600 gph to much?

KErickson978 · 12/05/2007, 10:58 PM

is 600 gph on a 29 gallon reef to much flow? ive got a mag 9.5 and a scwd wave thing to work with and was hoping that wouldnt be to much flow but as of now its creating tons of micro bubbles and is not making my clam very happy.... or is it just an aclimation type thing... once the pipes break in the bubbles will dissapate and the clam will get used to the higher flow. before the flow was barely 200 gph.... also would upgrading to a 50 gal be difficult? everythings already outgrowing the 29...
thanks in advance for the help/advise

poppin_fresh · 12/05/2007, 11:05 PM

Is the mag returning from some kind of sump? I would assume that the sump is a smaller one, say less than 20 gallons? If my assumptions are correct, the sump turnover is way to fast. You need to restirct the pump, or divert some of it back to the sump to slow it down.

You might need to add a power head for in tank flow. My philosophy is ...Flow in the tank is good, but trying to run it all through the sump will most likely result in problems.

ACBlinky · 12/05/2007, 11:09 PM

You may need to diffuse/redirect the flow, but 20x turnover is in no way too much flow - many people have several times that with no issues. If your Mag 9.5 is below the tank, consider head loss as well - you're not going to be getting a full 600gph out of it by the time the water is pushed up and around a few bends.

I have ~30x turnover on my 90g and wish I had a bit more. It's all in how you direct it - see if you can play with yours a little; bounce flow off the wall, or direct a powerhead into the area of strongest flow, direct it towards the surface, or a large rock, you get the idea. If you do discover that you need to slow the flow a bit, you can use a ball valve to dial back the flow without harming the pump. You should never restrict flow going into the pump, but it's not at all harmful to reduce flow on the other side (I wrote to the company and asked).

edit --> I agree with the above - if you're directing that much flow through your sump, it may be too much; I was assuming this was something like a closed loop. My Mag 9.5 pumps water at about 350gph (figuring in head loss and how far it's dialed back) through a filter sock, three baffles and a huge wad of chaeto in the 30g sump - all three of which prevent any bubbles from re-entering the tank.

KErickson978 · 12/05/2007, 11:29 PM

Thanks for the information, right now its yeah... way to small.. its a ten gallon tank transformed into a sump.. i am almost done building a much larger sump out of a 55 gallon long tank, with about 20 gallons saved for the refugium area. i hope this is a large enough sump for a larger display. and the actual gph of the mag 9.5 was around 700 but the 90 degree elbows and such brought it down to about 600. so i guess i need to get a ball valve? would this set up (pump size and gph) be enough for a 50 gallon reef? or would that not be enough flow then and powerheads may be needed?

mg426 · 12/06/2007, 12:39 AM

You might need to add a power head for in tank flow. My philosophy is ...Flow in the tank is good, but trying to run it all through the sump will most likely result in problems

Thats my thoughts as well.

KErickson978 · 12/06/2007, 11:43 PM

thanks for the info everyone it helps and everything is seeming to be gettin used to the new flow rate.

12/05/2007, 10:58 PM	#1
KErickson978 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 107	600 gph to much? is 600 gph on a 29 gallon reef to much flow? ive got a mag 9.5 and a scwd wave thing to work with and was hoping that wouldnt be to much flow but as of now its creating tons of micro bubbles and is not making my clam very happy.... or is it just an aclimation type thing... once the pipes break in the bubbles will dissapate and the clam will get used to the higher flow. before the flow was barely 200 gph.... also would upgrading to a 50 gal be difficult? everythings already outgrowing the 29... thanks in advance for the help/advise

12/05/2007, 11:05 PM	#2
poppin_fresh Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Vermont Posts: 1,982	Is the mag returning from some kind of sump? I would assume that the sump is a smaller one, say less than 20 gallons? If my assumptions are correct, the sump turnover is way to fast. You need to restirct the pump, or divert some of it back to the sump to slow it down. You might need to add a power head for in tank flow. My philosophy is ...Flow in the tank is good, but trying to run it all through the sump will most likely result in problems. __________________ PBITAWA! Current Tank Info: None now. Past- 180g w/ 100g basement sump and 20g 'fuge. H & S skimmer, T'5s & Tunze

12/05/2007, 11:09 PM	#3
ACBlinky Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada Posts: 4,954 Blog Entries: 20	You may need to diffuse/redirect the flow, but 20x turnover is in no way too much flow - many people have several times that with no issues. If your Mag 9.5 is below the tank, consider head loss as well - you're not going to be getting a full 600gph out of it by the time the water is pushed up and around a few bends. I have ~30x turnover on my 90g and wish I had a bit more. It's all in how you direct it - see if you can play with yours a little; bounce flow off the wall, or direct a powerhead into the area of strongest flow, direct it towards the surface, or a large rock, you get the idea. If you do discover that you need to slow the flow a bit, you can use a ball valve to dial back the flow without harming the pump. You should never restrict flow going into the pump, but it's not at all harmful to reduce flow on the other side (I wrote to the company and asked). edit --> I agree with the above - if you're directing that much flow through your sump, it may be too much; I was assuming this was something like a closed loop. My Mag 9.5 pumps water at about 350gph (figuring in head loss and how far it's dialed back) through a filter sock, three baffles and a huge wad of chaeto in the 30g sump - all three of which prevent any bubbles from re-entering the tank. __________________ "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen Current Tank Info: 150g mixed reef, 30g sump/refugium, LED lighting, 100lbs LR, coral beauty, flame angel, blue & yellow tangs, gobies, damsels, 6-line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, dottyback, clown pair, rabbitfish, shrimp, crabs, CUC.

12/06/2007, 12:39 AM	#5
mg426 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: maryland Posts: 6,923	You might need to add a power head for in tank flow. My philosophy is ...Flow in the tank is good, but trying to run it all through the sump will most likely result in problems Thats my thoughts as well. __________________ I found a way to make a small fortune running a reef tank. Start with a large fortune. Unofficial President of the SEACLONE haters club Current Tank Info: 125 mixed reef 110 lbs LR, 1x250watt XM 20K MH 2x175watt XM 20K MH on Magetics 2X96 watt actinic PC, 220 watt VHO actinic, 30 gallon refugium, closed loop system powered by Sequence Dart MSX 200 skimmer 38 gallon sump, Oceansmotions squirt

12/05/2007, 11:29 PM	#4
KErickson978 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 107	Thanks for the information, right now its yeah... way to small.. its a ten gallon tank transformed into a sump.. i am almost done building a much larger sump out of a 55 gallon long tank, with about 20 gallons saved for the refugium area. i hope this is a large enough sump for a larger display. and the actual gph of the mag 9.5 was around 700 but the 90 degree elbows and such brought it down to about 600. so i guess i need to get a ball valve? would this set up (pump size and gph) be enough for a 50 gallon reef? or would that not be enough flow then and powerheads may be needed?

12/06/2007, 11:43 PM	#6
KErickson978 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 107	thanks for the info everyone it helps and everything is seeming to be gettin used to the new flow rate.