Closed Loop Question

[jschiavi]

Anyone see a problem mounting a Mag 3 for a closed loop system just above the waterline inside my hood? Mounting is not the problem, but Im worrying about head pressure/priming of the pump itself.

[Daragon]

I'd also be worried about it leaking, priming might be a problem as well.

[Matt L.]

In my experience, Mag pumps don't prime well, and it is hard on Mag pumps to operate for the few seconds before they prime. I would definitely suggest mounting the pump (at least the inlet) below the water surface. After all, if you have a power failure, you don't want to manually have to come back and reprime the pump,

Matt:cool:

[NateHanson]

I tried this with a similar pump (viaAqua) and it is difficult/impossible to get them to prime. Not worth it.

I don't have a problem with mag-pumps leaking though, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. It can happen, but there are tons of people running these externally.

If your suction has to be over the top, and you don't want a CL pump inside the tank, I think you'd be better off putting the pump behind the tank below the water line a few inches. That way if the pump stopped, it would still have water in it, and then it would probably not have trouble getting the air out of the suction line once it got started. I'd think the lower the better for restarting.

[Matt L.]

If your suction has to be over the top, and you don't want a CL pump inside the tank, I think you'd be better off putting the pump behind the tank below the water line a few inches. That way if the pump stopped, it would still have water in it, and then it would probably not have trouble getting the air out of the suction line once it got started. I'd think the lower the better for restarting.Agreed. The lower the pump below the water surface (the greater the negative suction head) and the more water in the line, the less likely there will be a priming issue. I ran my old closed loop in that manner, with a QueitOne pump located in the tank stand and a DIY overflow.

Matt:cool:

[JustDavidP]

Has anyone seen Marc's closed loop with sqwd on his site Melevs reef? I was thinking of doing this, and would appreciate any input you have to his design. It seems like an easy project, and I see nothing "wrong" with his plans, but will always take advice from the masses...

Dave

[Casino]

Marcs Cloosed Loop work marvelously. You only have to prime it once. If you loose power, you dont have to prime it. You only will need to prime it if you disconnect the pump for maintnance.

[JustDavidP]

Yeah.. I just got done emailing with Marc. He's a great guy...more than willing to teach and help. He's going to talk me through this project.

Dave