how many gph should my sump pum be??

[badger]

I have a 65 gallon aquarium with a sump/fuge. How many gph should my pump be??? I am getting alot of micro bubbles coming from the pump and was wondering if the pump may be too big and what size I should go down too! I currently have a rio 2100 thats rated at 697 gph at sealevel! It operates under abou 1.5 ft of water! Any info would be great. could the rio just be bad and making micro bubbles because there is a problem with it! I know the bubbles are coming from the pump cause the fuge has no bubbles in it thanks

[Phurst]

It depends on what size drain line you have. A 1" drain will handle 600GPH at the very best. It's certainly possible your pump is cavitating and causing bubbles. How is everything set up? Is the pump just sitting in the sump? Honestly, Rio pumps have a pretty bad reputation.

[badger]

yeah its just sitting on the bottom. havent been very pleased with the rio what are some brands you would recommend?

[Phurst]

I've always used Mag pumps and have no complaints. Eheim and Quiet One have good reutations as well.

[Iron E]

I've heard a lot of good things about Eheim, Mag Drive and Ocean Runner.

This is a good place to get a good overview:

Submersible Aquarium Pumps and Powerheads (http://www.aquacave.com/Submersible%20Pumps%20Catalog.aspx)

[badger]

might take a look at the mag!! Thanks! But 600 gph at sea level should be pleanty right??? I dont want the water to pass through the fuge to quickly either

[CarmieJo]

I think that 600 gph should be fine. You will loose some of that rate due to head loss.

[Iron E]

600 gph, in theory, should be sufficient for filtering but a couple of strategically placed powerheads will create turbulence and currents which would be very beneficial in circulating the water through the LR and keep debris suspended until it can be carried off by the overflow/drain/skimmer.

[badger]

i have one additional korila power head and i think i am going to get another one

[CarmieJo]

I think that another Koralia is a good idea. In my 54 I am pushing 550 gph through the sump and have an additional 1500 gph of powerheads in my DT.

[Karate Joe]

i have a 100 gal tank with 55 gal sump under and have the ehiem pump at 900 gph plus korila 2 and 3. my overflow is cpr 150. sump is really noisy tho and my overflow makes gurgling sounds. think im pushing too much water?

[rayme07]

Hi Joe Welcome to TR.

Your flow should be perfect for your 100 gallon tank. Do you have any fish or corals in it yet. If so how are they reacting. That is how you can tell the first sign that there is to much flow. Fish would be hiding, corals would be closing. If none of that is occurring than you have good flow. :)

[Phurst]

The flow itself seems to be fine, but i think your return pump is overpowered. What size, and how many drains do you have? There's no need to put as much volume as you can through the sump. lower return rates and more in-tank flow are the way to go.

[Karate Joe]

thanks. i've had my coral and fish for about yr and half is a 55 gal with no sump. i just upgraded to to 100 gal and used 55 as sump. everything is doing great but before my evap was about a gallon a week. now i'm noticing i evap about a gallon and half a day. is there anyway to avoid that much evap? hi phurst, i have cpr 150 as overflow box which is rated at 1500 gal max and ehiem 1262 at 900 gph with about 4 ft of head. i figure i'm pumping about 600 gph plus my koreala 2 and 3. thanks again.

[Phurst]

Throwing a sump intot he mix definitely increases evaporation, since there's lots more surface area. Evap is a pain, but it's good for keeping temps down, and you know you're getting good gas exchange :)