Tunze 1073.050 and heat issues

mfinn · Jan 5, 2020

I buddy of mine has a 34 gallon tank and is using a Tunze 1073.050 as a return pump and is constantly dealing with dealing with heat from it.
He said in 3/4 of a day it ran the heat up 6-7 degrees.
Anyone else have issues with this pump?

rvitko · Jan 6, 2020

He could verify it is clean and not bound up, this will lower the wattage, but this is simply a large pump. In the end whatever wattage a pump is, it is essentially the same as having a heater of that wattage. Given the small volume of water it is basically a 43W heater if it is working optimally at full power. On a 120 for example, he would only see a degree or so, but for this small volume, it will be more substantial. He could turn down the pump speed, but a pump with half the wattage will produce half the heat. If he cuts down the speed, the wattage will drop and that may help. This is part of why modern propeller pumps were such a break through, large return pumps and impeller pumps were always heat factories, so using a very small return pump and a prop pump in tank was a huge heat reduction. He should not need such a large return pump for a 37.

mfinn · Jan 6, 2020

I agree it is a large pump for the water volume.
It is brand new and it is clean. He said it is set at the lowest speed, but even at the highest wattage use, a 43 watt heater isn't all that much.

I've never had a reef tank this small, so I'm not familiar with the issues with them.
Plus I would not have picked a pump this strong, but I feel I should at least advise him.
I probably gave him ideas when he asked about my systems and Tunze has always been a part of them.

mfinn · Jan 6, 2020

@rvitko would the 1073.020 be more appropriate?
I see this under description,

Pumping volume: 50 to 630 US gal./energy consumption: 15 to 34
How is this pump controlled?

Or would the 1073.008 be work better?

rvitko · Jan 7, 2020

1073.008 is way to weak, it is a pump for small fountains and media reactors. I would generally use the 1073.020, but the flow will only be a couple hundred gph at 4ft of head. The flow is adjusted by a mechanical dial, the 1073.050 has the same adjustment as well. As head pressure and flow are restricted, power consumption drops on AC pumps. Honestly, I think if you turned down the 1073.050 so the flow was also about 200 gph, it would run a little hotter, but not much and I would try that first. In general I believe a sump should have around 3-5 times total system volume flowing through it per hour, the rest of the flow should be generated by small powerheads targeting 40-80 times total turn over depending on inhabitants.

mfinn · Jan 7, 2020

rvitko said:
1073.008 is way to weak, it is a pump for small fountains and media reactors. I would generally use the 1073.020, but the flow will only be a couple hundred gph at 4ft of head. The flow is adjusted by a mechanical dial, the 1073.050 has the same adjustment as well. As head pressure and flow are restricted, power consumption drops on AC pumps. Honestly, I think if you turned down the 1073.050 so the flow was also about 200 gph, it would run a little hotter, but not much and I would try that first. In general I believe a sump should have around 3-5 times total system volume flowing through it per hour, the rest of the flow should be generated by small powerheads targeting 40-80 times total turn over depending on inhabitants.

Come to find out my friend has been talking with you already. Probably via email.
And what he didn't say to me at first,is he might have other issues. So, while this pump may be large for his system, he may attempt to make it work.
Thanks

Midrats · Jan 7, 2020

I have one on my 28g Reefer Nano running at full power. It raises the temperature in the tank by five degrees, which I welcome as it helps out the heater. The return is outfitted with a random flow generator nozzle. The 1073.050 coupled with the RFG provides all the flow, there are no other pumps in the tank.

X-37B · Jan 7, 2020

Some info for you. I ran a 1073.20 on my 25 nano with no heat issues. It ran at about 50%. I now use it on my 45 frag tank with 40 breeder sump at 100% no heat issues.