Recommendation for Submersible Water Pump

[rbonin]

I am looking for a submersible water pump to be placed inside my sump and to be used as the main pump to return water to the tank. The water has to be raised about 4 feet, and my tank is 72 gallons. I need a recommendation on manufacturer and specific model. Reliability and quietness are my main criteria. Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.

~Rick~

[Leopardshark]

I think most of the people in here will suggest mag

[Pomacanthus1]

Yea, mags are really popular and reliable, and sen pumps are a good choice too. Avoid rio pumps, most eventually break and there's quite a few stories of them burning up and releasing an oily liquid into the tank, which kills all the fish and inverts. Basically nukes the tank.

[cacplkings]

Mag 9.5 (some probs with the 7), Sen 900 or a Dolphin DP900 would work nicely for you.

Chris

[Avi]

get a mag, they are reliable AND cheap.

[rbonin]

Looks pretty unanimous... thank for the feedback everyone.

While I have you attention... anybody have any experience with the Aqua Medic Ocean Runner pumps? The 3500 looks to be about on par with the Mag 950 and Sen 900 models.

~Rick~

[guppie]

I have always had good luck with the mag.

[thebigblue]

rick

heres a handy chart with each mag-drive pump and what GPH they actually pump at 4'...

http://marinedepot.com/a_ph_danner.asp?CartId=

im using a mag18 in my 125....

one bit of advice that i wish i would have thought about is on circulation....if you have a sump with a killer pump you are turning over your tank alot but you are also pushing your overflows and creating alot of bubbles and noise in your sump....

if i had it to do over i might buy a lesser return pump and get another strong pump on a closed loop.....

just an idea

HTH

brad

[griss]

Rick, if you want to see a MagDrive 18 or 24 in action, shoot me an email. You are welcome to come by my house and see my tanks.

Griss

[wave_happy]

"thebigblue",

Lots of water movement/circulation in the tank, just enough re-circulation between the sump and tank.

I absolutely agree with you on your line of logic. The sump does not require huge amounts of water to be moved through it. Depending on the types of livestock you keep, the tank does. Why pay for extra pumping capacity if you are going to lose it to head pressure? The only thing that you have to be careful of is that enough water re-circulates through the sump to allow the heater and protein skimmer to do their jobs effectively.