Return pump for apex

sogdog · Mar 27, 2023

I want to have a replacement return pump on hand for when the varios pump I’m using eventually dies. It seems all the reviews for return pumps of almost all brands are either 5 star or 1 star with little in between, and it seems to be that way for most pumps I’ve seen.
Does the cor20 offer any advantage that a dc return pump does not? I don’t feel like I’m missing anything with my varios. I have the budget to get what I want more or less, this is for a 200g dt. Any suggestions would be helpful.

homer1475 · Mar 27, 2023

Never owned a cor pump, but do own a varios. Both are DC pumps. My varios works well, very quiet, and plenty adjustable. Although as a return pump, it's pretty much set and forget, no real need to adjust it much.

tsharpe291 · Mar 27, 2023

sogdog said:
I want to have a replacement return pump on hand for when the varios pump I’m using eventually dies. It seems all the reviews for return pumps of almost all brands are either 5 star or 1 star with little in between, and it seems to be that way for most pumps I’ve seen.
Does the cor20 offer any advantage that a dc return pump does not? I don’t feel like I’m missing anything with my varios. I have the budget to get what I want more or less, this is for a 200g dt. Any suggestions would be helpful.

I’ve had the cor 20 (recently replaced) it didn’t cut it for me as far as the flow goes. I have a hard time believing 2000gph. It is nice to have it integrated with the apex but besides that I wasn’t really impressed.

rtparty · Mar 27, 2023

The COR line of pumps are not worth it. Too many failures and issues with them.

If you want to integrate with Apex, go with the Sicce SDC WiFi pumps. I run 2 of the 7.0s on my tank and they are crazy powerful. The max I can run them is 35% each and I have quite a bit of head pressure on them. My 1" drain can't handle any more flow than that.

You can use IoTA and control the Sicce pumps from Fusion. Makes it super nice

sogdog · Mar 28, 2023

So I’m updating my decision and reasoning in case anyone ends up having the same question. As of now, the most common failure for the cor 20 appears to be the power supply. Evidently you can use the power supply for a 1link module and that one works well and is reliable with the cor20. I’m gonna give this pump a chance just because I like the idea of everything being on my apex, and buy the extra power cord ($60 on brs) in case I get a faulty power supply. So possible solution, but I am taking a risk to stubbornly stick to Neptune products.

homer1475 · Mar 28, 2023

You do know you can control the varios with an apex and a 0-10V cable?

sogdog · Mar 28, 2023

homer1475 said:
You do know you can control the varios with an apex and a 0-10V cable?

Yes, that’s my current set up. I asked if the cor20 offered any additional control features that were useful.
Also, I have had issues with the varios pumps randomly losing connectivety with a 0-10v connection to apex, but never anything connected via aquabus.

vtecintegra · Mar 28, 2023

I bought the cor 20 over other comparable dc pumps for the feed feature where it keeps the return lines filled and soft start (I don't have 0-10V on my Apex). My AC return pump would come back on full power splashing water. That being said, when I hit feed, the pump goes to 1%. At 1% it's still sending a little water over the overflow, and a small amount of food goes with it. Not perfect, but better than my AC pump.

As for flow. I had a Fluval SP4, rated for 1822 gph. I swapped the cor 20 in, and it flows slightly less. I had to close down on the gate valve on the return line a little to get the balance right.

According to my poor hearing, the cor is dead silent compared to the Fluval which vibrated.

It's nice to see the rpm the pump is at in Apex. Oddly, the cor has slowed down 100 rpms after the first week.