Help me choose an external pump

[Folta]

Ok, so here's the scoop. I'm upgrading to a 180 gallon tank with 75 gallon sump.

 

the acrylic sump is drilled, 2 holes, with 1" bulkheads. My intention at this point was capping one, and using the other to go to an external pump to pump back to the tank. The tank is also drilled, 2 holes, but 2" bulkheads.

 

The baffles in the sump I believe are 1" apart. Its actually the sump that Leishman was selling not too long ago, so there was a picture posted of it.

 

Anyway, I would like to get a pump that won't get too hot, won't get too loud, and can push enough water. Also, I'd like to keep the price down as much as possible (of course). I'm not even sure what brands to begin looking at!

[ErikS]

Sequence.

[Folta]

Any particular models that would fit my application? Any websites you know of that sell these at a good price?

[ireland]

If you can stand some noise, Iwaki pumps are about as reliable as you can get.

[rocko918]

You need to find out the flow rate of the overflows. My major problem with my 180 is i could not get the water through the overflows fast enough to keep up with my reefdart by sequence pump. Figure out what the flow rate is then find pumps that will work.

[Folta]

Good point.. too much flow wouldn't be a good thing.

 

Is there a calculator for that kind of thing? The tank is drilled with 2" bulkheads / pvc.

 

Ireland, what would you consider 'some noise' ?

[flowerseller]

I like Iwaki. My MD-100RLT is 14 years old and going 2200 gph strong.

 

 

 

I see by a link listed lower in this thread that the Iwaki 100 pumps 2000 gph,

OK, so what's a couple hundred gph amounst friends?

Edited September 8, 2005 by flowerseller

[Folta]

14 years! wow! Anything you've had to do other than regular maintenance?

[skeety]

Call Andy over at My Reef Creations. He's VERY helpful, and if you explain what you want to do, he's EXTREMELY willing to help and give advice over the phone. Even if you don't buy from him (which you should, as MRC makes and sells only the best equipment).

 

http://myreefcreations.com

 

his phone #'s under the help & support link.

 

GREAT company. They sell all kinds of pumps. ANd their skimmers are INCREDIBLE!!!

[xeon]

You sure they are 2" bulkheads on the tank? If so, you can really handle around 1200 GPH per bulkhead, which is a lot of flow. Just an idea... but with that kind of setup you might think about making one of the bulkheads the input for a closed loop. I would think somewhere in the neighborhood of 1200 GPH flowing through your sump is plenty. Of course if you have other plans for tank flow sources... Tunze, etc., you might not even want a closed loop.

[rocko918]

Does it have over flows? or are you doing the drain through pvc?

 

What i had in the 180 was 2 holes in the bottom, one 1 1/2 drain and one 1 inch drain. The 2 of them would drain faster than the water could flow over the overflow box. so the teeth were not spaced out enough to let water through. I had a ball valve on the drain to slow it down which is a terrible idea as i had a snail go in there and get stuck in the valve which caused it to over flow.

 

i am not sur ehow to calulate the flow, chip sort of figured it out for me but it was too late.

[Folta]

Yeah, the tank is definitely drilled, 2 @ 2", both holes are in the top left back glass. I have an overflow box for it as well. So the water will go throught the teeth into that section, then out the backside and down to the sump. Since it is drilled on the back, I"m assuming a closed loop probably won't work right (pulling in too much air).

 

Eventually I am going to put a few tunze streams or seios, etc for some flow in the main tank. I'm taking things slowly (I'm leaving the 55 gallon setup until I have things in the 180 setup the way I want, then am going to move stuff over). I'm still at stage 1: setting up the tank, stand, and sump, and getting the plumbing between the two installed and running. Hence me needing an external pump.

 

I'll see about getting some pics posted, here is one of the sump before it was drilled (note, that is not my stand, I have not purchased/built that yet):

 

 

The sump is drilled on the bottom right side. I plan to use the far left side as the refugium and the middle to put my skimmer (still have to figure out what to get for that). The baffles I believe are 1" apart, I will confirm that tonight.

[HowardofNOVA]

Erik,

You mentioned the Sequence Pump for being a good pump AND QUITE correct?

I have the MD70RLT that I got off of Bob a while ago and have it hooked up running my entire system (2-SWCD, 1 Downdraft Skimmer, 1 UV Sterlizer emptying into my 20g Frag Tank) using "T", Backflow valves, Ball Valve and Union Joints and is doing an excellent job...BUT

I have this thing in my closet in my BEDROOM and is quite noisy to say the least.

It runs a bit warm so I do not want to cover it, but seriously looking at another pump that will give me the 1500gph that I need to run my system, but alot more quiter.

ANY SUGGESTIONS, sorry not to jump on your topic.

I was wondering about either LITTLE GIANT model also?

Howard

[GaryL]

i kinda like the bluline, which is an iwaki clone. one of the iwaki designers split from the company and designed his own. i have 2 1100nd's running a return and a closed loop. i little load though like ireland said about the iwakis

[Guest AlgaeMaN]

I use an Iwaki 70 as the main pump on my 300g. This includes a 70g prop tank and 50g sump. I would think it would suite your needs just fine.

[xabo]

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc

[flowerseller]

14 years!  wow!  Anything you've had to do other than regular maintenance?

38473[/snapback]

I carefully take the front housing off and clean it every couple of years and wipe the exterior off as needed. About twice a year I remove the back "fan" housing and brush the gunky stuff off the fins and vent.

This helps it run cool and IMO quiet. Still looks new.

Like Howard and AlgaeMan, I run my whole system with it for simplicity sake.

Main tank, chiller, skimmer, prop tank and UV.

 

I also use flex PVC and a mouse pad to dampen vibration, a mysterious noise often overlooked.

 

HTH

[ireland]

Ireland, what would you consider 'some noise' ?

38469[/snapback]

 

You might want to see if someone in your area has one that you could hear first hand. I sold off all of mine, because of the noise, but I think that I over reacted. (long story)

I've owned several different models of Iwaki and swear by them. My oldest was 4 years trouble free, but you saw Flowersellers post at 14 years.

 

For comparison I've also had/have Dolphin Ampmasters, Rios, Little Giants, Quiet Ones, Mags, and Eheims. The ONLY ones never to give me any trouble were Iwakis.

[Folta]

Wow, well so far from the sound of it I should go with the iwaki!

 

Now, is there a certain model I should look for? I was checking ebay and there was a 100 for sale, but it said something about being japanese so he had to wire it himself..

[flowerseller]

All Iwaki's are Japanese. The end user has to put a plug on the end of the wire coming from the pump. You can handle it.

 

I also have a MD-55RLT that I only used to test my skimmers before releasing.

Never ran more than 8-10 hours total and has a plug. :D

I'll look in the shed this weekend but do remember it had some surface rust.

[Folta]

Of course I can handle it I wired my MH's and didn't kill myself!

 

Is the MD-55RLT something you are sellling?

[Jon Lazar]

Tim,

 

There's a good thread on Reef Central questioning the conventional wisdom of having large return pumps.

 

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...82&goto=newpost

 

If I were you, I would carefully consider adding a hole to your tank for a closed loop, and running two pumps. A small pump in your sump for the return, and a large pump as a CL. You'll still have all the tank turnover you want/need, but will eliminate microbubbles and flow sounds from your overflow, even if it is already quiet.

 

The only two pumps I've owned are the Mak-4 and Titanium/Poseidon T-4. The mak-4 was too loud for my tastes, but the T-4s are silent. You really cannot tell they are on without touching them.

 

Hope this helps,

Jon

[rocko918]

If I were you, I would carefully consider adding a hole to your tank for a closed loop, and running two pumps.  A small pump in your sump for the return, and a large pump as a CL.  You'll still have all the tank turnover you want/need, but will eliminate microbubbles and flow sounds from your overflow, even if it is already quiet.

38512[/snapback]

I complete agree with Jon here. If i could go back i would run my sequence on a closed loop and run a smaller pump on my sump. It was suggested by a member but the tank was already set up and could not do it at the time. Now is the time to work out all the kinks.

[craby]

As far as I am aware, not all Iwaki's are japanesse made.

 

The abbreviations are as follows:

MD - Japanesse motor

WMD - Walchem american motor

30 or less - no cooling fan (quiter)

40 or more - Comes w/ cooling fan

RLT - Pressure rated

RLXT - Non pressure rated (made for high flow)

[ErikS]

Hey Howard!

 

Hmmmm....noise is so subjective I hate to give an answer

 

I have a Dart & it's in the living room. The stand has doors on the front but is open at the rear (4" from a wall). The pump rests on a frame covered in plywood - I mention this because I think this would amplify any sound. The pump rests directly on the plywood without any padding.

 

You can't hear the pump, I often forget it's there. The overflow is pretty quiet (lowish flow & silencing mods). The only time I hear the pump is if I stick my head in the cabinet & then I hear a slight hum.

 

To be fair, the fan made a bit of noise when 1st installed (I was really angry, this tank was built for silence) but it's gone away.

 

Now, the GenX (Mak4) main return is LOUD - you can hear that in the living room if the door to the sump room is open. The GenX is stated to be quieter than an Iwaki - to me they're about the same. Pump buzz w/ a bit of fan noise (true for most pressure rated pumps).

 

I've had both an Iwaki & a Sequence - they're not even close. The Sequence blows the Iwaki away in quality. MDM uses a very high quality motor which spins at a low RPM = longevity. MDM did have some issues with the original wet housing, but they've gone to glass filled polypropolene housing. MDM pumps are industrial in nature, this "reef stuff" is a new sideline for them (they started w/ commercial application - i.e. fish farms). You can see that in the motor & seperate wet end design (easier to fix).

 

The new UNO series (pressure rated) uses a Baldor motor, you'd be hard pressed to find a better motor. (though I can't say anything about the noise, I've heard they're quiet).

 

Downside - Sequence pumps are huge, massive, BIG I looked into replacing the GenX but I don't think I can fit one into the space.

 

I'm not knocking Iwaki, it's a darn good pump - it's just not really in the same league.

 

Which one? How much flow? Your 2" drains can keep up with darn near all of them, it just need to decide how much you want to flow (you can get them in excess of 5000 gph). The lines are:

 

ReefFlo - low pressure "movement pumps", good for low head closed loop applications

 

Sequence - moderate pressure & massive water movement

 

Uno - pressure rated small tubing pumps. These use 1" in & 3/4" out (in response to market demand) piping. Lot's of folks had a hard time with the 2" plumbing of their other pumps (remember they started in commercial applications where plumbing size isn't much of an issue).