Reef Discussion
Hi Susan,
I am by no means an expert, but from what I have read it seems most people suggest sizing one's return pump to match one's skimmer (to optimise its efficiency), then leave the primary responsibility for water movement to your wave makers.
If your current 3600 return pump is working well, you may consider putting the upgrade money into a new wavemaker instead?
J
A few thoughts from a far-from-expert:
1. Are your wave makers adjustable - ie. you can dial strength up/down, can pulse them or randomise them? If so, from what I have read and been told, I would have thought that 4 quality wave makers would be enough for a 4ft tank?
2. I have wavemakers on my 3ft cube tank. Had the pleasure of meeting a fellow reefer last year, NiCD, who gave me some quick tips to tweak the direction and position of my existing wave makers to improve my overall flow characteristics and gas exchange - amazing the result! All my tank denizens were much happier as a result.
Maybe someone knowledgeable on the forum or where you are locally could have a look at your current wave maker positioning and overall setup and offer some advice before you invest in a new pump?
3. I stumbled across one way last year to check the water flow in my tank. Was doing a water change and forgot to turn off my return pump. Water level in the sump dropped and the pump started pumping a mix of water and bubbles into the DT. Just before I switched it off I saw that the millions of bubbles were showing me the general water flow in my tank. Ended up leaving it on for a minute or two to watch the bubbles. Could work for you, but I am sure there muxlst be better ways.
1. Are your wave makers adjustable - ie. you can dial strength up/down, can pulse them or randomise them? If so, from what I have read and been told, I would have thought that 4 quality wave makers would be enough for a 4ft tank?
2. I have wavemakers on my 3ft cube tank. Had the pleasure of meeting a fellow reefer last year, NiCD, who gave me some quick tips to tweak the direction and position of my existing wave makers to improve my overall flow characteristics and gas exchange - amazing the result! All my tank denizens were much happier as a result.
Maybe someone knowledgeable on the forum or where you are locally could have a look at your current wave maker positioning and overall setup and offer some advice before you invest in a new pump?
3. I stumbled across one way last year to check the water flow in my tank. Was doing a water change and forgot to turn off my return pump. Water level in the sump dropped and the pump started pumping a mix of water and bubbles into the DT. Just before I switched it off I saw that the millions of bubbles were showing me the general water flow in my tank. Ended up leaving it on for a minute or two to watch the bubbles. Could work for you, but I am sure there muxlst be better ways.
You may never have had it happen to you, but if you lower the water in the return chamber of your sump down so that the pump is partially exposed it will start blowing millions of tiny air bubbles into your display tank. Not normally something that is desirable, lol.
However, for your purposes, it could be a free way to see what sort of flow patterns your existing 4 wavemakers are producing. The bubbles end up in the water column of your DT and are then blown around by the wavemakers and you can "see" the flow.
The main downside is that while most of the bubbles will pop and disappear from your DT after a while, many will remain and settle on your sandbed or rockwork etc. Fairly easy to hit them with a turkey blaster to get rid of them, but can be annoying.
One other suggestion - draw two rough diagrams of your tank and post them here for advice. One diagram from above showing tank dimensions and wavemaker placement and basic direction. One diagram from the front showing the same.
The only issue I would see is if the return (overflow) to the pump weren't large enough. Moving more water through the sump is OK as long as your skimmer can take the pollution out of the water in a timely manner. jart hit the nail on the head, you want the correct dwell time in the sump to allow the skimmer to remove waste.
