nycmat

nYo
Rating - 98.2%
55   1   0
I Have A Question Or Two Regarding This.

I Bring Down Approximately 1200 Gph From My Returns

There Is A Pump That Returns At A Rate Of 3500gph.

My Current Return Pump Is 1510 Gph. Used For Only A Return And Burns 180watts

Ion That Pump With The 3500gph. It Only Uses A 135 Watts And At 1/4hp

So Those Are The Facts Here Are The Questions
:

Which One Uses Electricity Less And If It Is The 3500 Then How Does It Operate At Such A High Level With Less Elec. And How Can I Use This To Set Up My System?

Why Do They Show The 1/4 Hp When I Think It Is The Watts That Counts?

Am I Right About Any Of This??

Matt
 

pecan2phat

Professional Commuter
Location
Wallingford, CT
Rating - 100%
85   0   0
You need to look at pumps in terms of application such as pressure rated or circulation.

Circulation pumps are good for closed loops or for a short return from a sump such as 4-6 feet of head pressure.
Pressure rated pumps are for powering skimmers, returns where there is a substantial height involved such as basement sumps, or where there is any decent amount of resistance such as running your return through a chiller coil. With pressure rated pumps, you'll stay closer to the manufacturer's rated gph than if you used a circulation pump.
Here's an example:
I use an Ampmaster 2100 rated at 2500 gph @ 3ft, after I plumbed this to two sea-swirls as the return and also tee'd to a EV-120 skimmer, I had roughly 600 gph coming through each sea-swirl.
When I put a chiller in line through one of the returns, the gph dropped to about 300 gph from each sea-swirl. So in this case, the chiller is highly restrictive and robs this pump of a good amount of gph.

Large circulation pumps such as the smaller ampmaster and reeflo lines pump a large amount of water but use smaller amounts of electricty than an Iwaki because they are low RPM pumps, they also run a bit cooler.
 

nycmat

nYo
Rating - 98.2%
55   1   0
so then it would be safe to do the following if wanted to:

3500 GPH pump tee it off to a skimmer-- if i dont get the asm 4 (pending trip to denver to watch my broncos with my kid in the playoffs)

tee it again to a chiller and

tee it again for my return. would this still be able to run everything with a skimmer that demands 1000gph ??

this also would save a lot on electricity wouldnt i? i would eliminate a mag 9 and a genx pcx 40 and reduce the return pump by over 150watts.

thanks matt
 

kimoyo

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 100%
26   0   0
nycmat said:
so then it would be safe to do the following if wanted to:
Like pecan said, it depends.

It depends on what pump you are thinking about using. For example, the ampmaster's flow reduces considerable when the piping size goes down or alot of head pressure is placed on it. So all the pipe splits have to add up to the same volume capacity as a 1.5" pipe. For example, I need two 3/4" pipes to get almost the same capacity as one 1" pipe.

It also depends on your skimmer. If you skimmer is a recirculating design then it won't matter. But if you skimmer needs a pressure rated pump then you need a pump that will give the correct flow at a specific head pressure.

Most chillers will add a few feet of head. So again you have to see what the pump can handle.

You could added up all the feet in pressure, match pipe size and flow and see what the flow of that pump will be and maybe it can work.
 
Last edited:

GQ22

Senior Member
Location
Jersey City
Rating - 100%
29   0   0
can someone please explain why my impeller keeps breaking? 120 long iwaki 40rlxt, and two over flows with the floating tubular thing in each. I had an impeller for 1 yr and it broke, and just bought another and it seems to have broke again, my pump is operating at 33% of what it was a month ago. Should i take out the floaters to allow more down flow through my overflow? can this be causing the problem?
 

loismustdie

chicks dig beckett men
Location
Brooklyn
Rating - 100%
31   0   0
I did a lot of research on teeing skimmers into mian pumps. It was strongly advised that you don't do this due to inconsistency and very little skimming. Skimmers need dedicated pumps. When I set up my tank, I bought a Euro Reef rated for 180 gallon tanks. Since I still had an ETSS skimmer, I tee'd it in anyway. 5800 gph was too much for my sump and DSB to handle, so I was able to divert 500 gph to the ETSS and 300 GPH to my chiller. Minus head pressure, my tank gets 4000 from the sequence and 1100 gph from a blueline 1100. ETSS skimmers are downdraft skimmers and probably your best choice to tee into. There are no venturis blocking flow and there is no head pressure. The ETSS skimmer is very inconsistant and produces very little skimmate, but I leave it up since it's not costing me any electricity to run and it is backed up by a Euro Reef that easily handles my tank. I hope that answers your question on teeing in a skimmer.
 

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