Going the distance!!!

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atticus

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So a constructed a rodi/salt mixing station in my garage with the idea to not only mix water but to do two other things...1-move my mixed salt water to display tank. 2-remove water from display tank aka water change. To do this I have added a series of valve I'd turn off and on to either move water or to remove water. My run is about 25ish feet horizontal and about 4.5 vertical to tank. All that being said i need a pump that will go the distance and move this water. I have purchased two pumps now and neither has done the job so if anyone has done this or have any input it would be awesome!
 
For tank flow we normally look at pumps in terms of GPH or gallons per hour. For this application you want to think in terms of gallons per minute (GPM).

How many gallons of water are you looking to move per minute?
 
What size is your plumbing? Pretty much any pump suitable for a return pump should clear the 4.5 feet, and the horizontal run would be pretty much negligible.

What is the problem? Not enough flow to mix effectively/quickly? Won't pump to tank?
 
What size is your plumbing? Pretty much any pump suitable for a return pump should clear the 4.5 feet, and the horizontal run would be pretty much negligible.

What is the problem? Not enough flow to mix effectively/quickly? Won't pump to tank?
+1 on this. More info would be good. Either of these pumps should have gotten you around 5gpm flow to your tank. If it isn't, you may have a plumbing issue.
 
For tank flow we normally look at pumps in terms of GPH or gallons per hour. For this application you want to think in terms of gallons per minute (GPM).

How many gallons of water are you looking to move per minute?

I usually do 20g water change.
 
What size is your plumbing? Pretty much any pump suitable for a return pump should clear the 4.5 feet, and the horizontal run would be pretty much negligible.

What is the problem? Not enough flow to mix effectively/quickly? Won't pump to tank?

Running 3/4 hard pipe for mixing and mixes fine. Also running 3/4 garden hose and won't pump to tank.
 
The 25 feet is an issue. The primary loss of flow to plumbing is frictional loss. First you need to consider a pressure pump, not something like a MAG (which is not a pressure pump).....unless you go big....like a MAG24, and even at that, the flow rate would be slow. In addition, use the largest pipe you can run....the larger the pipe diameter, the less frictional loss....and therefore greater flow.

Now go use one of the many head-loss calculators where you can pick the pump type and calculate head loss. As an example, I just entered a MAG24, and made a couple assumptions (using 3/4 inch pipe), and found that for 5 foot rise and 25 foot run, the flow rate would be about 700 gph. Now if you use 1 inch pipe, the flow rate increases to 1060 gph.
 
The 25 feet is an issue. The primary loss of flow to plumbing is frictional loss. First you need to consider a pressure pump, not something like a MAG (which is not a pressure pump).....unless you go big....like a MAG24, and even at that, the flow rate would be slow. In addition, use the largest pipe you can run....the larger the pipe diameter, the less frictional loss....and therefore greater flow.

Now go use one of the many head-loss calculators where you can pick the pump type and calculate head loss. As an example, I just entered a MAG24, and made a couple assumptions (using 3/4 inch pipe), and found that for 5 foot rise and 25 foot run, the flow rate would be about 700 gph. Now if you use 1 inch pipe, the flow rate increases to 1060 gph.

Good info! Where best to find a pressure pump?
 
I don't know anything about the Current USA pumps so I cant say much about them. I know the Blueline pumps run forever since I have used them but the power savings of the DC pump would be nice.

Yeah really want to go dc if I can just so I can adjust when mixing.
 
Do you have a sump?
Have you already tried just pumping the water into the sump instead of the display to eliminate the vertical height. It takes turning on and off the return pumps a few times depending on your volume.
My water changing equipment is in the garage and is just gravity fed into tank and I use the Python No Spills siphon to remove water from the display. I do about a 70 gallon change and the tank is 50ft from the garage. No pumps. Takes awhile, but no pumps.
 
Do you have a sump?
Have you already tried just pumping the water into the sump instead of the display to eliminate the vertical height. It takes turning on and off the return pumps a few times depending on your volume.
My water changing equipment is in the garage and is just gravity fed into tank and I use the Python No Spills siphon to remove water from the display. I do about a 70 gallon change and the tank is 50ft from the garage. No pumps. Takes awhile, but no pumps.

Problem I'm having is that I can't even get it to pump water out of a house lying flat in floor!
 
The 25 feet is an issue. The primary loss of flow to plumbing is frictional loss. First you need to consider a pressure pump, not something like a MAG (which is not a pressure pump).....unless you go big....like a MAG24, and even at that, the flow rate would be slow. In addition, use the largest pipe you can run....the larger the pipe diameter, the less frictional loss....and therefore greater flow.

Now go use one of the many head-loss calculators where you can pick the pump type and calculate head loss. As an example, I just entered a MAG24, and made a couple assumptions (using 3/4 inch pipe), and found that for 5 foot rise and 25 foot run, the flow rate would be about 700 gph. Now if you use 1 inch pipe, the flow rate increases to 1060 gph.

Where can I get a a calculator to figure it out?
 
I hate to be a contrarian, but the problem isn't the 25ft run of horizontal pipe. This is strictly a frictional loss. If there is no flow, there is no friction. If you run a 200ft pipe from a tank it will drain, just not as fast as with a 10ft pipe.
Problem I'm having is that I can't even get it to pump water out of a house lying flat in floor!
You have something else going on. Can you draw a sketch of your plumbing system, take a photo of it, and post it so we can look at it?

Also, you aren't using a self expanding hose, are you?
 

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