Any insight on the mighty jet midsize return pump?

[ItouchedThebutt]

Have a 60 gal cube, was thinking about the IM mighty jet midsize 538gph pump for it, anyone have any insight on how well it is? Or if that would be okay for my set up? Can't find many reviews on it to make a judgement call.

 

[ndrwater]

Absolutely nothing against your aforementioned pump, which I have never heard of, but..

I see this a lot, people trying to save a buck or ten find an off brand whatever and look past the bad or non-existent reviews. There are MANY brands out there with a long history or reliable service. Some inexpensive, some not so.
Let's look at it this way.. having a Reef tank is an expensive hobby. Period.. Would it make sense to trust the heart of your system to a brand that you can't find a review (good or bad) for?

 

[ItouchedThebutt]

Absolutely nothing against your aforementioned pump, which I have never heard of, but..

I see this a lot, people trying to save a buck or ten find an off brand whatever and look past the bad or non-existent reviews. There are MANY brands out there with a long history or reliable service. Some inexpensive, some not so.
Let's look at it this way.. having a Reef tank is an expensive hobby. Period.. Would it make sense to trust the heart of your system to a brand that you can't find a review (good or bad) for?

Yeah that's why I'm turning to here, if I'm mistaken it seems like a fairly new pump innovative marine offers.

 

[ndrwater]

Yeah that's why I'm turning to here, if I'm mistaken it seems like a fairly new pump innovative marine offers.

Since I see he is looking at this thread... @gcarroll ?
He is much more informed on the new stuff.

 

[ItouchedThebutt]

And I completely understand where you are coming from.

 

[ItouchedThebutt]

I mean it is from inovative marine witch is a reputable company, not saying all there stuff is good, but still a larger company that's been around. Just on BRS they only have 3 reviews and amazon has only 1 review.

 

[ndrwater]

I'm gonna a look this one up...

 

[ItouchedThebutt]

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/mightyjet-midsize-aio-dc-return-pump-538-gph-innovative-marine.html

 

[ndrwater]

Okay... So.. I read up a bit about these pumps. They seem to be designed for the IM all-in-ones. Does that mean that it wouldn't work on a 60 cube, not at all. My biggest concern would be head loss. Meaning, since they were designed to have little to no head pressure in an all in one, can they do the job from a sump. I wasn't able to find a chart or graph showing flow at various head heights. That would be the 1st thing I would want to know. A 538 gph pump at zero head height might, and probably is, significantly lower pumping 5-6'.

 

[ItouchedThebutt]

Okay... So.. I read up a bit about these pumps. They seem to be designed for the IM all-in-ones. Does that mean that it wouldn't work on a 60 cube, not at all. My biggest concern would be head loss. Meaning, since they were designed to have little to no head pressure in an all in one, can they do the job from a sump. I wasn't able to find a chart or graph showing flow at various head heights. That would be the 1st thing I would want to know. A 538 gph pump at zero head height might, and probably is, significantly lower pumping 5-6'.

Very true. Didnt think about that, kinda figured they would mean that much at the max height it can go.. that's nice info. Wonder if I call them if they would be able to tell me

 

[ItouchedThebutt]

So what flow would you recommend for a 60 cube?

 

[ndrwater]

Very true. Didnt think about that, kinda figured they would mean that much at the max height it can go.. that's nice info. Wonder if I call them if they would be able to tell me

Usually whenever a pump manufacturer lists a GPH value, that will be at zero head height. Head height is usually a straight line starting at the stated Max, to gradually less to zero GPH at whatever the max is. I like your idea of a phone call. Having all the info you can get makes for a better informed decision.

 

[ndrwater]

So what flow would you recommend for a 60 cube?

Flow through a sump/filtration is kind of a loaded question. Depending on what type of system you plan on having, you might opt for more or less. If... You are doing a reef, 4-5x turnover an hour is more than sufficient through the sump. Having a skimmer, fuge, reactors, whatever, have time to do that voodoo they do, takes time. Blasting water through the sump is counter productive. Taking into consideration the head loss we were talking about earlier, 250-300 gph would work just fine. IN TANK is a completely different story. That's where power heads come in to play. In an SPS dominant tank, flow could be as high as 50-60x tank volume. In an LPS system less. Maybe 20-30x depending on the corals.
Side note, I didn't mean to sound critical of the pump you were asking about, just that I have been involved in many "discussions" about an off brand whatever and how that money might be better spent with a known entity. Asking questions and sharing info is what this forum is all about. Far be it from me to make your decisions for you. I am, although maybe poorly in this case, trying to help.
Hope you weren't offended. I didn't mean it that way.

 

[ItouchedThebutt]

No you didnt offend me at all, I understand where you are coming from. I have a mix reef right now, lightly stocked but the pump that came with it is a 1000 gph pump. So way to much. I was mainly looking for a cost effective pump that gave me the option of turning off for feedings, where this pump came in but you made for a great point in how much you may lose in head height.

 

[ndrwater]

Look into the Reef Octopus Various line. Quality pumps, decent price point, controllable and DC. There are many others out there as well. Jebao, once Maligned by many, seem to have turned a corner as well as far as reliability.

 

[ItouchedThebutt]

Look into the Reef Octopus Various line. Quality pumps, decent price point, controllable and DC. There are many others out there as well. Jebao, once Maligned by many, seem to have turned a corner as well as far as reliability.

I saw jebao alk over amazon. What do you mean by once maligned by many?

 

[ndrwater]

They had SERIOUS reliability issues when they 1st but the market. Things seem to have e made a change for the better in the last few years.

 

[ItouchedThebutt]

They had SERIOUS reliability issues when they 1st but the market. Things seem to have e made a change for the better in the last few years.

Okay, I'll look into them, and post any updates with what IM says about that pump, gotta call Monday when they open. Also may post if anything else catches my eye.

 

[Calpoly2103]

Just curious, but can this pump be controlled through Neptune Apex?? Would there need to be any additional connections?