Rich, I think I've tried every pump on the market! I started off with a Kangaroo, but the tubing in the pump set kept cracking - I had to replace it once a month (you have to get them off ebay or at a medical supplies store). Every time it leaked I had kalk water on the rug. I got smart and put it in a bucket. It finally leaked so much kalk water that the unit just stopped working.
Then I bought an Aqua Medic SP 3000. Very small, relatively inexpensive ($80), effective peristaltic pump - when it was working! I went through two of these. The thing would just die on me - always when I was away from home. The last time it broke I was desperate for a temporary fix so I bought an Aqua Lifter pump for $10. It's been working for a few months with no problems at all. I pump from about 20 feet away, and up 6 feet. I've heard you have to stay on top of cleaning them, so I'm going to be running vinegar through it once a month. I use this in conjunction with a reeffanatic dual float switch and controller. I really love this. It has two float switches which you can set for a low and high water level - good safety feature. They don't get clogged like a regular float valve. No matter what pump I use, I'm definitely going to stick with the reeffanatic.
In my new tank, I've temporarily set up a gravity feed to a regular float valve (until I can move my permanent system from old tank). I really don't like this system at all. The kalk constantly clogs the float valve and I'm so afraid of having the whole jug of kalk water drip into the system. I have a ball valve on the feed but it still makes me nervous.
Here's the like to the reeffanatic system:
http://www.reeffanatic.com/products/float-switch-and-level-control/
I weighed the pros and cons of each system. I would much rather have the cheap Aqua Lifter pump fail and not pump any water into the system than have a float valve get stuck and drip 20 gallons resulting in a flood.
HTH -
Daire
.
