[king_neptune]

hi all was wondering what you all thought on a decent pump for a 55 gallon plexi , its drilled with two drains on each end and a duel bulkhead in the middle
this will be going in to a life reef sump. the guy i got it from said a mag 7 was weak for it . so thats why i am asking any feed back appreciated

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by king_neptune

hi all was wondering what you all thought on a decent pump for a 55 gallon plexi , its drilled with two drains on each end and a duel bulkhead in the middle
this will be going in to a life reef sump. the guy i got it from said a mag 7 was weak for it . so thats why i am asking any feed back appreciated

Well, it all depends on what kind of circulation you want/need for this tank. The larger the return pump, the faster the water will flow down to the sump and be returned... On my 50 (which is not drilled/plumbed, it has an overflow box) I use a rio 2500 which is rated at 748gph, and the mag 7 is rated at 700gph..... I'm pretty happy with mine, but if I was running it as an sps or lps tank, I would want bigger. Also, bear in mind that the gph rating is measured at 0' height, so going from under the tank up to the top to return is going to considerably reduce the actual gph.

[Reefland]

What size are the drain holes and do you plan to use a durso pipe in it?

Personally for a 55 gallon tank, I would think a Mag 9 would do the trick. It's not just how much flow can the drains and tank handle, but the sump as well. One of the major challenges with a sump is the diffusion on micro bubbles before the section with the return pump. Running too much flow through a sump makes this impossible.

[king_neptune]

they are 1 inch drains and i have a ton of softies thats why i got the tank i run 400 xms and i have had really big growth spurts so i need to set this one up for a frag grow out basicly havnt thought about duroso tube yet for the noise right? ill look into it just trying to get the pump and whatever else i need for it

ill be running vho on this one have life reef 2000 sump and in sump skimmer tank stand . thanx sueet/reefland .

[Reefland]

Yup the durso's are for noise, or noise reduction rather.

I think the Mag 9 would be a safe bet, Mag 12 with a ball valve on the output if you want to try it.

[kevinpo]

I would use a Mag 12 with a ball valve. The overflows will handle the full volume no problem. The sump throughput however might cause micro bubbles to enter your tank (reason for the ball valve).
You seem successful and likely have an upgrade in your future so a bigger pump is always a good thing

Regards,
Kevin

[malawiMD]

Just out of curiosity, what are micro bubbles?

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by malawiMD

Just out of curiosity, what are micro bubbles?

lol, they are a pain in the @$$ ..... They are exactly what they're called... teensy tiny little bubbles that, while not actually harming your tank, tend to make the water look unclear, not quite cloudy, but not the crystal clarity most people like salt-water for. They really don't hurt anything..... just look bad. (well, I suppose if you had your whole tank filled with them it might affect how deep the light can penetrate, but that's not usually the issue)