Return pump suggestions

[Bruce17]

Hello,
I was wondering what people would recommend as the best return pump? I have a 205 gallon tank with a Bashsea 48” signature series sump. I’m hoping to turn the water over 10 times an hour. I want to also install a manifold for my dual GFO/carbon reactor, my UV sterilizer and whatever equipment that I decide to add down the road. It’s going to be a heavily fed and stocked fish only tank, with angels, tangs, anthias, wrasse, clown fish and maybe a couple other small fish.

Thanks
Bruce

 

[Snoopy 67]

That's over 2,000 GPH without head pressure.
My thought would be Reeflo.
Just remember you are going to have to replace the seal every so often so have a spare on hand.

 

[Murica]

Jebao. Cheap, DC, powerful, reliable

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

Fluval sp6

 

[NYCMAN]

I have a blueline 100 on my 200G reef tank and EcoTech L1s on similarly sized freshwater tanks, all plumbed with overflows and sumps. The AC blue line is far more powerful than the DC Vectras. I know this because all three are plumbed to push water up 8 feet and then horizontally about 25 feet to my house sewage drain. This is a ball valve configuration used during water changes to automatically empty sump and refill it. The Vectras always have a bit of trouble (takes time) to create enough pressure to push the water up and over to the drain, but the blueline never does. Yet the Vectras are rated with higher head pressure and GPH. I think something is lost in going from AC to DC, including noise though

 

[jinsun2000]

I have a 180G tank and I use an Ecotech vectral L2 (3100 GPH).

 

[Hemmdog]

The big ecotech dc or the big reef octo VarioS.

 

[cmaxwell39]

A couple of factors will determine which pump fits your needs best. The first being the location of the sump, and the plumbing layout. Trying to move 2000+ gph is going to be a challenge if the plumbing is not properly designed to minimize head loss. This is going to mean running plumbing that is at least as large as the output of the pump, and sometimes even oversizing it. It will also mean trying to eliminate 90's and using 45's instead.

Is there a specific reason that you are targeting 10X turnover through your sump??

 

[Bruce17]

A couple of factors will determine which pump fits your needs best. The first being the location of the sump, and the plumbing layout. Trying to move 2000+ gph is going to be a challenge if the plumbing is not properly designed to minimize head loss. This is going to mean running plumbing that is at least as large as the output of the pump, and sometimes even oversizing it. It will also mean trying to eliminate 90's and using 45's instead.

Is there a specific reason that you are targeting 10X turnover through your sump??

First of all, thank you very much for your response. My sump is on the other side of the wall that the display tank will be. I haven’t plumbed the tank yet. I’m guessing that the max distance that the water will have to go is up roughly 5 feet and forward 2-3 feet. I’ve read a lot about aiming to turn over the water 10 times. I’m going to be feeding a lot because of the fish that I want and I figure that the extra water movement will help keep the water clean and also give extra water movement for the fish.

 

[ca1ore]

Even with relatively low head height, netting 2,000 does limit your options. Presumably since your sump is outside the room, pump noise is not a major issue. That adds a few external pumps to the list. I’m not personally a huge fan of reeflo, seals just don’t last. The large Iwaki or PanWorld models will get you close, maybe 1,800 gph net, though they’re both tough on the power bill. As for internals, the vectra L2 would get you there as long as you maintained native pipe size. Probably don’t need to pay for the controllability. I think I’d look to ether the fluval SP6 or the Sicce Sychra HF 12. I gave up on Jebao a while back so cannot speak to current levels of reliability.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Iwaki, reeflo or abyzz

 

[cvrle1]

.....It will also mean trying to eliminate 90's and using 45's instead.

Is there a specific reason that you are targeting 10X turnover through your sump??

It has been proven that 90 vs 45 degree elbows doesnt make any difference when it comes to plumbing.

.....I’ve read a lot about aiming to turn over the water 10 times. I’m going to be feeding a lot because of the fish that I want and I figure that the extra water movement will help keep the water clean and also give extra water movement for the fish.

2 different types of turnover wen discussion reef aquariums. DT/Sump return turnover rate (amount of water moving between display and sump in gph) and turnover in display tank (also in gph) For former, folks will go from 2x up to 10 or so, with most doing something around 5x. For turnover in display that number is much higher, 20x-100x depending on what you keep.

Most of the turnover in display is done by pumps and wavemakers inside the tank.

 

[Bruce17]

It has been proven that 90 vs 45 degree elbows doesnt make any difference when it comes to plumbing.




2 different types of turnover wen discussion reef aquariums. DT/Sump return turnover rate (amount of water moving between display and sump in gph) and turnover in display tank (also in gph) For former, folks will go from 2x up to 10 or so, with most doing something around 5x. For turnover in display that number is much higher, 20x-100x depending on what you keep.

Most of the turnover in display is done by pumps and wavemakers inside the tank.

I purchased two gyre 250’s for the water movement in the tank. Do you feel that will be enough? I want to eventually add angels, tangs, anthias and wrasses

 

[Bruce17]

Even with relatively low head height, netting 2,000 does limit your options. Presumably since your sump is outside the room, pump noise is not a major issue. That adds a few external pumps to the list. I’m not personally a huge fan of reeflo, seals just don’t last. The large Iwaki or PanWorld models will get you close, maybe 1,800 gph net, though they’re both tough on the power bill. As for internals, the vectra L2 would get you there as long as you maintained native pipe size. Probably don’t need to pay for the controllability. I think I’d look to ether the fluval SP6 or the Sicce Sychra HF 12. I gave up on Jebao a while back so cannot speak to current levels of reliability.

My return pipes will be 1 1/4 inch. Ok thank you very much. I’ll research the fluval, vectra L2 and the Sicce Sychra HF12

 

[Dr. Bull]

+1 for Vectra L2. I am using these on my 150 gallon display and my 250 gallon coral grow out tanks. I am not even pushing them past 50% yet. The added bonus of being able to use the Ecotech battery backups with them is also a nice feature that has saved my tanks a few times during long power outages.

 

[cvrle1]

I purchased two gyre 250’s for the water movement in the tank. Do you feel that will be enough? I want to eventually add angels, tangs, anthias and wrasses

It is hard to say, as there are factors that will determine if 2 of them are enough or not. If tank had nothing but the water in it, I think you would be fine with 2, but you dont have just water in the tank. When you add rocks and corals flow pattern changes and some areas of the tank have more movement than the others. If I were you I ould start with those 250s and see how things progress. if you never plan on having SPS, you may find that 2 250's are more than enough, but if you do have SPS dominant tank, you may want to add more flow and more pumps in different locations.

 

[MichaelReefer]

I have had the Simplicity pump on my Reefer 250 and it runs great. Super quiet and no problems so far. I would recommend.

 

[Bruce17]

+1 for Vectra L2. I am using these on my 150 gallon display and my 250 gallon coral grow out tanks. I am not even pushing them past 50% yet. The added bonus of being able to use the Ecotech battery backups with them is also a nice feature that has saved my tanks a few times during long power outages.

The battery back up is definitely a great perk. Thank you very much

 

[RobberyinCSharp1824]

I have a 180G tank and I use an Ecotech vectral L2 (3100 GPH).

+1 for Vectra L2. I am using these on my 150 gallon display and my 250 gallon coral grow out tanks. I am not even pushing them past 50% yet. The added bonus of being able to use the Ecotech battery backups with them is also a nice feature that has saved my tanks a few times during long power outages.

Do you guys like yours? I'm setting up my 125gal tank and I plan to buy an M1. Since this tank isn't (and can't be) reef-ready, I need my return pumps to be absolutely fail safe. I have been eyeballing the ETM M1's for a few weeks now, primarily due to the backup battery system. Living in CT, power outages are common (we had one this morning pre-snowstorm). That being said, I keep reading the intermittent review about the pumps and/or battery failing. I think technically at this stage I'd be buying the "Vectra 2" series since the first rollout of these pumps is discontinued, but I'd love to hear your personal experiences with your pumps.

 

[Dr. Bull]

Do you guys like yours? I'm setting up my 125gal tank and I plan to buy an M1. Since this tank isn't (and can't be) reef-ready, I need my return pumps to be absolutely fail safe. I have been eyeballing the ETM M1's for a few weeks now, primarily due to the backup battery system. Living in CT, power outages are common (we had one this morning pre-snowstorm). That being said, I keep reading the intermittent review about the pumps and/or battery failing. I think technically at this stage I'd be buying the "Vectra 2" series since the first rollout of these pumps is discontinued, but I'd love to hear your personal experiences with your pumps.

All my pumps are the Vectra 2 series, running 5 currently (3 L2's, 2 M2's). I also have about 8 battery backups running on the returns and a bunch of MP40's. I have had one failure so far on my battery backup units, and Ecotech was quick to turn around a replacement at no charge. One of my Vectra M2's failed about a month ago and they responded quickly with a replacement. So like with anything mechanical they do fail from time to time, however from my experience the majority of units have been working well, and the manufacturer has made things right quickly in the times that I did have an issue.