Help Me select (Eheim, Water Blaster or Sicce) for my return

[Ba19Ma88]

Help me pick my pump (I'm down to 3 brands)

Ok tank and a 57 Gal & 20 Gal sump

Head will prob be around 4ft

Now total vol turnover
x 3 = 231
x 4 = 308
x 5 = 385

I will be going over and if need be cutting the flow back into the tank if need be bya valve.


Pumps I have narrowed down to are as follows:

Eheim 1260 640GPH 65W Price around 150 or so new

Water Blaster HY3000 750GPH 37W Price around 170 or so new
Water Blaster HY2000 500 GPH 22W Price around 135 or so new

Sicce Syncra Model 2.0 528 GPH 35W Price around 85 or so new
Sicce Syncra Model 3.0 714 GPH 48W Price around 100 or so new


Looking for any thing I should know about one of these, I'm really leaning towards the Sicce, they are suppose to be under 30db quiet and seem to be the most bang for the buck.

I am not to concerned for flow in the tank from my return as I will be running a MP40 for that.

Thanks
Bruce

 

[mchartier]

I'm running Water Blaster HY3000 on my 40 Breeder as a return and a Water Blaster HY5000 for the closed loop. Both are extremely quiet

 

[KSC]

I don't think you need that large a pump. Your sump is only going to have about 10-15 gallons in it. At 300 gph that is 20+ times turnover in your sump, a bit fast imo. I'd look at one of the Eheim "hobby" pumps, the things run forever.

 

[willray]

I don't think you need that large a pump. Your sump is only going to have about 10-15 gallons in it. At 300 gph that is 20+ times turnover in your sump, a bit fast imo. I'd look at one of the Eheim "hobby" pumps, the things run forever.

^^^+1^^^
I have seen the deep blue overflow and would have doubts about it's ability to handle that much flow.

 

[Ba19Ma88]

I will take you advise and go with one of these lower gph pumps

Sicce 1.5
- 357 gallons per hour
- 6 feet shut off
- 23 watts / 120 volts

OR


Sicce 1.0
- 251 gallons per hour
- 5 feet shut off **(((I am a bit worried about this shutoff height)))
- 16 watts / 120 volts



Its funny but where I got it (local sponsor and not going to name names) but I was told to order the:

Quiet One 4000 •Application: Wet / Dry
•Flow Rate: 991 gph
•Inlet / Outlet: 1" MPT x 1" MPT
•Dimensions: 6.11" x 4.02" x 4.33"
•Max Head: 10.17 ft
•Power Consumption: 65W



I thought that was a bit much so started asking around and I am glad I did.
Thanks

 

[Ba19Ma88]

I don't think you need that large a pump. Your sump is only going to have about 10-15 gallons in it. At 300 gph that is 20+ times turnover in your sump, a bit fast imo. I'd look at one of the Eheim "hobby" pumps, the things run forever.

I thought your turnover rate was based upon your total volume in the tank and sump? If it is just the sump I am way over if it is total system pushing 400 is a bit high but I was going to restrict the flow with a valve. LMK if I am worng plase before I buy something that will be way overkill. I appreciate any and all help and thanks KSC & Wilray & Mchartier

 

[KSC]

I thought your turnover rate was based upon your total volume in the tank and sump? If it is just the sump I am way over if it is total system pushing 400 is a bit high but I was going to restrict the flow with a valve. LMK if I am worng plase before I buy something that will be way overkill. I appreciate any and all help and thanks KSC & Wilray & Mchartier

Your turnover can be based on whatever you decide. I personally believe a low turnover is better and safer. With a lower turnover you will have less noise and bubble issues to worry about. It also gives you a bigger margin of error if your drain line becomes partially clogged. It's also a lot cheaper to run a smaller return pump. If you need additional flow in your tank or sump a small powerhead is far more efficient than using a return pump to do this.

 

[jamesdong009]

I currently run an Eheim return and love it, although it is a power hog compared to the others. I run a manifold off the pump and it runs my carbon and GFO reactors and I left one more spot open.

You can always add a gate valve to the pump if the turnover rate seems a bit high. I do this to the Eheim and besides lower power consumption and flow, I have not seen any additional wear on the pump.

I'm running Water Blaster HY3000 on my 40 Breeder as a return and a Water Blaster HY5000 for the closed loop. Both are extremely quiet

That's good to know. I've been looking at those pumps myself. I'd love to have a red dragon return pump but it is way out of my price range.

 

[tran]

have you ever thought of a Mag pump?
a lot of people have that size tank use mag5 (although mag 3 also work fine too).
Mag drive pump are cheap and I heard that they are pretty good. (I bought mine used 6 months ago and has been working great since).
tran

 

[Andy V]

The turnover rate should be 3-5x total volume or else you can get micro bubbles. You can dial back the pump but this DOES NOT lower the power consumption if you do it with a valve. In fact, it can add stress on the pump and definitely makes them run louder. If you have a variable speed pump (which none of the choices here are), then you would reduce power consumption. I have a 50g total system and I use the Eheim 1252 with no valve. It is the perfect amount of flow for a system this size. You also need to measure the head loss, because the stated flow rate is if it is pumping on a level area. If you are pumping up four feet, the flow rate will be significantly lower than the stated max flow rate.

I can definitively say that you will not hear the Eheim pump at all, and they are one of the most reliable pumps there are.

The Water Blaster pumps are supposed to be okay according to most people. Unfortunately I have had trouble with them, having to send two back under warranty. Look around the internet and you will read similar stories. They are made in China, and just are not up to the quality of the German made Eheim. Mags are cheap...for a reason. It seems 1/3rd of the people that get them love them, and the rest have major problems, some of which kill the tank. Look around for those stories too. The Sicce pumps are supposed to be great, and they are made in Italy, but I don't have any experience with them, unlike all of the other pumps recommended here.

 

[jamesdong009]

I have measured the power consumption of my return with a kill-awatt meter and it does lower power consumption if it is dialed back. In my experience, I have not seen any additional wear on the pump and have not heard it run louder from dialing it back.

Just measured again. My Eheim 1060 is currently running at 40 watts. If I have it wide open, it runs at 45 watts.

 

[pallobi]

My recommendation would be eheim... the gph is up to you... personally, by display and return pump rstio, is about 10 times per hour... some like it less... micro bubbles dont really have a whole lot to do with this aspect of ur setup imo... there are other ways to deal with micro bubbles, specifically how ur sump is setup... i myself, dont trip out about micro bubbles... they do no harm to ur corals imo, though some insist they do...

GL!

 

[Conlius]

I use a eheim 1262 for my return on my 40 breeder with 20 sump. It powers my return, chiller, 2 reactors and even the inlet for my calcium reactor (one directional so it cant siphon back into the tank). I don't like having a bunch of different pumps in the tank. It's quiet as hell too. It's pricey but I have read about people having eheim pumps for 10+ years without issues.

Edit: typo

 

[Bobbofin]

I have a Eheim 1250 (317gph) on my 60 cube and I love it. I get about 225gph through the sump at 4' head and it's perfect. It costs $130 but it last 5-10 years if properly cared for. Better than the Quiet One 1200 pumps I was buying at Petsmart evert 12-16 months at $50 a pop. Who cares about the warranty when it just turns into a hassle every year or so, especially when the pump dies at the least conveinent time (vacation). I rely on a MP40 in the tank for tank flow.

 

[Ba19Ma88]

Wow, Thanks to everyone for all the help and suggestions. I ended up going with the Sicce Syncra Model 3.0 714 GPH. I went with the higher gph for 2 reasons. I plan on putting a (Y) off the pump and having it feed a BRS dual reactor. As far as the rest of the flow coming off after the (Y) on the return side I will put a valve that I can restrict the flow a bit more if needed.


Thanks again and yes I may regret not getting a Eheim but thought I would try one of these instead for this time around.