Return pump gph question

[pkoc71]

Hi, I have a 75 gallon tank with an overflow, two 1" stand pipes, 20 gallon sump.

I plan on starting a cichlid tank and would like to know which submersible max-jet pump I should buy for the return. I was thinking about the 3000 which is rated around 750 gph or the 4500 which rated around 1100 gph. I plan on having 1 return and a small pump for flow in the tank. Any suggestions?

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[duanes]

The bigger the better, but it really depends on what cichlids you want. If you are going with slow water dwellers, like Jack Dempseys, you don't need much flow. If you want cichlids that are riverine like Tomocichla tuba, you can't have enough flow.
Also if you use a larger pump, you won't need another inside the tank.

Above is from a 1200gph pump from my sump, it provides plenty of movement in the tank for riverine cichlids.

 

[pkoc71]

Duanes, thank you. I was going to go with African cichlids. I will go with the bigger pump. If for some reason I think I have to much flow I can adjust it. Max--jets are adjustable. Thanks again for the advice.

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[duanes]

Though not like rivers, lakes like Tanganyika or Malawi have laminar and tidal flow, so a large pump would be great, you could have multiple returns to the tank, instead of throttling the pump to move water without creating strong current.