return pump for 180gallon?

[angiras]

I am in the process of planning an upgrade to a 180 gallon from my current 58 gallon. The tank will mainly be soft corals (even though I plan to have 2 tunze 6000's with multicontroller). Based on having the streams, what submersible return pump do you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance,
Ben

[Holyreefer]

i'd suggest the mag drives. Either the 18's or the 24's
The 18's pump 1800gph & the 24's are 2400 gph

[byrnesurfer]

I've heard that the Iwaki 70 is the way to go for a 180g. I'm not sure on price though, anyone????

[geshields]

I am going with a Sequence 1000 3200 for the return on my upcoming 180. I will also have a Sequence 1000 4300 on a closed loop to 3 1" Sea Swirls.

Greg

[crescent1]

since you have the tunze's for flow, i would go for a iwaki 70 also for sump return, great pumps but pricey, but you get what you pay for.

[marinelife]

I have a Iwaki WMD40RLXT as my return on my 180, this seems to be more than enough

[Loudz34]

i run an iwaki 100rlt and love it... would go to a 70 next time though......

[angiras]

are the iwakis louder or quieter than mags? does iwaki make a submersible pump? what I see on premium aquatics and marinedepot look to be external only.

I've never seen a sequence pump - so I cant comment on them.

Keep the suggestions rolling. Thanks guys.

Ben

[geshields]

Iwakis are great pumps. I have all Iwaki's on my current setup. I am going with Sequence because they are more efficient(gallons pushed versus amp draw). I have not heard one bad thing about them so far. Same goes for the Iwaki's.

One question: Do you need pressure rated pumps? Such as the Iwaki's?

[angiras]

ok my knowledge of plumbing is even worse than my knowledge of lighting :eek2:

so baby steps.

1) explain pressure rated

2) I am looking for low power draw with best GPH, noise, and lowest heat transfer. I have only ever used submersible pumps and had planned to do so with the new tank.

Thanks,
Ben

[andycook]

I'm using a mag 12 for the return on my 180. I have 2 closed loops on the 180 so the mag 12 return is just that a return. I don't need it to provide circulation in the main tank.

[reefmutt223]

I use a Little Giant 4mdqxsc, of course it is an inline pump, you need to really watch the power useage, a mag 24 costs roughly 15$ a month to run while my LG costs only about 8$. I would see if you could get your sump drilled, a sub. pump will put alot more heat in your water. Just my opinion.

[reefmutt223]

OOPS, I also have 4x400gph aquaclears, thats plenty of ciculation in my tank.

[Wheeldog63]

Originally posted by Loudz34
i run an iwaki 100rlt and love it... would go to a 70 next time though......

I am in the EXACT same situation I love my 100RLT but would go with a 70 next time. Both are great pumps.

[AuroraDave]

I use a Little Giant 4MDQX-SC which returns thru a sea swirl into my 180.
For circulation, I have a closed loop powered by an AmpMaster4000.

[spazz]

first you didnt say what kind of overflow you are planing on having. is the tank drilled? or are you using an over flow box? i have a 180 aga that is not drilled. i have a 900gph overflow box that dont handle the flow of my 4mdsq little giant pump with out alot of water flow noise in the overflow box. go with a drilled tank if you dont have it set up yet. you would thank yourself later for it. my pump is quiet and gives me plenty of flow. are you going to put it on a stand or in wall? if you put it on a stand i would get the largest sump/fuge you can put in there. i crammed a 55g sump/fuge in mine and have room for the ca reactor, 4mdsq pump, and some other small equipt in the stand. just try to plan for extra equiptment in the future.

[angiras]

spazz - the tank is a drilled 180 gal AGA. I plan on trying to get a 50 gal sump into the stand that is being built.

reefmutt223 - I am thinking of having the sump built such that I can use an external pump. Based on general consensus, I suppose an iwaki would be the way to go (hoping that they arent power-mongers). I havent fully figured out the plumbing situation.

I am going to take the upgrade slow over what will be minimum 3 month timeframe - possibly as long as 6 months. (stand and canopy wont be ready for 2-3 months). This will give me time to research every piece of additional equipment that I need. Lights and skimmer are already owned. Will need sump, fuge, return pump, rodi home unit, etc. Stretching it out will also help from the financial aspect.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, everyone. Keep 'em coming.

-Ben

[steve68]

i have a mag 24 on my 210 & dont like it cuz of heat issues im also runnig a mag 18 on my skimmer but this week im going
to install 2 new pumnps a Sequence 3200 for the tank & an iwaki 100 rlt for my skimmer both of these pumps cost lees to run per month then the mag's not to mention heat transfer wont be as bad,FME i would go with an external right of the bat .
http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/500/6996DSC02870.jpg

[jose soler]

For those of you that run an Iwaki 70rlt on a 180, that is my exact same setup. Wide open, the water is all the way up past the top of the overflow teeth. I am running it throttled back a bit.

Are you 180 people seeing the same thing?

[spazz]

i hope you dont plan on using the whole 50g tank for your sump. im using a 55g for my sump/fuge (29 for the fuge and 26 for the sump) and have no problems when i shut off the main pump. the total water that drains into the sump is about 16g so a 26g sump is plenty. you might want to think about turning that 50g tank into a fuge and get a small tank for a sump. or put a divider in that 50g to make a sump fuge. thats just my oppinion. unless you have the room to put a fuge in another room.

[angiras]

spazz - I am definitely not going to go the route that would result in flooding. :lol: I am just thinking about an acrylic sump (with possible built in fuge) that has the dimensions to make it max 50 gal capacity. I should've clarified that - it sounded as if I wanted 50 gal of water under the tank.

I also keep just the return pump on a UPS.

I have looked at myreefcreations sumps as well as another source that I found through reefcentral. The best idea so far is to have one drain directly go to the sump - on the other drain, split with one line to the sump and the other line (with ball valve i think, maybe it was gate - my plumbing knowledge sucks) going to a separate fuge that would then gravity drain to the sump.

-Ben

[easttn]

Loudz34

i run an iwaki 100rlt and love it... would go to a 70 next time though......
How come? What are your supply and return diameters please, also how much head do you need to overcome?

Wheeldog,

Same questions please.

Thanks

[steve68]

"How come? "

i would say less flow & to think i want 2600 GPH of movement on my tank :)

[spazz]

here is a pic of my 55g sump/fuge i built out of a 55g acrylic tank. it might give you some more ideas for yours.:D

[angiras]

spazz,

GREAT pic! I always like looking over different setups. I need to find that ultimate aquariums or dream aquariums (the one that profiles crazy setups and equipment -- by michael paletta). I figured that may give me some ideas as well.

-Ben

[malegolf]

I'm putting together a 150g, and want to run two sea swirls. Can someone give me an idea of what size sea swirls to use, and should I use two seperate pumps for them or one big one? I'm planning for two corner overflows with 1 1/2 drains?? Please help I want to do it right the first time, Thanks

[steve68]

i bought 2 1inch sea swirls with a Squence 3200 pump
each should be able to handle 1500Gph the total GPH
willl be around 2600 & i have 2 1 inchdrains & 2 3/4 inch
drain in my new megaflow.
so with 2 1.5 inch drain & the proper teeth on the overflow
u should be abble to handle the same set up.
all depends on how much flow u want i guess,u can
allways use a smaller pump & 1.5 inch seaswirl.

[jpiaskowski]

I have a 180 AGA drilled and I will be getting my pumps thursday. I went with 2 gen-x mak4, I hope to have things running this weekend. I will let you know how they work.

[malegolf]

If you put two pumps in a sump do you put them beside each other in the same compartment or seperate them into there own compartments?

Thanks

[jpiaskowski]

My 110 has a mag 12 and a mag 9.5 side by side in the sump. I have no problems with the setup.
I have to drill my sump for my inline pumps. How high off the bottem should these be so not to suck crap or make a whirlpool?