IM Nuvo 20 -- Return Pump Upgrade?
- Thread starter BAPrince
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Reefer Optima
Community Member
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Seems a little small in my opinion. I bought the IM20 before the Pro version & the stock pump was junk. I got a Sicce 1.0 rated like 250gph & it's nice. I'm using my nuvo 20 for freshwater though so you might want a little more flow for a marine tank.
Kind of pricey but would suggest the IM Mighty jet Mini (326gph). I have had it on my jbj 24 for about a year & its been great. Once I change my saltwater tank I'm moving the Mighty jet to my IM20 & can't wait to use it. The Sicce isn't totally silent & can hear it when my room is quiet. The Mighty jet is very quiet being a DC pump & it's adjustable flow & feed hold make it worth the extra $ to me.
Slawman
Active Member
There are certainly brands to avoid but hard to say what is best for you without more information.
Consider sump throughput (match to your skimmer processing capacity), noise requirement (do you need quiet, silent, dead silent....), price (the more you spend generally the better), head requirement......Plenty to consider when deciding what is BEST.
Consider sump throughput (match to your skimmer processing capacity), noise requirement (do you need quiet, silent, dead silent....), price (the more you spend generally the better), head requirement......Plenty to consider when deciding what is BEST.
SDK
Reef Diver
I would advise that you invest in a wavemaker for flow and not go overboard with the return pump in a NUVO 20. I tried “upgrading” to a Sicce 1 on mine, and then dialed back down to a Sicce .5.
The stronger pump created two issues for me:
Problem one was excess microbubbles from my skimmer. Back chambers don’t allow much room for them to offgas before getting sucked into the return pump and pumped into the display. In fact, the skimmer outlet in chamber two pours directly into the return chamber on these tanks. My previously perfectly tuned Tunze skimmer pumped a steady stream into the tank as soon as I put the larger pump in.
Too much flow can also make it all but impossible to use a refugium basket. Mine was working well, then the stronger pump pinned the chaeto down in the bottom so hard it looked like a filter sponge. It was so compacted that the light could not penetrate and it started rapidly dying off.
The Sicce .5 is rated for 185 GPH so your current pump is probably fine as far as flow. Having said that, I am not familiar with the brand CompactON. I can highly recommend the .5 if yours is a cheapie. Pulling pumps out from the back chamber frequently is a real pain
The stronger pump created two issues for me:
Problem one was excess microbubbles from my skimmer. Back chambers don’t allow much room for them to offgas before getting sucked into the return pump and pumped into the display. In fact, the skimmer outlet in chamber two pours directly into the return chamber on these tanks. My previously perfectly tuned Tunze skimmer pumped a steady stream into the tank as soon as I put the larger pump in.
Too much flow can also make it all but impossible to use a refugium basket. Mine was working well, then the stronger pump pinned the chaeto down in the bottom so hard it looked like a filter sponge. It was so compacted that the light could not penetrate and it started rapidly dying off.
The Sicce .5 is rated for 185 GPH so your current pump is probably fine as far as flow. Having said that, I am not familiar with the brand CompactON. I can highly recommend the .5 if yours is a cheapie. Pulling pumps out from the back chamber frequently is a real pain
