Return pump opinions wanted

[Rebecca&Kevin]

Hello All,
We are in the process of settling a 250 gallon deep dimension tank. We are debating between a
eFlux LOOP DC Flow Return Pump 3170GPH by Current USA or a
Octo VarioS-8 Controllable DC Water Pump 2700 GPH by Reef Octopus
Which will be more user friendly to operate? better investment in the long run? All thoughts, opinions, comments, other product recommendations welcome.
RK

 

[neverenough]

I'm running the eFlux pump on my tank and I'm a big fan of it. I'm feeding the return and 3 reactors and the pump is still dead quiet. The silicone feet absorb all the vibrations and you almost have to put your ear to the sump to tell if it's running. The control knob is sensitive so it's easy to make slight changes to flow to get the overflow quiet. Only downside I found was that the feed mode does not work if the pump is run independently. Have to be connect to a loop controller. I have it connected to a reefkeeper so it's not really a big deal for me. No experience with the reef octopus pump so can't comment there.

 

[DBR_Reef]

Kind of hard to tell without more information- is it being used for a closed loop or a return? If it's being used as a return, how many feet of head is it pushing? What size plumbing will be used? A return pump should be matched to it's application- A high head pump with an enclosed impeller design wont be as efficient at lower head heights as an open design.
You're also showing 2 DC pumps. If you don't have a specific reason for wanting to run a DC pump (which is really a modified wave AC pump), I would go with a high quality AC pump.

Pros of a DC pump:
-DC pumps are billed as more efficient, primarily because soft start allows for more efficient propeller designs.
-DC pumps don't need to be dialed back with artificial head (valves), although a properly sized AC doesn't need to be either.
-DC pumps can run at faster speeds (more efficient, quieter, but more annoying noise)
-DC pumps can do soft start, which allows for more efficient propeller designs.
-DC pumps are generally safer, because they are able to be run at a lower voltage (still AC though)
-DC pumps are speed controllable (I don't think this is a great selling point except for in closed loops).

Cons of a DC pump:
-DC pumps have more electronic components that probably shorten the lifespan of the pump.
-DC pumps will generally not beat a properly sized and spec'd AC pump for efficiency due to losses in inverting.
-DC pumps are more prone to calcium buildup, because they have lower torque at operating speeds.
-DC propellers must work at a variety of speeds, reducing efficiency outside of the designed speed.

But to kind of answer your question, in general it seems the reef octopus is a well made pump, and will have a higher resale value. I don't think there is enough experience out there to give a good idea on the current- the pump is not a re-badged pump, but is made for them, so it may be decent quality (although I think that their equipment in general is overpriced). That being said, I bought the octo and it died within a couple days of plugging it in. Obviously I got a bad unit, but customer service insisted that I had broken it cleaning the thing. I tried to explain that I generally don't clean my pumps the first week that they are in service, but they were not being very helpful about it, so I just returned the thing to amazon. So maybe customer service could use some work.

 

[JaimeAdams]

First off Welcome Rebecca!!!

@DBR_Reef It's for a return pump. 3/4 inch hose. Total head height with horizontal run factored in is approximately 8 feet. There is a Y or T in the line to go to both sides.

Price point is a factor or I would just say go buy a Japanese Iwaki and be good for the next 20 years.

 

[DBR_Reef]

Sorry, didn't mean to bombard someone new to the forum. I would run 1.5'' return lines until you have to reduce to .75- the efficiency/flow increase will be huge- like you might get close to twice the flow out of a non pressure rated pump like the reef octo. You could also probably take a step down in pump size and save some money. I don't know how large your sump is, but I usually recommend a pump rated (at the given head) for 3-4 times the size of the sump.There are a lot of benefits to not running a huge amount of water through your sump. So if you have a sump that holds 75 gallons, then something capable of pumping ~300gph at your head might work well. The varios 8 is rated for 1320 at 8 ft, varios 6 at 792, varios 4 at 320. the varios 4 might be a bit small (especially if any of the numbers are off, but I would guess the varios 6 would be more than plenty, and is $60 cheaper and probably $20-30 cheaper per year in electrical cost. Similarly, the next size down in the eflux is $70 cheaper, and probably more than enough as well.

 

[DBR_Reef]

If it were me though, I would go with a tunze/sicce silent pump- quiet, cheaper, and a 5 year warranty. or buy a jebao and wait until the new tunze return pumps come out later this year

 

[hybridazn]

Welcome to R2R!

Is that much flow really needed for a return? Will this be used as a primary source of flow in the tank as well? If your looking for a pump to last year's I would go with an iwaki pump like Jaime suggested. That is of course if you can run it externally and don't so me noise coming from the pump.

I cannot recommend the reef ocotpus pump, I don't want to get too much into it but their pumps aren't built to last.