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Looking for return pump

B

BigRed

I'm trying to figure out a return pump for my new tank setup. I'm setting up a 65 gal DT upstairs with a 75g sump downstairs. Anyone have suggestions for an internal pump that will do more than 13 ft of head pressure ( the last number I got from the rc calculator while I could get it to work)? I've been told that mag pumps won't push that hi.

Im looking at a reef octopus water blaster hy-10000 but they're pricey. I kept trying to lookup pumps via the rc pump calculator but it hasn't seemed to be working the past few days. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
jpelzer

jpelzer

I'm assuming you want internal for space considerations, but be aware that a pump that can push that hard is likely to put out considerable heat. I have a external Reeflo, and that gets warm enough you wouldn't want to rest your hand on it too long... I'd need a chiller if all that heat was making its way into the water.
 
TanksNStuff

TanksNStuff

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Yea, with that much head pressure, you won't have many options for an internal pump. And as Jason said, the heat a pump that strong would generate would be an issue.

Any chance you can drill the sump and go external? If it's in the basement, I'm guessing you have the space?
 
B

BigRed

I have the space but my sump is all tempered according to the manufacturer. I'll do a polarized lens check in the morning but I feel like I'm stuck now.

Any thoughts? Anyone tried to lift this high with a mag pump?

Thanks
 
jpelzer

jpelzer

In my old tank I had an external pump with the intake routed over the side of the tank. That works fine, you just need to plumb in a mechanism to allow you to prime the pump the first time. After that it stays primed, even on power fail.
 
B

BigRed

Jason that sounds like a plan. thanks so much. I was thinking about that, but figured it was probably a bad idea. So i'm looking at a 90deg elbow up to a tee and a ball valve for the priming station, with the other side going over into the sump? Load up some water into a pipe to prime the pump, once its primed turn the valve off and only one extra piece remains. That totally solves it. Thanks again.

Now to explore the world of external pumps.

I know sequence pumps are popular, any other recommendations?
 
Baxreefs

Baxreefs

Reeflow dart or snapper are great low heat relatively efficient pumps, but for power and heat savings look at the speedwave pumps mentioned above. They might be a bigger initial investment but you get it back very quickly.
 
govertical19

govertical19

I have a dart and it is a very good pump. Very quiet and energy eff. It is on the larger size but a good pump.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
B

BigRed

So I narrowed down the budget to $300. Im thinking the little giant 4-mdq-sc is the front runner with an iwaki 40rlt in second place. I can't really afford the jump up to hammerhead that I'd need for the head pressure. I haven't been able to find a bigger speedwave dc pump than the 2650 which doesn't seem to be quite enough.

Any suggestions or experiences with these other pumps? I could also go with a reef octopus water blaster, that's what I was thinking when it was going to be internal
thanks
 
Ligershark

Ligershark

i have a 57 rimless and the sump is in the basement...i did some water tests as the tank isnt running yet and my eheim 1262 makes it up 9 feet vertical and 10 feet horizontal. it pushes about 200 gph, i timed how long it took to fill a 5 gallon bucked in my empty tank. i know its not supposed to push that much but it does, i have it plumbed externally. i also have an excellent condition japanese iwaki 70rlt laying around but its way too strong.
 
B

BigRed

The blow hole 1100 looks great to me... Now to compare the energy savings vs initial cost...I'm definitely intrigued by the speedwave, although I don't think I'll use the feed mode that's included. Has anyone found a manual for them? If I had to manually turn the pump on from that little controller any time I lost power that would be annoying. I have a reef angel controller that I'll setup to do feeding modes, etc. and I don't want to have to go down to the basement to deal with repower if I don't have to.
 
B

BigRed

Looks like a $3/month electricity savings with the speedwave. That's 3 years till it pays back the difference. If I go up one size with the blowhole 1450 it's a year to repay.... I wish the RC head loss calc was working... I'd like to factor in all the bends, etc.
 
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