help choosing an external pump

[pizzaguy]

I've never used an external pump before but the new setup I'm getting is set up to use one. It has a manifold to use 3 reactors or the third as a calcium reactor which I'm not doing. Most likely I will run 3 reactors, one gfo, one carbon, and one bio pellets. I need to know what size pump and some brands preferably something reasonable and not excessively noisy. It will be in a stand in the living room. Any help is appreciated. I have a 6 month old mag 12, a brand new in the box mag 9.5, and a six month old mag 5 if anyone's looking to do some trading for a pump. I believe the pump that was on the setup I'm getting was used with a 1" bulkhead in the sump.

[pizzaguy]

He was using a 3200 gph pump.

[Origami]

What size tank was this for again, and what size sump?

 

For external, a good pump to consider is a Reeflo Dart / Snapper hybrid. Power efficiency will save you money in operating costs over the long run. To me, they run pretty quiet if you put it on something like a neoprene mouse pad and isolate the pump with lengths of flexible PVC rather than plumbing the whole thing in hard PVC. Be judicious in your use of valves and unions to facilitiate removing / cleaning / replacing the pump when you design your plumbing.

 

In-sump pumps might include a water blaster. Coral Hind can tell you more about his experience with this pump.

[Origami]

He was using a 3200 gph pump.

The Dart is a good match, then.

[Coral Hind]

Wow 3200 gph through a 1" would be tuff. What size tank? Can you drill the sump to a bigger size pipe?

[Coral Hind]

You might be able to use the mag 12 as a return and the mag 5 to feed the reactors sepertely.

[Origami]

Wow 3200 gph through a 1" would be tuff. What size tank? Can you drill the sump to a bigger size pipe?

I missed that. Yeah, you'll have to drill it out larger to use a Dart. What's the sump made of? If acrylic, it should be reasonably easy to enlarge.

[pizzaguy]

It is acrylic. The tank is 135 gallon rimless. I thought 3200 was pretty excessive also but that's what he was using. I just don't want to have to use seperate pumps for everything and wind up with 3 or 4 pumps taking up the entire sump. I am looking for help and suggestions so don't be shy. Give me about ten minutes and ill post pics of what I'm getting from the guy so you have an idea of what I'm trying to do.

[pizzaguy]

Do you think a mag 5 will run 3 reactors or would it be smarter to use the 9.5 on the manifolds and dial each one as necessary. Only problem that I'm not sure about until I pick up the setup is on his original build thread on rc he was gonna use a submersible return pump until he realized how small his pump chamber was and that's when he decided on the external setup. I'm gonna try to post a link to his original build thread. I'm getting the tank stand and sump and plumbing, all the rock and sand from this build. He already sold everything else. It only had water in it for 3 weeks.

[Coral Hind]

Reactors don't need a lot of flow depending on type and size, that's why I said use the mag 5. If you find it isn't enough just throw the 9.5 on since you already have it not much work to swap between the two.

 

A mag12 feeding a 135 should fine. You will still need in tank flow depending on the corals you keep.

[Origami]

He may have been using a 3200 gph pump because, either it did had poor performance against head pressure, or because that 1" line out of the sump constrained performance too much. If going external, the Reeflo Snapper is actually a better match. In-sump, the Mag 12 is not a bad choice for the return. The operating costs between a Snapper and a Mag 12 are not that great, making cost recovery longer. Use larger diameter piping where you can to cut down on plumbing losses. Mags have a reputation for being very durable.

[pizzaguy]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2207434

this is his build thread if you have a minute to check it out. this is the setup im getting.

[pizzaguy]

i also want to add alot of rock to my sump which also poses a problem for alot of pumps.

[pizzaguy]

I would def like to use what I already have if its possible. No reason to buy another pump if I don't have to. In tank flow will be covered with powerheads. I'm thinking either 3 little fishies reactors or three avast reactors if they can be used external. Also an avast ato that origami reccomended. Sounds like my sump is gonna be very busy.

[Marc Weaver]

I checked out the build thread and it looks like he did reduce the pump inlet to 1". The pump he was using had a 1 1/2" inlet. That was probably degrading performance like tom said. I had to use a 1 1/2" bulkhead to the inlet of my return pump which is a Pan World 100PX-X (1270 GPH.) even though the pump has a 1" inlet. I tried 1" first, but I had some serious cavitation (excessive vibration, microbubbles like crazy, and the pump was HOT.) After the switch to 1 1/2 inch, the pump works great.

 

I think you will be happy with the Mag 12. I had 2 of them originally on my 220, 1 for each return and it was too much IMO.

[pizzaguy]

So your saying use the mag 12 for the return and use either the 5 or 9.5 for the manifold and reactors. Is that correct?

[Marc Weaver]

That's what I would do, yes.

[Coral Hind]

That's what I would do, yes.

Me too. Save your money for in tank circulation like a Vortech.