Does anybody use the dc-12000?
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OP
OP
reefchaser
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What size is your tank? Do you think its to much for a 75?
OP
OP
reefchaser
Active Member
Do you think a mag 9 900gph is not enough for a 75 with a chiller hooked to it also?
hung
Active Member
I have a DC9000 and DC12000 but I run the DC9000 on my DSA 105 rimless with a manifold with three reactors. I think you would be fine with a DC6000 or DC9000 depending on the rest of your setup.
prsnlty
Jackie
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I'm upgrading my 125g to a 180g. I am wondering the same thing. I'll have a 55g sump with fuge plus 3 TLF 150 reactors tied in. The 180g will have a 24" overflow on 2- 1" drains with 3- 3/4" returns. Do you think this pump will be strong enough, quiet and give off little heat?
gpdno
Community Member
Yes. My 150 gal has a 50 gal sump. The pump provided more than enough flow and is very quite. I have not had any issues with excess heat. Overall, I am very pleased with the pump.
prsnlty
Jackie
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Thank you 
That's great news! I have 2 mag 9.5 and 1 mag 7. 1 mag 9.5 is kicking the bucket and the 7 is old as the hills. It would be nice to run just 1 quiet, non vibrating pump 
Is tge DC12000 able to be dialed down if it is a little much?
Jackie
That's great news! I have 2 mag 9.5 and 1 mag 7. 1 mag 9.5 is kicking the bucket and the 7 is old as the hills. It would be nice to run just 1 quiet, non vibrating pump Is tge DC12000 able to be dialed down if it is a little much? Jackie
prsnlty
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exodus454
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These are great pumps, I've had one of the 12000's on a 75g reef for a few months now. Heat and noise are MUCH better than the two external pumps it replaced, these things run very cool and you only get some "dc whine" which is hardly noticeable. I'm a little skeptical of the longevity of these pumps as they're largely chinese plastic, but I guess if it lasts two years it will have paid for itself. I also made sure to be very gentle with tightening the plumbing and making sure there was no stress on the flanges.
I run the 12000 on full speed on the 75! These are definitely flow oriented pumps and I can see them not coping well with small plumbing or large head heights. When my pump showed up I tried using it to pump water up from my mixing bucket, which is maybe a 10' vertical rise.. even on high it barely made it up at an acceptable rate, but whatever. When I installed mine on the tank I changed my inlet side to 2" and the outlet to 1 1/4" and it works really well. I'm pretty sure last time I plugged the kill-a-watt into it, the power consumption on high was just over 100w which is NOTHING.
One thing worth mentioning which I was slightly aggravated about when I got mine - the ac-dc inverter box is LARGE. Mine is the same size as my 600w Lumatek MH ballast (maybe 12x6x4"), so the space you save around the pump more or less gets taken up elsewhere. The cords are decently long though. Another thing is my fan on the controller was LOUD. I don't know if it was just my individual fan or if they all do it, but the stupid little fan made MORE NOISE than any other piece of equipment on the tank, and you could hear it two rooms away! I almost immediately chopped that fan off and rigged a 120mm fan up to it, now it's inaudible. The controller and the inverter do get hot though!
It's a great pump overall though, especially for what it costs. I just wish they would come out with some higher pressure and higher flow models now!
I run the 12000 on full speed on the 75! These are definitely flow oriented pumps and I can see them not coping well with small plumbing or large head heights. When my pump showed up I tried using it to pump water up from my mixing bucket, which is maybe a 10' vertical rise.. even on high it barely made it up at an acceptable rate, but whatever. When I installed mine on the tank I changed my inlet side to 2" and the outlet to 1 1/4" and it works really well. I'm pretty sure last time I plugged the kill-a-watt into it, the power consumption on high was just over 100w which is NOTHING.
One thing worth mentioning which I was slightly aggravated about when I got mine - the ac-dc inverter box is LARGE. Mine is the same size as my 600w Lumatek MH ballast (maybe 12x6x4"), so the space you save around the pump more or less gets taken up elsewhere. The cords are decently long though. Another thing is my fan on the controller was LOUD. I don't know if it was just my individual fan or if they all do it, but the stupid little fan made MORE NOISE than any other piece of equipment on the tank, and you could hear it two rooms away! I almost immediately chopped that fan off and rigged a 120mm fan up to it, now it's inaudible. The controller and the inverter do get hot though!
It's a great pump overall though, especially for what it costs. I just wish they would come out with some higher pressure and higher flow models now!
prsnlty
Jackie
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Great info, thank you!
It has an ac-dc inverter box? Is this to control the speed? And it needs to use a fan? I guess I'm just used to plug and play mag pumps so this part is new to me. Ugh, I'd have to change the fan too
My house is 100% ceramic tile and that would be heard AND felt through out the whole house especially at night when sound travels most. How many gph do you think it's turning over at full speed? I'll be pushing 3- 3/4" returns with 24" of overflow on a 180g.
Jackie
It has an ac-dc inverter box? Is this to control the speed? And it needs to use a fan? I guess I'm just used to plug and play mag pumps so this part is new to me. Ugh, I'd have to change the fan too
My house is 100% ceramic tile and that would be heard AND felt through out the whole house especially at night when sound travels most. How many gph do you think it's turning over at full speed? I'll be pushing 3- 3/4" returns with 24" of overflow on a 180g. Jackie
exodus454
Community Member
Great info, thank you!
It has an ac-dc inverter box? Is this to control the speed? And it needs to use a fan? I guess I'm just used to plug and play mag pumps so this part is new to me. Ugh, I'd have to change the fan too
Jackie
The inverter is to convert the 120v Ac to the 24v DC that the pump uses. Then there's the controller with the fan on it which controls the speed. I don't know if all the fans are like that or not, I'd expect if it was common then people would be complaining about it more often.
I have my pump going 1 1/4" out of the pump to 4x 3/4" returns, I haven't measured the actual flow rate but I'm guessing it's about 2800gph. You have to make sure your sump/overflow/drains/returns/etc are all up to handling the full flow too, otherwise you could run into issues.
prsnlty
Jackie
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Ok. That's good to know. The speed controller dials it down though correct? 2 of my returns will be normal 3/4" returns but the third is going to be a 3/4" - 6' SB spraybar that will span the center of the tank under the rock ridge. (Works beautifully too, no issues and breaks syphon like the rest). Then I' ll have 24" overflow box into 2 - 1" drains on my 180g new build. The sump will be 55g.
Jackie
gpdno
Community Member
Yes. Speed control is variable. For my 150g DT and 50g sump I have a 1" return line that splits into two 3/4" lines. The overflows are two 1-1/2" lines draining to the sump.
I run the pump at the middle setting.
I run the pump at the middle setting.
