New Tank Setup!

[Mjoyner]

Hi everyone!

I’m new to the forum and wanted to share my new setup I’ve been working on. I just water tested today to make sure the plumbing works properly, so far it works well.

My main issue is flow rate - I was shooting for 400 ish GPH after head pressure, however I think I’m getting around 180-200. I have 4 ft. vertical lift and five 90 degree elbows. At 9 ft head pressure my return pump should be putting out around 600 GPH, but I have to run my pump at 30% power since if I do anything above that it runs dry. That’s 4x flow rate an hour for the tank which from what I’m seeing isn’t terrible, and with the wave maker I can get more flow. I plan on having seahorses and I’ve seen that they should have flow closer to 10x so hopefully this will be enough. I think eventually I’ll upgrade my overflow so that I can increase the power on my pump.

I’d love any advice y’all can provide for any potential improvements, I have my equipment listed below as well as pics and a vid:

Tank size: 45 gal
Sump: 10 gal Aqueon with custom baffles
Return pump: Nautilus DC1600
Overflow: Eshopps PF-800
Plumbing: Schedule 80, 1” for overflow and 3/4” on return, gate valve and check valve
Return nozzle: oc-Line w/ dual flare nozzles
Wave maker: Ecotech MP10
Skimmer: Tunze 9001
Light: AI Hydra 32HD

Thanks in advance!

 

[blaxsun]

I'm going off memory, but every 90 degree turn adds 1 vertical foot and it's either 6 or 10 horizontal feet also adds 1 vertical foot.

I have 3-4x turnover in my tank and it's what I strive for because the oolite blows all over the place if I bump up the flow. Generally-speaking, a higher turnover never hurts.

The single MP10 is more than sufficient for your powerhead requirements.

You mentioned seahorses and I think your flow will be ideal (you'll want it a little less turbulent for them).