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06-20-2008, 08:47 PM
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#1 (permalink)
| | Plankton
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 1
Karma: 1
 |  Sump return pump to powerful
Hi, very new to the hobby... first saltwater tank and have a quick question.
I have a 35 gal display tank with a 20 gallon sump/fuge below. I'm using the diy overflow described in this thread. All my plumbing is with 1" pvc.
Now for my problem...
The pump (a rio 1700) is too powerful and will suck the area it has in the sump dry in less than a minute.
What can I do to fix this?
Last edited by mat4020; 06-20-2008 at 08:55 PM.
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06-20-2008, 09:34 PM
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#2 (permalink)
| | Corkscrew Tentacle Anemone
Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: West Chester, Pa Age: 23
Posts: 728
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the only thing that I could think of is that you could increase the size of your overflow, if you allow more water to overflow, your pump would not dry up. How big is your tank?
_________
Equipment: 55 gal, Remora Skimmer w/ maxi jet 1200 pump, 4x54w T5 lighting, 2 super actinics, 2 12,000K actinic white bulbs, 55+ lbs fiji live rock...
Inhabitants: Ocellaris Clownfish, Yellow Tailed Damsel, Six Line Wrasse, Yellow Watchman Goby, 3 Chromis, Crocea Clam, Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
Corals: Zoas, Yellow Fiji Leather, Pineapple Brain, Frogspawn, Pearl Bubble, Blastomussa Merleti, Monti, GSP, Green Psammacora | |
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06-20-2008, 09:38 PM
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#3 (permalink)
| | Giant Squid
Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Miami, FL Age: 39
Posts: 4,561
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Or install a ball valve after the RP. Luna _________ 9YR OLD 90G/55g custom sump/refug Mag18 Aquac 180skimmer 692w MH AC jr,yel&kole tang,midas&convict blenny,B&G chromies,Blk/yel fin chromie blackcap,nemo,neon goby,6line; Blastomussa Merleti,Acan ,BUBBLE,Torch,LTA, Acropora(2) Moon, assort zoas, yel& G star polyps, P&B ricordia, montiporas, cup&candy corals, xenias,B/G mush,flower ane(2), cherry red mussa, dusters,cleaning crew..  | |
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06-20-2008, 11:16 PM
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#4 (permalink)
| | Torch Coral
Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: valencia,pa. Age: 35
Posts: 1,165
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get a smaller pump.that pumps 3 times too fast.i had a 1200gph pump on a 55gallon display and 29 gallon sump and i had rocks blowing around my tank.a big sandy mess.
_________
55 gallon reef with 4x54 watt t5,29 gallon sump,red monti cap,1blue echinophyllia,trumpet,red lobo,2 toadstools 1purple and 1neon,gsp,xenia and yellow xenia,red ,many mushrooms,2 giant frilly shrooms,cabbage coral,yellow polyps,many zoos,1 orange and one neon green nepthia,duncans,cladiella | |
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06-20-2008, 11:21 PM
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#5 (permalink)
| | Fire Worm
Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Portland, Oregon Age: 25
Posts: 165
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I have a 1" overflow & 3/4 return. My return pump is a RIO 2500, WAY TOO BIG FOR MY OVER FLOW!
I had to cut it down to about 60% with a ball valve so my overflow could keep up.
One thing I did that helped a bit was switch from soft lines on my return to hard. The barbed fittings for the soft lines only had a inside diameter of 5/8" where as the fittings on the hard PVC line had a full 1" ID diameter. _________ 36 Gallon Bowfront Mixed Reef Tank
Started on May, 17th 2008
My Tank Build
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06-21-2008, 12:04 AM
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#6 (permalink)
| | Banned
Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: rocklin
Posts: 907
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i would put come sort of a restriction on the pump, or get another overflow. more gallons per hour is always good  | |
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06-21-2008, 03:53 AM
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#7 (permalink)
| | Aiptasia Anemone
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 574
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nemo1991  i would put come sort of a restriction on the pump, or get another overflow. more gallons per hour is always good | more gph is bad. You don't want more water flowing through your sump than your skimmer can process. 3-5 times the tank volume per hour is where you want to be. If your skimmer only processes 250 gph and you are running 600 through the sump you are sending dirty water back into the display. One person shouldn't be trying to get their flow from their sump return. 
_________
2 systems #1 55 gal softie/lps, 70 lbs LR, black sand, too many corals to list, w/ 4x96 watt pc, 2 seio 1100 pumps, diy rubbermaid sump with custom skimmer.
#2 50 gal sps/clam tank, 60 lbs LR, Bare Bottom, acropora dominant, with 2 x 175 watt 10K SE hamiltons and 1x 96 watt pc actinic, CLS powered by reeflo snapper (Tank has approx 60 times flow rate), coast to coast overflow, Lifereef Calcium Reactor w/ ph controller, and custom skimmer. | |
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06-21-2008, 05:10 AM
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#8 (permalink)
| | Torch Coral
Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Baltimore, MD Age: 47
Posts: 1,173
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I agree, get yourself a new pump and save yourself the trouble...JMO  _________ 72 gallon bowed 150lbs LR 60 lbs LS
2 Percs
1 Chevron Tang
Hippo Tang
Six Line Wrasse
Coral Banded Shrimp
Cleaner Shrimp
Starry Blenny
4 Lyretail Anthias
Long Polyp Toadstool
Montipora
Long Tentacle Anenome
Short tentacle plate
Pulsing Xenia
Green Star polyps
Frogspawn
29 gallon
2 Clown
1 Coral Beauty
1 Fairy Wrasse
24 FOWLR
Dwarf Lion
125 gallon African Cichlid Tank http://home.comcast.net/~pizzal/index.html 
"The more you learn, the more acutely aware you become of your ignorance" | |
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06-21-2008, 07:47 AM
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#9 (permalink)
| | Gigas Clam
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 870
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why spend all that money put a ball valve on it and slow it down. Wont hurt the pump and allot less expensive.... _________ I was always taught to respect my elders, but it keeps getting harder to find one.
Every morning is the dawn of a new error.
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
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06-21-2008, 08:15 AM
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#10 (permalink)
| | Vlamingii Tang
Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: joliet,il Age: 41
Posts: 1,895
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your pump is about 650 gph and for your tank thats about 18x/hr, you could put a valve inline with the outflow to minimize the flow. or switch out the pump with another one being used in a different spot.
_________
just one little sps frag tank with lots of goodies | |
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