Best return pump

Russ265 · Jul 11, 2016

mcarroll said:
Good example! Everything counts, plumbing-wise...even the drains.

Can't remember if you're doing a basement return, but it sounds like a smaller Ampmaster like the 3500 or 4750 might even work for you, eh?

yeah. 3500 or 4750 would do just fine. not a basement return. its under the tank.
i was figuring like you did with head pressure and all as well as my manifold robbing it.

in the end, i could have gone smaller without any ballvalves.

there are also cons running one pump. in my 220 i had 2 mag pumps running each return for redundancy.

if my dolphin pump goes out. everything is offline.

revhtree · Jul 11, 2016

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dc-pumps-ecotech-vs-royal-exclusiv-vs-abyzz.236376/

mcarroll · Jul 11, 2016

@Russ265 Awesome drain chart, btw! Where's that from?

Russ265 · Jul 11, 2016

mcarroll said:
@Russ265 Awesome drain chart, btw! Where's that from?

i dont remember where. it was posted on some r2r thread. could be dated.

moreef · Jul 11, 2016

ron b said:
I have a 125 gallon duel overflow 55 gallon sump, looking for a dc pump... I was wondering about the jaebo dct far as longevity and overall noise... also which series the 12000 or maybe lower? Any input would greatly be appreciated...

I have a 155g 5ft tank with the dc12000 and only have it on like 3 or like 50% I could prob dial in a little higher but feel its plenty. I will eventually get a back up pump but will likely get the smaller 6/9000 series. I really like the pump and would ( will ) get another.

mcarroll · Jul 11, 2016

Russ265 said:
if my dolphin pump goes out. everything is offline.

Trade one 6250 for dual 3500's? A quick check seems to indicate that'd still potentially deliver 3400 actual GPH when unrestrained. (Still enough to saturate your drains, it would appear.)

Depending on the seal type you went with (Type 2, 3 or 4), the price doesn't seem to support the switch though...there's almost no difference in price between all three models....around a $50 spread for the Type 2 seal. Hrm. (If you went for the top-of-the-line, lifetime warranty, abrasive-compatible seal at $650, then the math may work out better.)

They are sweet pumps though. I had a 6250 on a ~1000 gallon retail system I used to maintain. It was not an ideal working environment in the least and it still far-outlasted its warranty. It was replaced with another Ampmaster (Type 3) when its seal went out...and the old one was refurbished as a spare. The company was great to work with too.

reef_junkie · Jul 11, 2016

I'm on the other side of the fence with gph. We want long contact time for biological and chemical filtration so I stay around 4x turnover. My internal tank flow is about 20x turnover however.

Bob Escher · Jul 11, 2016

I have a
DC2500HP Apex Ready DC Pump - 660 GPH - Waveline
It's quiet it runs right at about 600 GPH ( which is a little over ten times the size of my tank (45 gallon with 20 gallon sump) and its apex controllable
I love it but thinking of moving up to a wave line DC4000

snowbomb101 · Jul 11, 2016

Reef_junkie you make a good point. Is it really all about turnover in your sump or total turnover from sump and display tank power heads. I have a Waveline DC12000 on my 125G DT with a 40G sump. I am just playing around with the setup right now with freshwater and have the pump set at 80%. I have no idea if this is too much flow. I am pumping up to the DT from the basement. There are several 90 degree turns, a few check valves, and a chiller that it has to overcome. All my other reactors and uv sterilizer are feed with separate pumps.
Long story short I have heard of people running beautiful successful tanks with only 2X or 3X flow only taking into account flow to the sump.

JoshuaS · Jul 11, 2016

I love my Vectra as well... Will never switch to anything else. Except maybe a newer Vectra...

snowbomb101 · Jul 11, 2016

I wanted to get a Vectra but as it cannot be controlled by my apex I went with the Waveline instead. I will probably switch to the new Neptune COR when it is released providing it has the output of a DC12000.

JoshuaS · Jul 11, 2016

I use MY Neptune NG 2016 with my Vectra... It works great!

Which Apex do you have?

TaylorPilot · Jul 11, 2016

mcarroll said:
Trade one 6250 for dual 3500's? A quick check seems to indicate that'd still potentially deliver 3400 actual GPH when unrestrained. (Still enough to saturate your drains, it would appear.)

Depending on the seal type you went with (Type 2, 3 or 4), the price doesn't seem to support the switch though...there's almost no difference in price between all three models....around a $50 spread for the Type 2 seal. Hrm. (If you went for the top-of-the-line, lifetime warranty, abrasive-compatible seal at $650, then the math may work out better.)

They are sweet pumps though. I had a 6250 on a ~1000 gallon retail system I used to maintain. It was not an ideal working environment in the least and it still far-outlasted its warranty. It was replaced with another Ampmaster (Type 3) when its seal went out...and the old one was refurbished as a spare. The company was great to work with too.

If running two pumps in parallel, be sure to put check valves on the outputs. If ones fails, it will start back siphoning to the sump practically offsetting the output of the 2nd pump that is still running.

joro · Jul 11, 2016

I've enjoyed the the Reef Octopus Diablo 5500 DC Pump for the past few months on my 90G reef and it's run very quiet. I know they discontinued this model; however, there are some new ones out that might be worth checking out. I've also heard great things about the Vectra but haven't tried it personally.

snowbomb101 · Jul 12, 2016

JoshuaS said:
I use MY Neptune NG 2016 with my Vectra... It works great!

Which Apex do you have?

I have the New Apex. You can only control the Vectra with on/off commands. I wanted to control the pump variably. As far as I have read that can't be done with the Apex and the Vectra pump.

snowbomb101 · Jul 12, 2016

TaylorPilot said:
If running two pumps in parallel, be sure to put check valves on the outputs. If ones fails, it will start back siphoning to the sump practically offsetting the output of the 2nd pump that is still running.

Yikes! I am a big fan of check valves even if some folks say they take too much horsepower to stay open. Cheap insurance for having to replace all my hardwood floors.