RE: turnover rates in the sump and how to get more CO2

[Thomas Barr <tcbiii at earthlink_net>]

> What sort or water turnover rates are folks using out there with their
> sumps. I have got mine running at about 350-450 gph on a 90 gallon tank. Is
> this too high- should it be toned down. The reason I ask- My CO2 injection
> rate has been quadrupled to keep up with losses. I just wanted to know if
> this is typical.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Cory Williamson

My 90 with a wet/dry etc had about this same flow.
What was DIFFERENT than your tank most likely is the way I placed the spray
bar and where the CO2 enrichment is placed.

I used a spray bar along the BOTTOM back rear lower wall right about the
gravel line. The spray direction shoots straight out towards you along the
gravel slope. Most folks have plants that cover this back area anyway. So
the CO2 enriched water flows up through the plant's lower portion and rises
up through the entire water column before being cycled back into the surface
skimmer(bottom to top flow pattern).

 The CO2 enrichment is placed in the sump. The output of the CO2 reactor is
placed/fed right into the suction side of the return pump. This adds the CO2
rich water with no recirculation in the sump with CO2 poor water.

Drill an anti siphon hole at the top of the return spray bar about 1/4"
below the surface of the tank's water level to prevent backsiphoning.
This is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. This will give you a small amount of surface
movement and the surface water is skimmed anyway so there's less need to
have slight surface movement(the surface is turning over due to continuous
skimming). Making sure there is minimal splashing as the water spills over
into the sumpis another area that you can work on to reduce both noise and
CO2 loss. Adding sponge to these areas etc can help.

Regards, 
Tom Barr