What Return Pump are you running and why.

[Amps Reef Life]

Lots of Sicce user in the community.

I spec a lot of different reefs but the only models I currently have in the field are Fluval sp4, sp6, eheim 1262, panworld 40px, 50px-x, 100px-x, 150ps, 200ps, iwaki 20rxt, 30rxt, 40rxt, 100rlt, and one lonesome mag12b still running at 8 years old and about that long since its last cleaning which will be swapped for an sp4 when it finally gives up. Oh and some Cobalt mj1200s for the few nanos I run.

Couldnt pay me to install a DC pump unless it was an abyzz or red dragon. And even then I wouldnt unless a client insisted on it.

That's a lot of pumps! Why couldn't someone pay you to install a DC pump? Curious to hear your opinion on that. Is it the price tag?

I am running a mag18. As soon as it dies I will upgrade to a fancy dc pump.

Mags are solid pumps

They really are; and if one ends up being a long-termer in the hobby, they are likely to be the low cost option as well. My own personal view is that the popularity of DC pumps is highly correlated to time in the hobby. Many reefers will drop out before their pump fails.

That's true I never thought about that.

 

[ca1ore]

Most people tend to buy based on initial cost - not thinking about the long term. If you are going to be in the hobby for a while there are better approaches.

 

[av8soulfly]

Sicci 5 on reef and Sicci 5 on fowlr.
Quiet and dependable.

 

[ca1ore]

Couldnt pay me to install a DC pump unless it was an abyzz or red dragon. And even then I wouldnt unless a client insisted on it.

You have to just WANT one of those because the economics won't ever make sense.

 

[rockskimmerflow]

That's a lot of pumps! Why couldn't someone pay you to install a DC pump? Curious to hear your opinion on that. Is it the price tag?

Yeah it is a lot, but my preferred manufacturers are askoll, eheim germany, iwaki, and panworld. Mags are reliable as hell, but inefficient compared to largely equivalent reliability askoll motor pumps so I replace them as they fail. Had a mag 18 and a mag 24 go out after 10 years continuous operation on generator backed hospital circuits before they finally quit so I cannot knock them in the slightest - just don't need as much head pressure performance as they provide in most cases so a lower head fluval or flow biased iwaki/pan world suits my needs better often times.

As for my statement regarding DC pumps. A lot of of customers read a few online blog posts or threads and feel they know enough to direct my equipment selection, but in reality they know just enough to be dangerous. The electrical efficiency gain of DC pumps when compared to relative cost, expected lifespan, reliability etc is a losing game by every metric I have analyzed. It is a current trend and if someone never goes on vacation and wants the controllability then fine, they make a suitable choice. I don't need controllability in my return pumps, just stable day in and day out dependability. I am happy to accommodate client requests regarding flow pumps ecotech vs tunze etc but a return pump is sacred ground for me because a failure means a midnight service call and having so many tanks running in the field the likelihood of having a failure goes up for every extra account I manage. I absolutely cannot have a main pump with any more points of failure than the minimum possible. A powerhead may go out, an LED module ballast fries, a skimmer might overflow, etc - these are all items I can attend to with a more relaxed timeline of urgency but a main pump failure must be addressed ASAP. It is for that reason I will not install any pump that I am not confident will provide me with no unexpected failures for years to come. This philosophy has served me well over many years and I do not intend to change anytime soon. It is a different outlook when you have 40+ client tanks in the field and a failure is on you to repair. Someone who is home all the time and can attend to their tank at a moments notice would do fine with a common DC return, provided they have a backup of sorts on hand somewhere. I keep a few used Pan world, iwakis, eheims, and fluvals on hand just in case of issue. Rarely have a need to employ them thankfully.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

I run two of the current eflux 3100 gallon dc return pumps. As time went on from my research of several other pumps, these just stood way out in front. Some things that I really like about them is, they are absolutely dead silent. This is a huge thing for me because my tank is in my living room.

Now my tank is 240 gallons and has dual over flows. Because one will have less flow per hour because of the distance traveled, is another reason I went with dc pumps and two of them. I can equal the flow rate better, by going this route. Another nice thing is return pumps take some power to operate. The fact I can turn them down, while they are hooked to my back up power source, means I can still run two of them but don’t need a huge huge generator to do so. (I did have to buy one, but not because of my pumps).

Another amazing aspect about this return pumps is the price . For the amount of 279, that’s an amazing deal for the amount of flow and controlablity. Not to mention but current usa customer service is beyond amazing, its simply stunning and such a pleasure to work with them. Last but not least they do link to my Bluetooth controller (well if I ever get time to hook them up. Plus they will link to my other items by current usa. I have had these now for 7 months (still haven’t cleaned them but probably should), and have had zero issues. They run as strong now as they did on the first day. Yes 7 months isn’t very long, but most pumps slow or stop if not Cleaned often. They are extremely well made and very very low maintenance.

 

[dieselkeeper]

Question for the guys that using Ehiem pumps. How are you plumbling to the pump? Are you using vinyl hose to pvc?

 

[Laith]

Red Dragon: reliable, rock solid and can't hear a sound from it (literally not a sound ).

 

[Fritters Frags]

.

 

[Fritters Frags]

Duplicate post ;Woot

 

[Fritters Frags]

I am currently running a varios 4 on my red sea. No issues in a year of use. Small but powerful enough to run the tank and two reactors. The pump is silent as a group of ants. For my 180 build I'm going with 2 of the varios 8 and the 4 for my reactors. I know the pumps are over kill but I will be running them lower power to keep them running longer. With 2 I can bump one to 100% while I have the other out for maintenance. The added float valve makes this line stick out. My skimmer has a varios 4 as well and has the float built into the top cap.

 

[Amps Reef Life]

I am currently running a varios 4 on my red sea. No issues in a year of use. Small but powerful enough to run the tank and two reactors. The pump is silent as a group of ants. For my 180 build I'm going with 2 of the varios 8 and the 4 for my reactors. I know the pumps are over kill but I will be running them lower power to keep them running longer. With 2 I can bump one to 100% while I have the other out for maintenance. The added float valve makes this line stick out. My skimmer has a varios 4 as well and has the float built into the top cap.

That's a lot of power! I am loving my Varios 8 I installed it on Saturday. My tank is a 180 gallon and I am running one Varios 8. It's powerful and dead silent. FYI I love my Bashsea sump I see you have one too

 

[Fritters Frags]

That's a lot of power! I am loving my Varios 8 I installed it on Saturday. My tank is a 180 gallon and I am running one Varios 8. It's powerful and dead silent. FYI I love my Bashsea sump I see you have one too

Ya it's my second. But for the pumps I figured I run them at lower and have the ability to grow. I have a 4 in my 69 red sea and it feels like it's not strong enough for a return and having reactors. The flow in my 20x20 bashsea sump is slow slow lol. I will be using it on the new one with reactors only. I'm also going to plumb it to be a water change pump, not like I do them often lol

 

[ca1ore]

The electrical efficiency gain of DC pumps when compared to relative cost, expected lifespan, reliability etc is a losing game by every metric I have analyzed.

My calculation also. I'm all for technology and cool features but, really, it's a return pump. Turn it on, run for 20 years, rinse, replace.