turning down flow rate of red sea max 400 s

[EthanD152]

Hi there I recently got an old red sea max s 400 for free and am turning it into a new home for my dwarf lionfish and eel. its currently cycling and im wondering if theres anyway to turn down the main pump so that its not as aggressive for the lionfish since they are bad swimmer, if anyone knows how or has any other options I could do I would appreciate the insight!

 

[TX_REEF]

Congrats on the new system! Does the pump have a controller? If so, it should be as simple as turning down the power, and then closing the drain gate valve to match.

 

[EthanD152]

Congrats on the new system! Does the pump have a controller? If so, it should be as simple as turning down the power, and then closing the drain gate valve to match.

Sadly no, just plugs into the outlet. Would the only way to turn it down be getting a controller, and if so will any controller work ?

 

[TX_REEF]

Sadly no, just plugs into the outlet. Would the only way to turn it down be getting a controller, and if so will any controller work ?

if the pump is not designed to be controllable, no external controller will help. If you want to be able to control return pump flow rate, grab yourself a DC pump with controller included. There are plenty of cheap options available on amazon if you're budget-conscious, but from personal experience I can recommend reefbreeders nautilus pumps, which are affordable, run silent and are super easy to tune with the included controller: https://shop.reefbreeders.com/products/nautilus

You could also add a ball or gate valve after the return pump, but I am not a fan of this method because it puts extra strain on the pump.