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How to select the right size pump?
Pump Capacity: The recommendation is that your water pump should be able to move 25% of the total water volume in your fish tank each time it runs. This ensures efficient circulation and filtration of the water.
Pump Selection: A simple way to achieve this 25% circulation is to choose a pump that can move the entire volume of your fish tank in one hour. This means if the pump runs for 15 minutes (1/4 of an hour), it will move 25% of the water.
Height Consideration: When selecting a pump, it’s crucial to consider not just the volume of water it can move, but also how high it needs to lift that water. Pumps lose efficiency as they pump water to greater heights.
Example: :The example given is for a 1000-liter fish tank where the water needs to be lifted 1.5 meters to reach the top of the biofilter (growbed). In this case, you would need a pump that can move 1000 liters per hour at a height of 1.5 meters.
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This discussion was modified 2 weeks, 4 days ago by
Admin. Reason: fixed error
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This discussion was modified 2 weeks, 4 days ago by
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3 Replies
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Hi There – shouldn’t the flow rate be 250l/h (25% of 1000l volume) and not 1000l/h?
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If I understand correct I think you use the 1000l/h pump since it is not running for a full hour it usually only runs till the beds are fully saturated. The pump tends to run for 15-20minutes so that tends to be 25% with a 1000l/h pump. Also smaller pumps are a maintenance nightmare while also probably not having the correct pipe fittings.
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That is correct, thank you Robbet.
I use a pump that is twice as powerful as I need because it comes with a digital controller so I can run it at half speed. This gives me the option to use it in a larger system if I upgrade in the future.
I fixed the typo and edited the original comment for clarity, thanks for that Jay.
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