Circulation pump suggestions

[LetItReef]

My jebao RW4 just died after 1 year of use.

Any suggestion? It is for standard 29g w/c measures 30x12x18.

Yes, I have spare powerhead :)

Thanks!

 

[Newb73]

That is disappointing. 1 year is what the original Jaebos lasted. I was told the RWs were a good bit better. If you are feeling spendy you could opt for the smaller vortech. It's $235 without the wi fi capability.

 

[TaylorPilot]

Tunze nanostream is what I would look at. I know they are expensive, but they have a long reputation of quality.

 

[mcarroll]

The plain nanostreams can be extremely inexpensive...

At $78 each, a pair of 6045's along with a simple set of lamp timers will take you far for under $180. $160 if you already have a couple of timers or a controller you can use. Alternate them with each other - one on, one off - every few hours.

You might even get by with the 6025's in a 30" tank ($110/pair) if you wanted to save another $50.

I think I'd go with the adjustable-flow 6045's though...you can always throttle them back a little.

 

[Salty1962]

MP-10 for my $$. Can't go wrong, solid proven technology!

 

[TaylorPilot]

The plain nanostreams can be extremely inexpensive...

At $78 each, a pair of 6045's along with a simple set of lamp timers will take you far for under $180. $160 if you already have a couple of timers or a controller you can use. Alternate them with each other - one on, one off - every few hours.

You might even get by with the 6025's in a 30" tank ($110/pair) if you wanted to save another $50.

I think I'd go with the adjustable-flow 6045's though...you can always throttle them back a little.

I would probably go with the 6095 for a few reasons. They have a larger opening, so you should get a little broader flow. They are basically the same size, so you don't give up any real estate inside the tank. They are only about $45 dollars more than the 6045s (on BRS). Finally, you can use them on a larger system if/when you upgrade. BRS just used several of these on their 52 week building, and they are pushing some water in that 160ish gallon tank. They are the largest pump they make in the nano form factor, so when you jump up to the next size in flow, you also make the powerhead allot bigger. Those are what I was considering for my 40B. I bought 2 of the rw-4s just because the price was irresistible at the time, and I needed to buy allot of other stuff to get the system running. It is amazing how fast bulbs, salt, additives and DI add up. However, when mine do crap out (and I know they will) I am going to go with the 6095s. Hopefully they make it till the end of the summer when I plan to upgrade and use this 40B as my quarantine system. Then I will get 4 of the 6095s.

Oh, and they probably have a much broader appeal if you go to sell them.

Check out this video. It is about 20 minutes, but they go through all of the current popular models.

 

[mfinn]

I've been using Tunze pumps on one tank or another for a very long time.
They seem to be the most dependable and long lasting pumps I've ever used.
The startup costs are higher than some, but you get years of dependable use out of them that makes it so worth while.