Internal or external return pump?

[carri10]

Hi all.
Looking at options about plumbing of my sump in my fish room. It is remote and a floor below my display tank.
Using calculators for head height ( vertical drop, elbows, runs of piping, et cetera), I have about 5 m of total Head resistance from the sump to the display tank.

I’m looking to decide on a return pump and asking myself if I want to go with a submersible in the sump, or drill a bulkhead and pipe through an external pump.

My main criteria is reliability.
I’m not too much worried about noise, because the sump will be in a remote fish room, but really want something that’s gonna be bullet-proof and last for a long time.

For submersible, I was considering Abyzz. For external, I was considering Iwaki.
if I can avoid shelling out the extra money for the Abyss, that would probably be a win.

What are your thoughts, and what factors should I take into consideration in this choice?

Thanks a lot.

 

[The_Paradox]

You don’t need to drill for an external if you don’t want to. Pros of submersible is no worries of leaks and runs quieter. Cons are it puts some heat in the tank. A pump with 5m of lift and any appreciate flow is going to be fairly large. I would make my decision around that.

 

[topjimmy]

I've done both. I think external are easier to maintain and you have a larger variety of pumps to choose from.

 

[carri10]

You don’t need to drill for an external if you don’t want to. Pros of submersible is no worries of leaks and runs quieter. Cons are it puts some heat in the tank. A pump with 5m of lift and any appreciate flow is going to be fairly large. I would make my decision around that.

Thanks. How do I not drill? Do you mean run a pipe up out of sump and down to pump? Would most externals be able to prime in those conditions?
I’m not worried about noise, but I hadn’t considered the heat. Nice point. Thanks

 

[KrisReef]

I've done both. I think external are easier to maintain and you have a larger variety of pumps to choose from.

Yup, and it can be easier to dampen pump vibrations and allow for air cooling outside of the tank water which can be important with the energy that will be used to rerturn the water 5M (~16Ft) uphill from the sump.

Can't be certain what pumps are available to you where you are, GL.

 

[mfinn]

Hi all.
Looking at options about plumbing of my sump in my fish room. It is remote and a floor below my display tank.
Using calculators for head height ( vertical drop, elbows, runs of piping, et cetera), I have about 5 m of total Head resistance from the sump to the display tank.

I’m looking to decide on a return pump and asking myself if I want to go with a submersible in the sump, or drill a bulkhead and pipe through an external pump.

My main criteria is reliability.
I’m not too much worried about noise, because the sump will be in a remote fish room, but really want something that’s gonna be bullet-proof and last for a long time.

For submersible, I was considering Abyzz. For external, I was considering Iwaki.
if I can avoid shelling out the extra money for the Abyss, that would probably be a win.

What are your thoughts, and what factors should I take into consideration in this choice?

Thanks a lot.

If you are looking at just 2 pumps. One is an Iwaki and the other is Abyzz, man it is Iwaki + bulkhead fitting all day.
I've owned 3 Iwaki's and they have to be one of the more dependable pumps I've owned.

 

[Stevorino]

My sump is down a floor and ~40 feet away horizontally - I've used Iwaki pumps for years and swear by them.

I looked at an Abyzz for my latest tank setup and I just couldn't stomach the price knowing how reliable the Iwakis have been for me.

I have not been able to find a submersible that worked for my needs.

There are vibration dampening pads you can buy to place between the pump and your mounting surface that I have had great success with as well. I use the ones listed on BulkReefSupply's website, but if you google search them you can find other online stores that have them larger and much, much cheaper.

 

[tsharpe291]

external is the way to go if you can, ive used pan world, iwaki, reeflo, and most recently
vectra L2

 

[DCR]

Go external for that high head. More reliable and will not add as much heat. I would go with Iwaki, Pan World or Blueline.

 

[ygbsmww]

Very similar requirement here.
Good to see the affirmation that external will help with heat concerns.
I'm definitely going with 2 pumps for redundancy. Leaning towards DC pumps for controllability.
I've been looking at the Reef Octopus VarioS 10 (lots of good reviews, and much cheaper than Abyzz), and the Abyzz A200.