Too much?

[Ratpack]

Just wondering if you folks think a Sequence Hammerhead will be too much for a 75g tank? I plan several outlets throughout the tank to add plenty of flow. It just seems cheaper to do a Hammerhead instead of a smaller pump and an Oceans Motion device. Thoughts?

[scubadude]

Well thats alot of flow for a 75g heres the flow chart for that pump

Flow Chart:
Foot Head/ GPH:
4' / 5550
8' / 5050
12' / 4350
16' / 3600
20' / 2400

Chances are that you are gonna be around 4' of head so thats 5550 GPH so thats turning over your total tank volume around 74x's per hour....Thats alot...I would say its too much ...UNLESS you where multitasking with the pump...like T it off and supply some of that power to a skimmer, otherwise I think you are getting too much pump for that tank. I say something in the 3000gph or even a little less would be preferable.

[Ratpack]

Thanks Rocky, I have pretty much came to that same conclusion after discussion yesterday. I am in discussions now with Reeflo about what I would get out of a pump with the piping I plan to run so we will see which pump I end up with. I have even started thinking right now of running 2 Darts or Snappers, one for each side of the tank and have them on a timer to turn one side on at a time. Depends on what they tell me about if it is OK to cycle the power on those pumps or not.

[scubadude]

Depends on what they tell me about if it is OK to cycle the power on those pumps or not.

Now your talking....I would be interested in hearing what you find out.

[scooterman]

That is a little much, you would have to tweak it a good bit, try the Dart or the SW4200 from sequence, love it.

[Ratpack]

That is a little much, you would have to tweak it a good bit, try the Dart or the SW4200 from sequence, love it.

Which one do you have, what size tank and is it closed loop? Any photos?

Thanks!

[scooterman]

I have a SW4200 series, slightly more gph than the dart, It is on a MBV & have a header that switches according to the PLC I use to control it.

[Samper]

You could still use that pump. Put your refugium above the display and have the pump feed into it as well. All you will need is a drilled refugium.

[Ratpack]

Well, I am going with the Dart. I talked to a guy that has a 75g with a Snapper and he said it is plenty for his tank and it is SPS dominant, so I think I will save the extra cost for the pump as well as energy cost and go with the Dart and spend the saved money on something else.

[golfish]

How about the Barracuda? Better on the electric bill and pretty good head pressure. Got to love the Baldor motors...what ever MDM pump you go with I'd make sure it has the Baldor motor.

[Ratpack]

How about the Barracuda? Better on the electric bill and pretty good head pressure. Got to love the Baldor motors...what ever MDM pump you go with I'd make sure it has the Baldor motor.

I thought about the Barracuda as well, but I am afraid now it may be too much as well. For the SPS, it would be fine, but for any LPS, it may be too much unless I can split it out a lot.

[golfish]

I thought about the Barracuda as well, but I am afraid now it may be too much as well. For the SPS, it would be fine, but for any LPS, it may be too much unless I can split it out a lot.

RP, the cuda's a medium pressure rated pump so tweaking it down with a ball\gate valve isn't going to hurt. The only reason I would suggest it over the Dart would be that you might need the extra pressure\gph on down the line, say to tee off for an external skimmer, chiller or when you upgrade tank size...IME, the Baldor motor is the deal maker (The Dart doesn't use a Baldor). The "bad" is your going to be using twice the juice with the cuda compared to the Dart.

[Ratpack]

Thanks golfish, did not know the Dart was not a Baldor motor. I think you are probably right. I think I would rather have the ability to get more flow and not need it than to not have it and have to run powerheads in the tank to add it or buy another pump. The higher pressure and gph will also help with what I saw yesterday that I think I will do and that is run a spraybar around the entire top perimeter of the tank with multiple outlets. That way I can put loc-lines on each outlet and adjust flow to where I need it. This was a suggestion that Calfo made and it makes sense. When you need to change flow, you can without having to replumb.

[rjs5134]

Funny we all have the same things running through our heads. Not to hijack the thread, but would it be a bad idea to split the return pump to the skimmer and the tank? Right now the skimmer is run from a pump in the supply side of the sump, the alternative would be skimming water from the return side. I know it was not recommended, but would it really make a huge difference? It would allow me to use a barracude to run the return with multiple outlets and the MR-2 skimmer with a much better pump than the current Mag-18.

Thanks.

[scubadude]

would it be a bad idea to split the return pump to the skimmer and the tank?

Thats what im doing on my pump right now...it shares circulation from the sump/fuge to main tank as the main pump as well as powering my large Geo beckett skimmer, and I still have to throttle it back.

[charlie]

What gph does your skimmer require to function properly? That would be my only question. I just switched over to Sequence pumps, I am impressed!!!!! They are really quiet too.

[rjs5134]

Charlie, I have an MR-2 skimmer. The pumps they recommend are around 1500-1750gph. That would leave around 2,000gph for the return. Probably too much to put through the sump, but maybe I could step that down a bit.

[charlie]

I am running 4500 thru my sump. May be a little to much, but it seems to be working.

[rjs5134]

After sleeping on this Charlie, I think I can make it work. If I ran the Dart on the skimmer at about 2,000gph the balance, 1600gph+/- will run through the sump. I think it can handle that. It's about a 15 gallon sump and right now it handles about 600-700gph and that seems like nothing. I would imagine your sump is a little bit bigger than myne.

I may even be able to run the whole Dart on the skimmer, not really sure. Right now I have a Mag 18 running one injector(beckett). If I added the second injector I could really get things cranking.

Oh well, I bigger problems to conquer right now with water chemistry, but that's in another thread.

Thanks for the input.

[golfish]

After sleeping on this Charlie, I think I can make it work. If I ran the Dart on the skimmer at about 2,000gph the balance, 1600gph+/- will run through the sump. I think it can handle that. It's about a 15 gallon sump and right now it handles about 600-700gph and that seems like nothing. I would imagine your sump is a little bit bigger than myne.

I may even be able to run the whole Dart on the skimmer, not really sure. Right now I have a Mag 18 running one injector(beckett). If I added the second injector I could really get things cranking.

Oh well, I bigger problems to conquer right now with water chemistry, but that's in another thread.

Thanks for the input.

rjs5134,
The Dart is a low pressure rated pump, Once you start reducing the output the GPH drops really fast on this pump. I wouldn't use a Dart to run a Becketts head and return. It might work but one sides going to be real weak.