount of head pressure. Most DC pumps are around 23ft so you would get a little more flow. If it's not too much work try taking out some of the 90s. But might be easier just to add a smaller pump just to run the reactors

 

[mfinn]

@slief

 

[slief]

Definitely a case of head pressure from the fittings and the plumbing size reduction to 1" that's killing your head as you have seen with the head loss calculator. You're going to need a pressure rated pump or at least a large one that can handle head loss better.

 

[Potatohead]

I agree the reduction to 1" is making a big difference, however ~480 gph is completely fine for a 90g tank.

 

[jasonamyers]

Definitely a case of head pressure from the fittings and the plumbing size reduction to 1" that's killing your head as you have seen with the head loss calculator. You're going to need a pressure rated pump or at least a large one that can handle head loss better.

Do you have any recommendations, @slief? I liked the VarioS because of the Apex readiness.

I agree the reduction to 1" is making a big difference, however ~480 gph is completely fine for a 90g tank.

I was really trying to get up to what redsea and triton recommend. Below is the red sea targets

 

[Drauka99]

Personally I would feed the manifold with a different pump and use the Varios as my return.

 

[jasonamyers]

Personally I would feed the manifold with a different pump and use the Varios as my return.

I do have a varios 6 that I was going to put into a reefer nano... hmm...

 

[Potatohead]

1000 gph is a lot for 90g. Really anywhere from three to ten times turnover is typically considered fine. The only system that recommends higher I believe is Triton, they want you at ten times.

 

[jasonamyers]

1000 gph is a lot for 90g. Really anywhere from three to ten times turnover is typically considered fine. The only system that recommends higher I believe is Triton, they want you at ten times.

Nod, the picture above was from Red Sea's spec sheet, they want a lot of flow through the return as well.

 

[mfinn]

I love my RD3 150 watt pump.
Check them out.
They do have a pressure rated 150 watt pump

 

[jasonamyers]

The more I've thought about it I like the idea of the using the two varioS pumps I have... I got all the stuff to replumb them and make it awesome. Plus I'll have a pump right there to switch during maintenance!!! With the same output just undo union and move over then run on the other pump for a bit!

 

[mfinn]

The more I've thought about it I like the idea of the using the two varioS pumps I have... I got all the stuff to replumb them and make it awesome. Plus I'll have a pump right there to switch during maintenance!!! With the same output just undo union and move over then run on the other pump for a bit!

Great idea.

 

[jasonamyers]

Great idea.

it was all @Drauka99, he just didn't know I had a varios6 hanging around.

 

[mfinn]

it was all @Drauka99, he just didn't know I had a varios6 hanging around.

I like for the reason of using multiple pumps for all those tasks.
Using the same swappable pump is even better.

 

[slief]

Do you have any recommendations, @slief? I liked the VarioS because of the Apex readiness.


I was really trying to get up to what redsea and triton recommend. Below is the red sea targets

Given my affiliation, I am kind of biased but I really like the RD3 150 amd RD3 230's. I've been running the RD3 230's for 2.5 years now and they are one of my favorite pumps of all time. I paid full price for mine and would but them again in a New York Minute. There is now an RD3 150 and RD3 230 pressure pump which would kick butt on your system but they are costly. They are also somewhat large and may not fit in your return compartment. Given your head pressure, finding a smaller internal pump to handle that could be tough. One thing you might consider is redoing some of your plumbing. If you change the return line so that the manifold is fed off it via a T fitting instead of having the returns flow go through the manifold the way you have it down, it might reduce some of your friction loss. Given the way you have things under the cabinet there, that too may be difficult. If you could do that, you would reduce a lot of the friction.

 

[jasonamyers]

Given my affiliation, I am kind of biased but I really like the RD3 150 amd RD3 230's. I've been running the RD3 230's for 2.5 years now and they are one of my favorite pumps of all time. I paid full price for mine and would but them again in a New York Minute. There is now an RD3 150 and RD3 230 pressure pump which would kick butt on your system but they are costly. They are also somewhat large and may not fit in your return compartment. Given your head pressure, finding a smaller internal pump to handle that could be tough. One thing you might consider is redoing some of your plumbing. If you change the return line so that the manifold is fed off it via a T fitting instead of having the returns flow go through the manifold the way you have it down, it might reduce some of your friction loss. Given the way you have things under the cabinet there, that too may be difficult. If you could do that, you would reduce a lot of the friction.

They look amazing. I think it might fit the return area is 49 x 15 (19.3”x6”), but I'll have to save up for something that powerful

 

[jasonamyers]

Following up on this, I’ve been trying to optimize my return flow. I thought it was my manifold and some extra 90s I had in my plumbing; however, I reduced it down to a simpler setup.

I come out of my VarioS 8 pump via their 1.25 Coupler and I use a reducer to go to 1” plumbing, I go up to a 90, across into the 1” Flow Sensor, into a 90, and up into a 3/4” adapter to go into the normal Red Sea Plumbing.

I get roughly 490gph still. This seems amazingly low. I can’t change that 3/4” up into the Red Sea plumbing, but what should I do prior to that?

Is it the immediate downsizing to 1” right at the top of the pump? I’d love ideas! I'm still considering giving up on this pump, but it feels like it should be able to handle this after the changes.