Best return pump for 120?

[Bitchwheur?]

I'm upgrading my old 30 gallon biocube to a 120, the tank I'm getting is reef ready and predrilled, so I just need to plumb it and the add the sump midea, skimmer, ect. I still have soo much research to do. My question is what return pump would be best? I can't remeber the turn over rate neccesary for reefs, but it's going to mainly softiest and lps, the only sps I plan on getting are montipora, and birds nest, I also really want a clam, and and enomone. So what return pumps do you guys recommend? (Sorry if it seems like I lack knowledge , because I do that's why I'm on here )

 

[Mjp83]

Hi,
I went from a 72 reef to a 125 gallon, and reused my Jebao DC 6000. It puts out 1500 gph, and is currently running at 80%.

I would recommend their newer version, the DCT, but would recommend you go up to the 8000 model to give you some more power just in case. They have a feed mode, and have soft start feature as well. Mine has run for 3 years and is super quiet.
https://www.amazon.com/Jebao-Marine...ncoding=UTF8&refRID=Z6RE1C1XBYQ90Y4CRYD5&th=1

Your sump should be about 10 turn over, and the rest 10 to 40, depending on type of corals, so I have about 1,000 flowing through my sump, and 2,000 to 3,000 in the tank, depending on what powerheads are on.
The average thinking is a total tank turn over of 20 to 40 times your volume, but I really think that is more depending on what corals you have. Softies will want less flow.

 

[NY_Sea]

Danger mag 9.5 or 12. Work horses!

 

[ReefEco]

All good suggestions, though personally I would stay away from anything Jebao on principle. Mostly ok pumps (on the cheap side, and little customer support), but they flagrantly copy and impinge on the copyright of other company's products, which is not good for the hobby in general. Getting an adjustable DC pump is a good idea, especially if you are concerned with noise and efficiency. They also can future-proof your setup to a certain extent, as getting an oversized pump now and using it at 50% for your current setup, means when you upgrade to that larger tank you can keep the same pump and simply turn it up... A little more of an upfront investment, but worth it if you envision being in the hobby for the long run.

 

[mfinn]

I'm upgrading my old 30 gallon biocube to a 120, the tank I'm getting is reef ready and predrilled, so I just need to plumb it and the add the sump midea, skimmer, ect. I still have soo much research to do. My question is what return pump would be best? I can't remeber the turn over rate neccesary for reefs, but it's going to mainly softiest and lps, the only sps I plan on getting are montipora, and birds nest, I also really want a clam, and and enomone. So what return pumps do you guys recommend? (Sorry if it seems like I lack knowledge , because I do that's why I'm on here )

I would shoot for 5x the tank volume for flow through the sump.
The Reef Octopus VarioS-4 is suppose to be a really solid and very quiet pump.
For a non dc pump I'd look at the Sicce Syncra Silent 4.0, or a Eheim 1262

 

[Best Fish-Jake]

+1 on staying away from jebao and shooting for ~10x turnover of your DT.. (you’ll prob want a 40B tank for your sump)

The BEST return pump you can buy would certainly be the Eco Tech Vectra M1 (although they are pricey). My favorite affordable return pump that functions absolutely has to be the Aqua Euro Apex. You could go with the AE-1110 and it would fit your tank nicely.

 

[Heliarc19]

I love my varios pumps, cannot hear them at all

 

[Mjp83]

I understand and also concur with comments on the copying of various items by foreign companies, but, black box LEDs and low cost equipment such as Jebao pumps have made our hobby more accessible to the the average person.
I am a small business owner and teach full time, and have had fresh water for over 30 years, but recently made the switch into salt. I have over $3,000 in my 125 mixed reef, and run it using proven old school techniques.
Ecotech has some stellar products, but just as the stars, are out of reach for me. Can’t justify buying a $400 MP 40! Besides, where are they being made?

 

[DSC reef]

Mag drives are work horses, jebao makes some affordable pumps. Check out the current eflux, I run one and I love it. Silent, never had a problem in over a year with performance of pump or controller.

 

[ReefEco]

MJP-83, you are certainly right, in that affordable equipment makes things more accessible. We can debate whether "low cost" equipment is actually lower cost in the long run, but I understand your point. My stand over Jabao is based on their copying of the Maxspect Gyre. Maxspect knew they would copy it, sent them a cease and desist letter, and they still put it out on the market (the CP-40 ) - one of the reasons you see the cheaper licensed versions of the Gyre (IceCap here in US, and another version in Europe I forget the name of) which is Maxspect's attempt to head off the gray market copies. When a real innovative company like Maxspect gets their patents infringed and ripped off, it detracts from their ability to recover their R&D costs and further innovate, and bring great products like the Gyre to market - which benefits us all in the hobby. True, there are many products that are over-priced out there I won't buy either (I've been saving and buying gear for my impending 350g build for 2 years...) but it just aggravates me that a company can blatantly knock off a product and shamelessly sell it. So Jabao is black listed in my book for that reason. But, to each there own...

 

[Daltrey]

Jebao for me too. I have the DCT 8000 and DCT 10000. I also stuck a Maxspect sticker on them and now they are twice as reliable.

 

[LittleMaui]

+1 on the Eheim 1262. Started out with a Jabeo, but the DCT pump I bought fluctuated the flow slightly which caused problems with my overflow valve.

 

[don_chuwish]

My Waveline DC-6000 (1585GPH) has been great for 120G. Running at just 65% to keep the right amount of flow and quiet. I don't think you can get that exact pump anywhere now, but it's a good size reference. Many similar or exactly the same pumps under different brand names out there.

 

[Mjp83]

MJP-83, you are certainly right, in that affordable equipment makes things more accessible. We can debate whether "low cost" equipment is actually lower cost in the long run, but I understand your point. My stand over Jabao is based on their copying of the Maxspect Gyre. Maxspect knew they would copy it, sent them a cease and desist letter, and they still put it out on the market (the CP-40 ) - one of the reasons you see the cheaper licensed versions of the Gyre (IceCap here in US, and another version in Europe I forget the name of) which is Maxspect's attempt to head off the gray market copies. When a real innovative company like Maxspect gets their patents infringed and ripped off, it detracts from their ability to recover their R&D costs and further innovate, and bring great products like the Gyre to market - which benefits us all in the hobby. True, there are many products that are over-priced out there I won't buy either (I've been saving and buying gear for my impending 350g build for 2 years...) but it just aggravates me that a company can blatantly knock off a product and shamelessly sell it. So Jabao is black listed in my book for that reason. But, to each there own...

Agree, sorry I forgot about the CP 40, which from what I have read, is very very unreliable. There is absolutely nothing right about blatantly copying (poorly at that) a genuine product.

 

[Jerzyray]

JUST GOT THE 10,000 FOR MY 210 BUILD, HAVE USED JEBAO IN THE PAST. I'M SORRY THAT SOME PPL CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY FOR OVER PRICED PUMPS. THIS ONE WILL DO THE JOB JUST FINE FORE 110 BUCKS. COMPARED TO 300 PLUS

 

[Bpb]

Depends on what is important to you. If you simply want to move a lot of water and for cheap, the Jebao return pumps fit the bill well. I use a Jebao DCT 10000 on my skimmer and it moves water real well and is silent and simple.

I wouldn't trust a Jebao for return pump services though. If your sump is truly used as the control center of your tank, I would personally desire something more reliable with fewer reported lemons. If my skimmer pump went out, I'd be out a skimmer for a week or two before I got around to replacing the pump. No big deal, you can live without a skimmer.

If my return pump died, that's a problem. All of my topoff, calcium reactor, probes, and controls are run from the sump. It's impractical to run them from the display. It would create a mess of wires and have all those items be subject to massive amounts of algae and coralline due to the extreme light levels they would get. The most important aspect of a return pump for me is reliability. I don't want my return pump to fail because if that goes down, so will follow 4-5 other aspects of the tank which I believe to be crucial for water stability.

When looking at longevity in submergible water pumps available in the hobby you need search no further than Eheim. The design of the 1262 hasn't changed in many years and you can expect that pump to out live the integrity of the tank seals themselves honestly. No it isn't a rampable DC pump and it doesn't have a control box or an app, but it's a quiet, powerful pump that you can drop in the water and never question whether it is going to fail you at any point.

Eheim 1262 gets my vote.

 

[Daltrey]

Has anyone even had a return pump fail?

 

[Bpb]

I’ve had 3 fail actually. An older than dirt mag 5 died on me after it had been used for 10 years or so.

Sicce syncra 3.0 impeller exploded after 6 months use

Older first gen jebao return pump power source died on me as well.

 

[MaiReef]

Jebao makes good inexpensive pumps and that is free market. I wish Maxspect didn't charge so much as well as others, but 2-4 Jebao pumps are less than 1 of many others and I would certainly rather have a backup or two instead of one pump that may have less problems, but if it does I have to wait and pay an immense amount for another.

 

[Daltrey]

W

I’ve had 3 fail actually. An older than dirt mag 5 died on me after it had been used for 10 years or so.

Sicce syncra 3.0 impeller exploded after 6 months use

Older first gen jebao return pump power source died on me as well.

What if you could choose one pump and your only option was jabeo. What would you choose?