Good Return Pump Suggestions please.

Frederick Edwards · Feb 28, 2017

Hello,

Looking for a good return pump for my 41" x 24" x 24" Aquarium. From the floor to the top of the tank is approximately a little over 5 foot. Should i be looking for a pump that can do 6 foot rise or more and 10 times flow of volume? Brand suggestions please.

Fishgeek88 · Feb 28, 2017

I would look at one go the DC pumps. A bunch on the market at all different price points...but in general quiet and energy efficient.

Frederick Edwards · Feb 28, 2017

@Fishgeek88 Thanks.

bhavy · Feb 28, 2017

Vectra L1

Frederick Edwards · Feb 28, 2017

Oh and guess I should also say that I want to go submersible.

rushbattle · Feb 28, 2017

I tried the DCP range of Jebao pumps. Others say they are silent, I found that they whine around 63dB, which is pretty loud. I tried multiple pumps. I moved to a Reef Octopus pump and it's silent and powerful. That's about all I can contribute.

mcarroll · Feb 28, 2017

Quiet One has to be the best priced/most quiet/most efficient option for most installations.

Your dimensions total to a little more than 100 gallons.

Unless you're doing something old-fashioned or otherwise interesting with the system, 10x flow is a little more than double what you need for most cases.

2x-4x would be a more reasonable range, so anywhere from 200 GPH to 400 GPH would be fine and appropriate.

If you're just doing a more-or-less straight shot up 5', then a $46 QuietOne 2200 @ 38 watts would do it, delivering about 350 GPH. 3 year warranty.

A comparable Sicce, Mag or Eheim would be equally good options IMO, depending on priorities.

If you have money to spend on an armor plated cadillac, then go for an Eheim. A Model 1060 would get you in the door at 250 GPH. A Model 1260 delivers more than enough at 420 GPH. These Eheims are dead silent and last forever....definitely the best return pump there is when the flow and budget fit.

Fishgeek88 · Feb 28, 2017

rushbattle said:
I tried the DCP range of Jebao pumps. Others say they are silent, I found that they whine around 63dB, which is pretty loud. I tried multiple pumps. I moved to a Reef Octopus pump and it's silent and powerful. That's about all I can contribute.

I notice they whine on start up but after the rpms get up they go quiet...I have had one fail a few years ago but for the price I can't complain

Fishgeek88 · Feb 28, 2017

mcarroll said:
Quiet One has to be the best priced/most quiet/most efficient option for most installations.

Your dimensions total to a little more than 100 gallons.

Unless you're doing something old-fashioned or otherwise interesting with the system, 10x flow is a little more than double what you need for most cases.

2x-4x would be a more reasonable range, so anywhere from 200 GPH to 400 GPH would be fine and appropriate.

If you're just doing a more-or-less straight shot up 5', then a $46 QuietOne 2200 @ 38 watts would do it, delivering about 350 GPH. 3 year warranty.

A comparable Sicce, Mag or Eheim would be equally good options IMO, depending on priorities.

If you have money to spend on an armor plated cadillac, then go for an Eheim. A Model 1060 would get you in the door at 250 GPH. A Model 1260 delivers more than enough at 420 GPH. These Eheims are dead silent and last forever....definitely the best return pump there is when the flow and budget fit.

I forgot about the Sicces, these are great pumps as well although not as energy efficient as the DCs

Frederick Edwards · Feb 28, 2017

Thanks everyone so far. @mcarroll I will keep this in mind as i am just doing some research on what products to use. it has been awhile since i have done anything with this tank. In my my new member thread I explain this further.

Frederick Edwards · Feb 28, 2017

Another question concerning return pumps. Do i need one that is controllable? Plan on doing a mixed reef and i definitly want to look into an Apex down the road a little ways

mcarroll · Feb 28, 2017

Fishgeek88 said:
I forgot about the Sicces, these are great pumps as well although not as energy efficient as the DCs

It turns out AC and DC can be pretty close in lots of instances....especially if you count energy use as a cost in dollars and include the pumps purchase price. (This leaves aside heating, where you have to consider whether heaters are using up the power you've saved....if you're in a temperate/cool climate, chances are that you're not saving any power by using a lower-power return pump. Folks in the far-south can probably do a little better, but even then the economics of these Quiet One pumps can work out pretty well.

For example I think a DCP5000 would give improved flow over the Quiet One 2200 in this application, but...way more flow than is needed, the DC pump costs about double the price, and it uses about the same power.
DCP series flow chart from am-zone:

2200 flow chart from drfost (Q1 = built-in flow control open; Q2 = closed):

Based on some experiences I've read about, it seems like flow ratings on at least some DC pumps may be optimistic – if so, that would make the comparison even closer.

The one pretty universal advantage DC pumps seem to have is head height....for them to claim 500 GPH at 9' on the DCP5000 is impressive, if true. At that height, you'd need a Quiet One 5000 @ 123 watts and that would give you a bit over 600 GPH. Price is similar between the DCP5000 and Quiet One 5000 though. For most folks with a sump under their tank, this extra height isn't an advantage though.

(BTW, these Quiet Ones are the Sicce Syncra Pro design, but made in china for Lifegard Aquatics.....same 3 year warranty as the old italian made models.)

mcarroll · Feb 28, 2017

Frederick Edwards said:
Another question concerning return pumps. Do i need one that is controllable? Plan on doing a mixed reef and i definitly want to look into an Apex down the road a little ways

I'm not trying to hog up this thread, so PM me if you want more info after this

...but in short (too late!!!!), I can't think of a reason to have variable flow on a return pump. A controller is already going to give you a feed mode that you can engage on any device on the system if that's a consideration.

To me the #1 feature of a return pump is durability....#2 is silence. Most pumps are dang quiet if properly installed – even the ones that don't make any special claims on being quiet. So that really leaves #1 as the runaway most important feature. None of the DC pumps have been around long enough to even get on my list yet, and the track record they're accumulating on durability is not impressive.

bhavy · Feb 28, 2017

Vectra L1! Period quietest / submersible /controllable /efficient . Nothing compares .

ksed · Feb 28, 2017

mcarroll,
Just be careful as many like to overstate the flow rates. Take a look here. 33% is quite large.
http://www.danireef.com/2016/07/08/waveline-dc6000-pompa-portata-variabile-recensione/

Frederick Edwards · Feb 28, 2017

@mcarroll Not sure if i did it right, but I pm'd you

Fishgeek88 · Feb 28, 2017

mcarroll said:
It turns out AC and DC can be pretty close in lots of instances....especially if you count energy use as a cost in dollars and include the pumps purchase price. (This leaves aside heating, where you have to consider whether heaters are using up the power you've saved....if you're in a temperate/cool climate, chances are that you're not saving any power by using a lower-power return pump. Folks in the far-south can probably do a little better, but even then the economics of these Quiet One pumps can work out pretty well.

For example I think a DCP5000 would give improved flow over the Quiet One 2200 in this application, but...way more flow than is needed, the DC pump costs about double the price, and it uses about the same power.

Based on some experiences I've read about, it seems like flow ratings on at least some DC pumps may be optimistic – if so, that would make the comparison even closer.

The one pretty universal advantage DC pumps seem to have is head height....for them to claim 500 GPH at 9' on the DCP5000 is impressive, if true. At that height, you'd need a Quiet One 5000 @ 123 watts and that would give you a bit over 600 GPH. Price is similar between the DCP5000 and Quiet One 5000 though. For most folks with a sump under their tank, this extra height isn't an advantage though.

(BTW, these Quiet Ones are the Sicce Syncra Pro design, but made in china for Lifegard Aquatics.....same 3 year warranty as the old italian made models.)

Im usually comparing pumps at or above 1000gph, a Sicce 5.0 is rated at 105 watts and 1321gph, a cheap jebao 6000 is 40 watts and rated at 1585gph...pretty significant. Also the Jebao is $99 and the Sicce is $203

ksed · Mar 1, 2017

Fishgeek88 said:
Im usually comparing pumps at or above 1000gph, a Sicce 5.0 is rated at 105 watts and 1321gph, a cheap jebao 6000 is 40 watts and rated at 1585gph...pretty significant. Also the Jebao is $99 and the Sicce is $203

Please take a look at the link above.

gcarroll · Mar 1, 2017

Here is a great article that shows how you should size a return pump. I have always felt that people tend to want way less than they typically need
http://www.danireef.com/2017/02/15/how-to-choose-the-right-return-pump/