Question on water movement

[farrington300]

I currently have a std 60 tank with a sump, I have a pump that returns at about 675 GPH from the sump to the main tank and this is all i use for water movement. I have been thinking about selling off my return pump for a smaller one, and putting a few power heads in my tank for movement. The reason for this is the noise, buzz, bubbles, etc. (Please keep in mind that i have done a great deal of quieting this thing down already) My tank is right by my couch and the noise is annoying. My question is what are the down sides of this setup? Powerheads for movement or one large sump pump for water movement, that is the question. LMK what you guys thing, also what are good powerheads to use? thanks

[MrKrispy]

where does the return line fit in to your tank? Can you run some loc-line and divert the return flow in to several nozzles?

[lucubrator]

There are a few people around the us, and quite a few more in europe, who are proponents of using a small return pump while using the tunze stream style powerhead in the tank. The advantage is that you reduce the amount of power used per gallon of water moved, and the tank is quieter.
Tunze streams are great pumps, I hear... but they're pricey.
Otherwise the seios are nearly as good, and much cheaper.

For the low return volume, have a look at reefcentral, there are afew of them on there.