DC pump recommendations

[lowsingle]

Hi all, I am looking for advice on a good return pump for my new set up……my aquarium will be on my main floor and my sump will be in the basement, total head is about 11 feet.  Also, I will run two returns so I don’t need a ton of flow in one pump.  Any first hand experience would be much appreciated….currently I am looking at sicce and versa, but I am flexible.  Ideally something with a phone / app interface so I can control from the display for feeding and the like.

 

thanks for the help,

Darren

 

[cpeguero]

I don’t have first hand experience with high head DC pumps, but have looked at them. From my previous reading, one of the only options for high head DC is Abyzz ($$$$$). The others just don’t do so well at high head (check the pump curves and allow for added head due to pipe length, etc). The other thing I had read (anecdotal) was that most other brands suffer flow loss long term at high head.

The other brand I would look at is Royal Exclusiv, but I’m pretty sure they can’t handle that much head.

One of my eventual (really long term) plans is to get an Abyzz a400 (or a200) as my return. Currently I run a Reeflo Hammerhead gold. Fish room is in my basement, opposite end of the house from my tank. I have about 25 feet of head, accounting for pipe runs, etc. so about 14 feet of vertical head, the rest are pipe and joint losses (have something like 50-60 feet of flex pvc).


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[JJKK]

I have a Red Sea Reefer 525XL(109G display) in the main floor with a basement sump setup.  It is about 11 feet in head height with about 12 feet linear distance from where the sump sits in relationship to where the tank is located above.  I have a Red Dragon 3 230Watt Flow pump that maxes out at about 480 GPH, when I shut off the manifold.  With the manifold feeding the UV and a small fuge, I get about 380 GPH.

 

Would I like more flow from the return pump?  Yes.  But about 3.5x turnover is good enough for me.  I do have 2 MP40s and 1 XF350 in the display blasting flow up there.  I probably be better off going with the Red Dragon High Pressure setup(the volute is different vs. the High Flow setup).  But I think I am ok with the turnover rate I am getting.  I don't control the DC pump with any app since I need it maxed out at 230W to give me the flow rate I need.   When I do water change, I just manually turn it off to zero watt.  There is a 10V cable for use with Apex for the larger size RD3 pumps.

 

Good luck with your decision.  Let me know if you have any follow-up questions.

[lowsingle]

Thanks all for your thoughts on this…..I ultimately went with dual sicce 7.0 snc pumps.  I will post my experiences once I get it up and running 

 

Darren