Jokes on me!!

[nayotte]

Okay, so I just bought a 220gallon. The tank is drilled with corner overflows. Each overflow has a one inch bulkhead and a one inch return. I even had my LFS call the company and ask what size the bulkheads would be before I bought the tank. I brought this up to my LFS. He said the tank should be designed to work properly. The tank at its best can only drain 1200 gph?? So now that the tank is full and running my overflows dont come close to keeping up with my pump. Isn't it common knowledge that a reef tank should turnover at least 10 times per hour. Why would any manufacturer build a tank that couldn't handle this requirement? Do all the large tank owners out there drill their own tanks? Or do you all use overflows? I'm venting but also looking for advice/help. The best I have come up with is to use all four holes to supply my sump then just build a different return hanging off the back. Do any of you have this same tank, what do you do?

[Harleyguy]

That's what I did with a tank I had like this; I used both holes as drains, and came over the top for my returns. This will effectively give you twice the flow. You may have to adjust the teeth on the overflow to handle the extra flow in. Hope this helps.

[Elliott]

1200 gph is over 5 x turnover per hour, that's perfectly fine for your sump, should be 2-5 x per hour. you don't want too much flow through your sump. less flow means more contact time, better gas exchange, more effective sump!

just crank down the return pump a little

[Harleyguy]

What you could do is use one corner as the drain to the sump and the other corner as a drain for a closed loop.. just a thought..

[Elliott]

Originally posted by Harleyguy
What you could do is use one corner as the drain to the sump and the other corner as a drain for a closed loop.. just a thought..

overflows don't do well in cl's since they limit the high flow that is desired. they are relatively low flow which works well for sumps. for a cl it's better to have dedicated bulkheads which can handle high flow

[nayotte]

Hmmm, maybe I will use three of the four holes as drains and one hole for a return. That should give me 1800gph. Still not the 10x turnover rate though. My sump has nothing in it, it is only a tote holding my skimmer, heater, and pump. The LFStores around here all say the more flow the better. So I don't think slow flow through my sump would do me any good but I don't know. Is there a way to figure what size hole drilled is appropriate for a return based on certain gallons per hour overflow?

[Elliott]

more flow the better in the display, but not in your sump

[nayotte]

Originally posted by Elliott
more flow the better in the display, but not in your sump

Right, so can I create the flow in the tank with multiple powerheads. My only filtration is live rock/sand and a skimmer.

[ricks]

Drill the back of your tank for intake bulkheads. Drill the top for waveysea, or seaswirls returns, or for a CL. Use the 4 returns for the sump a middle flow pump like the Dart, for the return to the top of the tank.

Remember you don't want any holes lower than the back flow of your tank.. otherwise when the power goes out, your reef goes dry. Y check valves don't count...

Happy Reefing

[nayotte]

Did some experimenting today. I took three of the four durso stand pipes out of my corner overflows. Kept one return. Wow did the water flow fast, finally. The three drains actually were able to keep up with my pump, which is only a magdrive 1200. In order to quiet the water in the overflow I added a one durso pipe at a time. I'm about to give up on this darn tank. The water doesn't drain fast enough unless the durso stand pipes are taken out. What do I do? My corals are in limbo in a 55 gal holding tank. I have been waiting on parts, and messing with this tank too long. Can this work without drilling the tank?

[am3gross]

do like said before and just turn down your return pump. you should have a ball valve on your return anyways for when you do maintenace on the pump. you dont want alot of flow threw the sump so that your skimmer will skim the water better. i have the aga 210. the return is not going to be near close what you need for the flow of the tank. i have 2 modded mjs, 2 1100 seios, and a tunze powerhead in mine and i still think i need more. if you dont want the look of power heads in the tank then you will have to get it drilled for a closed loop of some sort.

[am3gross]

where are you from? if you want to sell and are close enough i may be interested!!

[gary faulkner]

Elliott has given you the best possible advice.

Even your LFS said the tank will function properly.

More research on your part, and you will find that 1200 GPH is all you need for this tank through the sump.

Total flow in the display can't and shouldn't be run through the sump.

You either need powerheads or a closed loop to finish out the required flow.

Hope this helps.

[saltysupply]

IMO you don't need 10x turnover in your display...save the flow for powerheads or closed loop...I usually do 5x

[nayotte]

Thanks ALL. I got the tank running nice now with my two 1" drains and two returns. I think I'm going to put a larger pump however which I think will increase the pressure resulting in more current in my tank. I have pics of the setup here. http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1270395

[RayAllen]

In my 210g sump I have a mag 12 return pump dialed way down because of the same reason, but I get plenty of turnover in the sump and tank with the use of Hydor Koralias #4's.

[mrcrab]

I've got a 350 gallon and designed it so that the returns would only 1500 gph. The flow in the tank is generated by 4 vortechs.

As stated you want more contact time in the sump for the skimmer etc. with raw water going to the skimmer first.

[gnrlee]

Most of your turnover should come in the form of powerheads, wavemakers, etc. If we want to break it down. Technically if your skimmer, for example, only skimms 300 gallons an hour, that should be the only flow going from your sump to your display. There is nothing gained by draining and returning dirty uncleaned water back to your aquarium.