How strong should the return from the sump be?

[fedlund]

How strong should the return from the sump be?

The water in my sump needs to rise 1.5 meters.

are there any standards?

my tank is 260 liters and i expect my sump to hold about 35 liters.

any suggestions?

 

[ChrisRD]

There are different schools of thought on this. I prefer a medium to low flow through the sump because it's quieter and allows detritus to settle out in the sump where it's easy to reach for regular syphoning.

I think the normal recommendation is about 5X-10X of the main tank volume, so in your case, that is 1300-2600 lph. Personally, I'd stay on the low side of that, maybe even a bit lower.

Keep in mind that depending on what size plumbing you use and your layout, the pump will be up against about 2m of head pressure, so pick a pump that gives you the flow rate you want @ 2m of head or so (rough guideline). Most of the time the flow rate indicated for the pump is at 0 or very low head and can be deceiving.

JMO & HTH

 

[Anonymous]

Assuming you have other ways of generating enough flow within the tank, the turnover through the sump does not need to be very high at all.

 

[fedlund]

yeah its only about the reteurn from the sump to the tank, I have powerheads for the tank. I am just hesitant as to what pump to buy as a return.

 

[SnowManSnow]

i don't know if someone said it... but make SURE your pump doesn't return more than your overflow can drain.... or you'll have a big mess

b

 

[ChrisRD]

Good point Snow! :wink: