Quiet External Pump

[bart84]

I am looking for opinions in an external pump for my water change system. I would like it to be energy efficient and quiet. It has to have a max head height of at least 11 feet. I have been thinking of an iwaki, pan world or a mag 18.

 

[Sewerat]

A mag 9 would lift that high, just take longer. I had a mag 9 running in the basement sump when I first set up a sump. Went to a bigger mag after a short time due to circulation issues. But it would work

 

[averhoog]

I got a mag 18 for my simp return in the basment pumps lots up 13 feet up seems quiet to me

 

[Aquariums by Design]

I've been using the Mag Drives for years and they have always proven to be quite reliable requiring very little maintenance. I've heard a few complaints over the years that they are a little noisy but I have not found this to be true at all. They aren't the cheapest pumps to run though. The Panworld pumps are awesome and in my opinion one of the best on the market!
What about a DC pump such as DC-6000 from Waveline? These pumps will be the cheapest to run.

 

[pulpfiction1]

dead silent external would be a blowhole
i had one but didnt have enough pressure for my beckett driven skimmer,but had tons of flow
Reeflo BlowHole BH 1450 3-Speed External Water Pump

 

[bart84]

I was just looking at them. I was also looming at the dart or snapper. I like the DC idea. I have been thinking, do I need to run that pump 24/7 or could I put in a power head

 

[Jewel]

Mag pumps can be noisy, they also create heat, I'd look at a Water blaster or Even the Jeabo 12000, I know the 3000 that I have is dead quiet and have heard that the Water Blaster pump are excellent, Low power usage on both as well.

 

[AdInfinitum]

I was just looking at them. I was also looming at the dart or snapper. I like the DC idea. I have been thinking, do I need to run that pump 24/7 or could I put in a power head

I was wondering if I was missing something here... I mean if this was just for water changes , it's only going to run for 20 minutes once every two weeks or maybe for a day the odd time if you use it to recirculate and mix the salt.

What is the plan? Or is this a return pump....

 

[bart84]

I miss understood Tony and his pumping system. I only need to run it to mix and to pump into my tanks. I thought it was constantly running to keep the mix from going stale. My buddy gave me an iwaki but I think it is too big. It will do for now but I am still going to be looking for a pump if one comes up.

 

[theyangman]

I use a mag 12 on my water change system, and it runs pretty quiet. I also have a towel stuffed underneath it to reduce noise and it does a great job it never gets wet nor transfers much heat because it is never running that long.

the pump needs to be on for:

1. Mixing salt.
2. Transferring RODI water from the pure container into the salt container for mixing or to add to my top off tank.
3. Pushing water into the sump for water change.

Now that I have my sump in my basement beside my water change station it is super freaking easy. I even installed a T inline with my drain so I just have to open a valve and the water automatically now falls into the drain and I don't even need lift a finger to dump out the water I am changing. No more pythons for me. After I have removed the appropriate amount of water, I close the valve which then routes it back to my sump, and then I just fire up my water change station and it dumps pre mixed salt water back in and voila. I have tried to make this as idiot proof and as easy as possible on myself.

 

[theyangman]

How much you want for that iwaki? I need something with more head lift than what I have right now. Are you interested in selling it? Which model is it btw?

 

[bart84]

That makes it a whole lot easier. I wish I could have it auto drain. That would be awesome. As far as the iwaki I will look at it tonight.

 

[AdInfinitum]

Tony's system is really nice. I am building a similar system out of a few 40 breeders that I got from Darryl. It won't be as pretty as Tony's, but what the hell, I'm not as pretty as Tony either....

 

[pulpfiction1]

 

[pulpfiction1]

i have a little giant 5-md-sc i could let go,these pumps are pressure rated and keep the highest head level pressure of them all

http://littlegiantpumpsupply.com/LittleGiantMagneticDrive.html

 

[bart84]

Thanks for the offer Phil but I am thinking that the flow might be to much if I go with a pump of that style. Even all my choices are a little big. I don't want to have a garden hose effect in my living room. I have to do some thinking and find a pump that would be in the area of 2 gpm at 15 feet. I don't want to blast the tank when I am filling it.

 

[Jewel]

I'd say that should be possible with quite a few Pumps depending on the size of Pipe or Tubing. Those little Giant Pumps are good units, they're small but compact and I don't think you'd get a blasting effect. I think Phils got a Mag 9.5 as well, At 15 ft it would probably suffice even if set up externally.

 

[theyangman]

Tony's system is really nice. I am building a similar system out of a few 40 breeders that I got from Darryl. It won't be as pretty as Tony's, but what the hell, I'm not as pretty as Tony either....

Lol. The water change system isn't my idea, I stole the plans from "The Glass Reef"

http://www.glassreef.com/proj_water_storage.php

I spoke with this guy via email for a little while to pick his brain on his system. The only difference between his system and mine are:

1. I don't have the end drains (I don't want to drain onto the floor and empty them via gravity)

2. I used a different pump, if you look through this guys site, he spared ZERO expense on his equipment. I also have different attachments for the swing arm that comes off the return of the pump. One attactment is just a plain spigot type thing that I can place a bucket under to collect RO/DI for my top ups, and the second is a flex hose (I had to sacrifice one union coupler for it cause now I can interchange the two ends which makes things a snap) for water changes.