Please help! Sump Pump question!

[Reef Reaper]

Dear fellow reefer,

I have a broodstock system with 4 breeder parent's tank, 3 larvae tanks and 1 growout tank with a 30 gallon sump on the bottom. The pump I have now is not powerful enough to give a nice return flow of water into some of the tanks. My question is can I just add another water pump to the sump or do I have to get a whole new pump. I now have a quiet one 3000 in a loop to the top 4 tanks, then the 3 and then the one. I need more flow to the bottom one. Thanks for the help!

 

[shmibly]

If the pump is powerful enough to return some flow to every tank, why not just get some ball valves to put on on the loop before the returns to the first tank, so that way there will be more flow to go around? Not sure if your set up will allow that.

 

[Reef Reaper]

Dear shmibly,

I got ball valves for each tank, and adjusted each accordingly, but still not enough flow to the bottom tanks. I just want to know if I can use a pvc t schedule 40 pipe. One end going to the tanks and the other two for the water pumps.

 

[shmibly]

I have tried that before, with two separate pumps, you will get back flow through the t into one of the pumps, because it is likely that one will be more powerful than the other. I burnt out a pump this way. I found using one powerful pump is less of a headache.

 

[Reef Reaper]

I guess I will try first. If not I guess I will split the system into separate system. thanks!

 

[thirty5]

you can use Another pump but don't plumb it into the other one. have that jump feed just the lower tanks...

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Reef Reaper]

I think that is what I am going to do. create two systems into one sump. thanks