How big of a pump?

T

taureandragon76

Moderator
The plywood tank I am building will be 3'w x 2'h x 94"L which will be about 356g. I will also be building a sump that I figure will be around 120g. Which will give me a total volume of 476g:D

What I am wondering is what size of pump should I go with?

I am thinking I need something that will turnover 10x/hr, should that be more than sufficient?

I have absolutely no experience when it comes to setting up a sump but do have a couple of buddy's that have offered to help when I am ready:D
 
I have 135 gallon, for my 10" chili. I my sump compartment I have 1,100 pentaire quiet one pump which goes directly to the spray bar and 1 800 gph aquaclear which goes through my 25 watt pentaire uv sterilizer on a seperate loop, then back to the spray bar. And remeber just cause you have 1,900 gph at your pumps, it doesnt mean it is getting that in the tank, you have losses with head height and fittings.
 
Its a huge debate! Some people think its a great idea and others dont. I know its does help with water born algea. And if you get one powerful enough for your water flow, it can kill bacteria. To me good insurence. But I only run it for a few days every two weeks. Big UVs cost a bit for bulbs and to replace quartz. So I cut down an operation time. Not sure if everyone should use one, just my take on it.
 
With my tank which is going to be the same, I've got a MagDrive 26 (i believe) which will be running everything.

As for UV filters. I use them on my ponds just to kill algae blooms and to make sure there are no disease outbreaks. I've never run one on a tank as I'm not overly concerned because I stay ontop of my water conditions. Like Island said, the bumbs are costly which is one of reasons I only run then on the ponds.
 
You need a sump with that tank size as I assumed you will be stocking a lot in there. If its just like one aro, then I don't think your filter need to be that big as the bioload is low then you only need a moderate one. But I will go with a sump with a pump that cycles your water level at least 5 times per hour. So 356g x 5 = 1800 GPH pump. Now this 5 times an hour IMHO is a very very safe level to me. Other thinks this may be overkill but I rather have a bit more capacity to fit my future heavy stocking needs.

It depends if your tank gets a lot of light and do have alage bloom, never hurt to add UV to take out some bacteria.
 
I have always been a believer that their is no such thing as overfiltration. I would like to have several bichirs in the tank with an aro and something else but don't know what yet. Another reason that I have for going with a sump of 120g is that it will be like another tank and can house a phoenix down their and maybe a couple others as well to keep the sump clean. With the UV I would never really want one for algae blooms as a blackout is alot cheaper:D
 
Taureandragon76:
I agree with you. I don't think there is such a thing as overfiltration. Filtration is like money (or girls, or arowanas), the more the better ;)
 
I use 2 pumps, one 1,100 gph, and one 900 ghp for a 135 gal comm tank, I think its a good idea to use 2 pumps incase one fails, the flow is reduced but not stopped. Here is a pics of the refrigium I use on my chili tank.
 

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thanks for the pics, I have a line on one pump that I believe does somewhere between 750 gph to 900gph and then I will be getting one that does either 1000gph or 2000gph, which I hope will do the trick
 
Great project, I think two pumps would be best aswell and for the 400 gallon range two magdrive 24's or 18's would be fine. Keep in mind that the mag dirve 24 is rated at 2400 gal/hr but by the time you consider the hydrostatic and fiction from the tank height and piping you may only get 1100-1400 gal/hr. 120 gal sump would be a great start.... Good luck!
 
I agree with the whole, "there's no such thing as over-filtration." I have an XP2 and Eheim 2028 running on my 110g; and if I could afford it, I'd get another 2028 for good measure.

Each are set up at one end of the tank: XP2 near the front right, thrusting towards the back; 2028 near the back shooting to the right.

For your tank, I'd recommend 3 small-ish filters. 3 xp3's would probably do you just fine to be honest. I suggest the eheims because I like how quiet and reliable the are; however cost is obviously a factor in their purchase.

I look forward to hearing more about your adventure into the land of HUGE tanks! Should be an interesting process that you document with pics and the like.

Pax,
Sygoomei
 
I got two plastic 55GL barleys (from vegetable oil for human consumption)one for each of the 90GLs - with the 1250Gl per hour pond pumps from Rona.
 
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