What pump to buy?

[jmonker]

Hey guys, so im planning out my new system and trying to figure out which pump to buy?

So my sump is going to be in the basment and my display is going to be on the main floor! So i have to run pvc 7ft up and 9ft over and then another 4ft to the tank?

I''m not looking to relie on this pump for water movement, il be using wavemaker and powerheads for water movement!

Cheers

 

[chrisstevens]

Me and neo both use the reeflo hammerhead gold hybrid using the smaller barracuda impeller. Also were running them wide open., with slip stream going to fuge, and running reactors. you could probably get by with a bit smaller pump though if you want a lower flow.

 

[jmonker]

Ya i was thinking that!

Another question, I'm building my sump and i just picked up some plexi-glass, I'm wondering where and how n how high i should put my plexi? should i put a bubble trap?

What design i should go with?

 

[Neopimp]

Screw bubble traps you all have seen my setup

 

[jmonker]

Screw bubble traps? Dont thnk its the right idea?

 

[jmonker]

Should i do one 1.5" return and one 1.5" drain? I dont want a big overflow box either? What you guys think?

 

[BIGSHOW]

minimum of 2 drains (1.5" is good) and I wouldn't go any larger then 1" for the return.

 

[Neopimp]

if the pump output is 1.5... use 1.5 inch pipe up to the tank and then split into 2 - 1" lines back in to the tank.  Never reduce the pump input plumbign size or restrict the pump with a valve on the suction

I have 3 1" drains.... 2 are running full siphon and 1 is a trickle.  So its basically a herbie.  If you go with just two drains or what I did then you need/should implement some sort of anti overflow kinda thing with a controller and float switches. 

If you run the three drains, 1 siphone 1 trickle and 1 emerg you can bypass the controller safety stuff.  The idea with the emergency drain is that if your full siphon line gets blocked for whatever reason all that extra water will end up going down the emerg drain and not overflowing on the floor upstairs.

I wish I had gone alrger with my drains as even in the basement the Hammerhead/barracuda pump is almost too much for 2 1" siphons.

 

[Neopimp]

If you are going with a reeflo pump... get the gold version if you can... defintly worth it.

 

[chrisstevens]

For return, use whatever size the discharge of the pump is, for drains i would also say minimum of two, one full suction(with valve) other just slight trickle , so it's dead silent and can also drain if other becomes partially blocked.  I actually have 4 drains on my tank ( 2 1" full siphons, 1 3/4 trickle drain, and another 3/4 emergency drain. as for sump design that up to you, same with baffle height but you'll have to raise your skimmer up depending on the height. I also added bubble traps in my sump just recently as i was geting alot of carry over. Neo isn't running as big of skimmer as me so it is not as much of a problem for him. Easier to add them now than to add them when the system is already up an running like i did.

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

heeres what neo is saying.....http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reeflo-barracuda-hammerhead-hybrid-6000-4590gph.html

 

[chrisstevens]

also my return goes from 1.5" to 2 1" to 4 3/4"

 

[Neopimp]

http://saltycritter.com/pumps/reeflo-gold-water-pumps.htm

 

[chrisstevens]

heeres what neo is saying.....http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reeflo-barracuda-hammerhead-hybrid-6000-4590gph.html

This is the regular version not the gold version

 

[BIGSHOW]

if the pump output is 1.5... use 1.5 inch pipe up to the tank and then split into 2 - 1\" lines back in to the tank.  Never reduce the pump input plumbign size or restrict the pump with a valve on the suction

That is a very good point!

 

[Duke]

[quote author=Neopimp link=topic=3832.msg33937#msg33937 date=1356128347]
if the pump output is 1.5... use 1.5 inch pipe up to the tank and then split into 2 - 1\" lines back in to the tank.  Never reduce the pump input plumbign size or restrict the pump with a valve on the suction

That is a very good point!
[/quote]

should throw in there also that you can reduce or restrict the flow on the output side of those pumps if you want to dial back the flow, supposedly for a decent savings in power consumpstion, sounds good on paper but how true it is im not sure.

 

[Neopimp]

its very true

the amount of power used is almost directly realted to the amunt of energy it takes to move water.  By Pinching back the pump you are movingless water and therefore using less power.  This is assuming the pump motor bearing and other engry losses are minimal

 

[Duke]

its very true

the amount of power used is almost directly realted to the amunt of energy it takes to move water.  By Pinching back the pump you are movingless water and therefore using less power.  This is assuming the pump motor bearing and other engry losses are minimal

Ya that's good to know, thanks. I really think its the way to go, im only running a little snapper but its still a great pump... and according to the graphs was using very little energy.

 

[Darryl_V]

its very true

the amount of power used is almost directly realted to the amunt of energy it takes to move water.  By Pinching back the pump you are movingless water and therefore using less power.  This is assuming the pump motor bearing and other engry losses are minimal

From my underdstanding this is only true for non pressure rated pumps.  Pressure rated pumps actually go up in electrical usage when restricted.

In the end its best to use a kill a watt to REALLY see what is going on the the pump.

 

[Duke]

I just remember seeing this photo from their site that claims the power consumption, it would be interesting for someone with a kill a watt thingy to test it out.