Question about overflow amount return GPH with skimmer in sump..

Hey guys I wasnt sure what to post this under..so i just went General..lol Here is my question.. I want to upgrade from an aquaC remora HOB, to a Kent Natuilus TE...I have the nautilus now, and I have a mag 7 that is going to be on it...problem is, I dont know how much water is going to have to flow to it, and how fast it should be pumped back into the tank.. If i have a mag 7 on the skimmer, does the return pump need to be smaller or bigger? How big of an overflow should I get? Please someone with knowledge on this matter help!

 

The skimmer pump should have nothing to do with the return pump. The skimmer is just a closed system, water flows in, then out, unless you have the return on the skimmer being sent somewhere else besides the sump.

 

no...just back into the sump is where its gonna go....so i should just get a overflow and return of working size to each other then is what your saying and it doesnt matter?

 

ok so say i buy a mag 9....how much gph should my overflow box be rated?

 

First decide how much turnover you want through your sump. For the sake of argument lets go with 10X, so on a 125 that would be 1250 gallons per hour.

Next find a return pump that produces that flow at the rated head for your setup. Say for example it is 4' straight shot from your sump to your display tank, you will need a pump that is rated 1250 GPH @ 4' head.

Finally you will need an overflow that is rated at your pump output plus some head room. In this example something 1500 GPH or so should suffice.

 

this isnt going to be my main sump...i already have that...this is going to just be specifially to hold this skimmer and another filter sock..and thats it..i'm not worried about it being the size for my whole tank..i'm not worried about flow i just want it to work and not run dry..

 

Kevin3884, I think GuitarMan89 answered your question correctly--the size of your overflow is not linked in any way to the size of your skimmer's pump.

For example, say you run a main return pump from your sump back to your display tank at a rate of 1000 GPH. At this point you have no skimmer. The wate level in your sump is maintained by baffles, and to an extent, by the rate of your return pump.

Now let's say that you put a protein skimmer in your already running sump. The pump on your protein skimmer could be 2000 GPH if you wanted it to be, with no need to change or increase the main return pump. Why is this? As GuitarMan89 said, the skimmer is on a closed loop. Water enters, water flows out. This will not change the level of the water in the sump. Of course, the day you add the skimmer, you must add enough additional water to the system to account for the skimmer's capacity.

Hope that clarified things for you.

 

gotcha so now I just gotta get an overflow and return pump that is compatible...thanks for the claification