Return pump ?

S

Shaun Mack

New member
Hi,

I'm setting up a 75 gallon reef ready tank. I have a Reef Octopus NWB 150
Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer it has an output of approx. 530 gph.

Should my return pump match the output of the skimmer ?
 
Your return pump doesn't have to match your skimmer pump. The usual rule of thumb for return pumps is 10x your total volume of water, so every hour you are turning your water over 10 times, for aerating and filtering, alot of people go under that, but see how your tank does. So for example, you'll need a pump rated at 750gal/hr, depending on how high your tank is, you might need a stronger pump, because the flow rate decreases with height.
 
If I were you try to get the highest gph that your overflow can handle. The higher the turnover rate the better. But if you are shooting for around 10x you might want it a little higher than 750, just because it will lose power even at 1ft off the ground
 
Go with Eheim 1260 or 1262,they are not cheap but will last you forever and they don't have start up issues like some other models.
 
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