best return pump for the money?

[Potatohead]

You can mitigate any reliability concerns by having two return pumps. This also applies to reliable AC pumps, as I’ve seen impeller magnets swelling and impeller blades break. In this case I would prefer two smaller Jebaos which would cost similar to 1 good AC pump.
Sicce SDC pumps have good power/flow ratio, but are noisy and vibrate a lot compared to other DC.
DC pumps are essentially AC

If I was setting up a new tank absolutely 100% I would run dual return. Not an option at this point unfortunately.

 

[Jdurm55]

well guys I went ahead and ordered the jebao dcp 5000.

im going to keep this short term for the time being then go with the varios pump and use the jebao as a back up. thanks for all the help guys!

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I’ve used the jabeo dcp for 3 years now. Dead silent and easy to clean. 6500 for a mixing station. 6500 to power my 60g and a 15000 to run my 120g. I don’t think they move half of the water they claim but they are silent and easily replaceable

 

[Jdurm55]

I’ve used the jabeo dcp for 3 years now. Dead silent and easy to clean. 6500 for a mixing station. 6500 to power my 60g and a 15000 to run my 120g. I don’t think they move half of the water they claim but they are silent and easily replaceable

do you think I should have went bigger instead of the dcp 5000? I thought the 5000 would be enough for my tank at almost 1500 gph lol

 

[lpsouth1978]

do you think I should have went bigger instead of the dcp 5000? I thought the 5000 would be enough for my tank at almost 1500 gph lol

I think you will be fine. I have the DCP-8000 on my 75, but only have it @ 45%. As long as you don't have super long vertical runs you should be fine. I even have my return T'd to dual returns in the tank.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

do you think I should have went bigger instead of the dcp 5000? I thought the 5000 would be enough for my tank at almost 1500 gph lol

I honestly didn’t notice the flow ratings were off until I tried the 15000 model. I had it running my 120g display and 32 gallon sump at 55 percent power. Then I needed to add 200 gph to power my algae scrubber. Now it is running at 90 percent. I can’t install anything else to my manifold without adding another pump or going bigger then the 15000

 

[Jdurm55]

I think you will be fine. I have the DCP-8000 on my 75, but only have it @ 45%. As long as you don't have super long vertical runs you should be fine. I even have my return T'd to dual returns in the tank.

well lets just hope this works!

 

[Roger D]

I've got three DCS-7000 one is a backup and the other two have been running for two years no problems at all.

 

[LeprechaunReefer]

Does anyone have any experience to share with the newest Jebao? The MDC?

 

[Water Dog]

Does anyone have any experience to share with the newest Jebao? The MDC?

The MDC looks to be Jebao’s first foray into a wifi controllable DC pump. Seeing that it‘s a first generation iteration, I’d wait for the product to be out in the wild for some time, with real world feedback and user experience. As with any manufacturer’s (especially Jebao) first generation product, I’d let the early adopters go through the growing pains before committing to buy.

The DCP seems to be the most reliable as it’s been out since 2017 with very favorable user reviews.

 

[Steve Pond]

Jebao DCP Sine Wave Water Return Pump

I've been running these for a few years on my 300 and 100.

Buy 2 and keep one clean and ready at all times.

 

[soter]

Jebao DCP Model. very silent and good power. up and running for 2 years

 

[dwest]

you are true I want a controller to fine tune it. I don't mind people posting what they use though

You’ll get a lot more for the money without a controller. I love eheim and mag drives. No controllers though.

 

[LeprechaunReefer]

The MDC looks to be Jebao’s first foray into a wifi controllable DC pump. Seeing that it‘s a first generation iteration, I’d wait for the product to be out in the wild for some time, with real world feedback and user experience. As with any manufacturer’s (especially Jebao) first generation product, I’d let the early adopters go through the growing pains before committing to buy.

The DCP seems to be the most reliable as it’s been out since 2017 with very favorable user reviews.

Well I bought one already so i'll report back. Just seeing if anyone was ahead of me.

 

[bob salzlein]

Anyone mention Hydor yet? I think the entire Seltz D lineup is < $200.

Guy at my LFS swears by them.

The Seltz D pump would be an excellent choice, comes in both A/C and D/C controllable. Two year warranty, quiet and reasonably priced.

 

[snowhite]

Anyone mention Hydor yet? I think the entire Seltz D lineup is < $200.

Guy at my LFS swears by them.

I recently tried a Hydor Seltz and it had a VERY noticable and irritating whine noise to it. It stayed in the sump no more than long enough to get another pump in place and it was returned. Replaced it with a Simplicity DC pump that was much quieter and only has a pleasing Shhhhhhhh white noise to it, but I think a Jebao would be quieter than the SImplicity.

 

[92Miata]

I got one of these and it is dead silent. Without looking at the controller, I can't tell if it's running or not.

I've got one of these that has moved around from being in my greenhouse to new being a return pump for one of my tanks, and it is absolutely silent.


Not a huge fan of the controller - its about the most poorly designed interface I've ever seen, but it works fine.

 

[Crustaceon]

I had a dcp 4000 that would lock up pretty much every week and this was after a full cleaning and vinegar soak each time. I ruled out precipitation as a cause. It was either a slight manufacturing issue with the impeller/bushing sizing or the controller not supplying adequate voltage and erroring out. Maybe I just had a bad jebao, but it was enough for me to go back to running quietone pumps as I’ve never had issues with them. Their 3000 and larger pumps are admittedly noisy, but I’m running dual 1200 models on my 55 and can’t hear them over my skimmer. DC pumps are nice and all, but that doesn’t mean people should discount AC pumps. Obviously, they tend to be more affordable than DC pumps because they don’t use a controller. That’s one plus. The biggest though ties into the primary goal of a return pump, which is to stay running no matter what. AC pumps have the edge because they lack that additional controller which is just one more component to fail. I’ve had quietone pumps completely encrusted in coralline algae and soda ash-induced precipitation and they still ran. Just something to think about considering return pumps are the hearts of our systems.

 

[bob salzlein]

I recently tried a Hydor Seltz and it had a VERY noticable and irritating whine noise to it. It stayed in the sump no more than long enough to get another pump in place and it was returned. Replaced it with a Simplicity DC pump that was much quieter and only has a pleasing Shhhhhhhh white noise to it, but I think a Jebao would be quieter than the SImplicity.

It sounds like the flow was being restricted, what was the size of pump and how big was the pipe coming out of it?

 

[snowhite]

It sounds like the flow was being restricted, what was the size of pump and how big was the pipe coming out of it?

750gph through a 1" pipe... only up 4 feet. There was no restriction and it sounded the same running in a container. Even tore it down to make sure there was nothing in it.