Powerhead for Protein skimmer Help Please

[mtalica030]

So I recently bought a used sump/wet dry filtration system with a built in venturi protein skimmer from a guy on craigs list. Nice setup only problem is it did not come with the return pump or the power head to run the protein skimmer. It is going on my 56gal FOWLR setup as soon as I get the rest of the gear I need for it. I am pretty sure a 500-600gph return pump should do the job for my on that end, though any extra input would be great. What I'm not sure of is what size power head I will need just to run the protein skimmer.
Thanks in advance. I know someone here will have the answers I'm lookin for.

 

[Rass]

You will want a pump that does 500-600 gallons per hour AT THE HEIGHT OF YOUR TANK. So if you look at the boxes for the pumps they will have a chart with a graph that shows how many gallons per hour the pump will do when pumping to a given height or 'head'. More than likely you will want a pump that is rated for about 750 GPH if your tank is about 4 feet tall. This is just my estimate of course, but I had a 60 gallon reef with a CPR refugium sump with a built in skimmer. I ran a 740 GPH submersible Via Aqua pump and it worked very well. It's hard to say what pump you need for the skimmer without knowing what brand it is. If it is a CPR sump then you should be able to use the Rio 600 or Rio 800 I believe. I used to work for them but it's been a few years so I can't remember for sure, but I think they come with the Rio 600 and I ran the 800 in mine which is like the same pump but with a bit more power. Check out the manufacturers website to figure out that part.

 

[mtalica030]

Thanks for the reply. Almost forgot to take the height of the tank into account. That would have been pretty annoying. Thanks. As for the manufacturer its really hard to say. It came with an instruction manual on how to get it going, but it was printed by a fish store in denver called us aquariums. I cannot find a website for them and when I try to call the number is alwasy busy, but they are still in the phone book. Given I dont really know how old this sump is so hard to say if they even sell it anymore. I was looking at the rio 600's and I think I'll give it a shot. Worst case its not exactly what I need and I'll have some extra gear to use on a future project....maybe I should just buy the 800 and save myself some trouble. Either way thanks for the help. I dont know if anyone has heard of it before but the sump system is called "Supreme XL Series Trickle Filter."