Ok, so if you havent read my other post on the New Reefkeepers form, heres a quick overview of my situation.
i have an empty 20gal (90L) tank that i wanted to keep a reef in. But after much research and a lenghty chat with a couple of different marine stockists they suggested that i started with as big as i could go, and since a 48" tank wont fit in my room, im customising and getting a 40"x20"x12" 40Gallon tank made. which then leaves me with an empty 20gal tank and all its accessories; heater, air pump, eheim ecco 2231 filter and so on.
after looking in to it a bit more i have decided to use the 20gal as a sump and feed the sump using the Eheim to pre-filter any nasties, dumping its out-flow into the sump, the sump will have a 3"-4" dsb of live sand and then a baffled section for a adequate sized protein skimmer to be placed, this then moving over to a pump for return to the tank.........heres where i became stuck. Im am totally unsure of the eheims turn over rate. When i bought it, it came with a ready packed 'custom' system put together by my lfs for a freshie tank, its done its job darn well in the freshie so i didnt worry about the turn over rate untill now. What liters/hr (gal/hr) pump would i need for the return pump?? would a simple 800lph pump do the trick, or leave the sump high and dry through lack of input from the eheim??
i have an empty 20gal (90L) tank that i wanted to keep a reef in. But after much research and a lenghty chat with a couple of different marine stockists they suggested that i started with as big as i could go, and since a 48" tank wont fit in my room, im customising and getting a 40"x20"x12" 40Gallon tank made. which then leaves me with an empty 20gal tank and all its accessories; heater, air pump, eheim ecco 2231 filter and so on.
after looking in to it a bit more i have decided to use the 20gal as a sump and feed the sump using the Eheim to pre-filter any nasties, dumping its out-flow into the sump, the sump will have a 3"-4" dsb of live sand and then a baffled section for a adequate sized protein skimmer to be placed, this then moving over to a pump for return to the tank.........heres where i became stuck. Im am totally unsure of the eheims turn over rate. When i bought it, it came with a ready packed 'custom' system put together by my lfs for a freshie tank, its done its job darn well in the freshie so i didnt worry about the turn over rate untill now. What liters/hr (gal/hr) pump would i need for the return pump?? would a simple 800lph pump do the trick, or leave the sump high and dry through lack of input from the eheim??
