question re: return pump

[JenC]

Hi I my return pump blew. I have no idea what kind or what size it was. Not written anywhere, I bought it from someone on here used. So here is the situation... I have a 29 refugium/ sump and I need the return pump to go into a 72 bow.. What kind and size do I need?? i have to pick one up after work..
Thanks

 

[ChemDumb]

Uhm, how many drains and what kind of drains do you have going to your fuge/sump? That could make a bit of a difference (being as you don't want to push up more water than you're capable of draining).

Lou

 

[PenMan]

Mag 5 or Mag 7 to be very common for this setup.

 

[atila]

Not a fancy thing. One drain one return. The kid that set it up used PVC pipe.

 

[JayM]

mag 5, probably enough

mag 7, might need to be throttled

mag 9 will over run an AGA megaflow drain.

Ask me how I know

I run a mag 5 in my 72, for now.

If I ever get a weekend at home (like November) I'll tie my 72 into my main system

 

[ChemDumb]

yeah, one drain you'll probably want nothing more powerful than a mag 5. Mag 7 with one drain, unless that drain is completely huge, will overflow your display. I have to keep mine on my 55 throttled back. I was going to offer you the use of my Mag 9.5 (which is down in brockton) but you would definately need to throttle that back.

Basically, under optimum conditions, your drain is probably good for 650 GPH (which means you're probably at about 550 - 600 GPH) so you want a pump that will be rated at LESS than that at the distance the water needs to travel straight up.

Lou

 

[atila]

Thanks JayM. I think you answered my question. All I did was get some kind of pump along with a refuge/sump, from someone on reefers. Think it may have been Nate??? Had somebody help me with the plumbing, dropped everything in and plugged it in. It has been running this way for about a year.

 

[wrassefan]

I ran a mag9.5 with the megaflow on a 72 bow

 

[JohnK]

Just to back up a bit;

How do you know the pump "blew"? Pumps often freeze up but will work fine again after a good vinegar soak/cleaning.

If you can post a pic of the bad pump I'm sure someone can help ID it.
(if your not sure how to post a pic your welcome to e-mail me a pic or two and I can post if for you - jimmyj7090@aol.com )

 

[Salty Dog]

Don't forget about Pentaire QuietOne pumps - they pump a bunch of water and use a lot less power.

Eric

 

[JayM]

I ran a mag9.5 with the megaflow on a 72 bow

When I swapped out my mag5 for the mag9.5, it overran the AGA overflow unless it was throttled back.......

BTW, do NOT take this as an endorsement for a mag pump.

If I was doing a submersible, I would do an eheim if you have the $$$, or an ocean runner if you don't.

My mag5 pump is noisy, and adds a lot of heat to the tank. I'm just not doing another pump purchase if I can avoid it.

A little empirical data on how much heat a mag pump adds:

My 43 gallon brute trash barrel was full of water measured at 69 degrees. (which was room temp)

I brought that barrel up into the first floor of my house, which was AC controlled at 75 degrees. I put the mag 9.5 pump in to circulate and aerate the water. The next day (12 hours later), the water in the barrel had gone from 76 to 84 degrees.......

 

[JCheung]

Are the Rio Plus pumps any good?

 

[merk1_99]

I would stay away from Rio's.

I would second the clean the pump and soak it in vinegar for a few hours. I have brought back to life many good pumps with this method.

Also if you can not decide on a pump go to RC and use the pump head loss calculator. That will get you some decent GPH's to work with so you can size a proper pump.

 

[JohnK]

"Are the Rio Plus pumps any good?"

FWIW
There have been numerous horror stories about RIO's totally nuking tanks. The housing would wear out and release some seriously toxic stuff that would kill everything.

They may have corrected the problem, but I would not trust them at all.

 

[RichConley]

When I swapped out my mag5 for the mag9.5, it overran the AGA overflow unless it was throttled back.......

BTW, do NOT take this as an endorsement for a mag pump.

If I was doing a submersible, I would do an eheim if you have the $$$, or an ocean runner if you don't.

My mag5 pump is noisy, and adds a lot of heat to the tank. I'm just not doing another pump purchase if I can avoid it.

A little empirical data on how much heat a mag pump adds:

My 43 gallon brute trash barrel was full of water measured at 69 degrees. (which was room temp)

I brought that barrel up into the first floor of my house, which was AC controlled at 75 degrees. I put the mag 9.5 pump in to circulate and aerate the water. The next day (12 hours later), the water in the barrel had gone from 76 to 84 degrees.......

Just a note here:

My mag5 is completely silent.


Submersible pumps add heat exactly equal to the wattage they draw. A 90w pump is a 90w pump (as far as heat is concerned) whether its an eheim, or a mag.

90w of heat is a LOT of heat for a 40 gallon barrel. When people start having heat issues, they should look at their submersible pumps before they look at lighting.

 

[JayM]

Respectfully Rich, I do not agree. A pump's efficiency matters greatly when determining how much of the wattage draw is turned into rotational (pumping) force instead of heat. If there weren't more (or less) efficient pump designs, every pump with the same watt rating would have the same head, and we all know that pumps vary widely.

I congratulate you on a silent mag pump. maybe we have different thresholds of what 'silent' means, but I can hear vibration and hum from my mag 5 when I'm in my son's room 1 floor up from where the tank is. And yes, it is sitting on a mouse pad and is not contacting anything in the sump.

 

[smcnally]

I have yet to find a pump that is "silent". My Eheim makes clicking sounds like its cavitating, and my mags hum a bit. A submersed mag pump IMO is pretty damn quite when compared to most external and internal pumps I've used. Sounds like something may be wrong with your MAG5 Jay.

 

[chew*]

the only "silent" pump I have ever not heard is a velocity pump. Unfortunately you also do not need a heater if you use one............