dual return pumps

[Billldg]

That might work. I would like to hear what others say. But I like to have my backup pump on a separate circuit not connected to my Apex. Also, I don’t have experience with that pump. But choosing a very reliable pump will be best long term as you can imagine. I have great success with both eheim and mag drives.

I really didn't think of it that way, but may change as I plan on running 2 Ecotech M2's on my 225 upgrade. Pluggin one in outside the Apex that is.

 

[SeeFu]

thats why i have multiple water sensors around the tank.

 

[SeeFu]

Yes thats possible.
The issue is the second pump sitting around waiting to run could get clogged up and not start.
This was mentioned earlier
You would need to incorporate check valves so you prevent backflow in this plumbing situation.

correct. everything is already set in place. i currently run 2 return pumps running at a lower capacity. just seeing what the options are on changing on they're setup to run.

 

[Billldg]

this threads kind of gotten off topic. in the end here's what i was interested in.

2 return pumps, is it better to have both running at a slower speed or have 1 running at all times and then if that one fails apex switches over to the other pump.

You can try and run a lead/lag program, but I would just run 2 pumps at a lower speed and if one fails I have the redundancy to speed up the other one to compensate until I am able to get another pump. Plus, doing it this way, you can shut one pump off and raise the speed of the other and do maintenance on the pump you turned off.

On my 225 gal upgrade I will run 2 Ecotech M2's. I will not spend this much money on a tank to have a single point of failure.

 

[K7BMG]

If I were to set it up this way, I would program the Apex to run them alternate of each other by the day or week.
I have not looked into the programming to see if that can be done.

 

[FFFishy]

this threads kind of gotten off topic. in the end here's what i was interested in.

2 return pumps, is it better to have both running at a slower speed or have 1 running at all times and then if that one fails apex switches over to the other pump.

I use two Abyzz A200's for my returns. Both are running at 60%. Each pump is completely separate from the other, from the sump (in basement), all the way to their own returns into the tank. The power for each pump comes from a separate Apex EB832, connected to a separate 20-amp GFI Circuit.

 

[ichthyoid]

I run a Varios on backup controlled by an Apex, also on backup. There is a flow monitor and multiple level sensors.

Modem & Orbi mesh system is on backup.

If something happens, there is contingency & I’ll know.

 

[Aimforever]

Why not just run two return pumps all the time? Then if one dies you still have the other and it avoids all the complexity of controller, swapping, etc.

I think that is how I am going to set up my tank.

Bingo. Have done the same for all my big tanks over the last few decades. Two slightly smaller pumps delivering similar flow to one large pump is hands down the best solution. Even with the super high end pumps, something on the circuit trips the GFCI & you’re done. Not to mention all the other points of possible failure.

2 smaller pumps running all the time simplifies maintenance and with breakdowns, GFCIs etc etc won’t take your tank offline. Keep a third on hand to swap either out at any time. Both are run on separate circuits. In my case, one is on a battery backup that will run it for days in event of power outage.

It’s a simple yet elegant and nearly bulletproof solution.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

this threads kind of gotten off topic. in the end here's what i was interested in.

2 return pumps, is it better to have both running at a slower speed or have 1 running at all times and then if that one fails apex switches over to the other pump.

I run two cor20's at 50% each. My failure plan is if one goes down run the other at 100% until I get a replacement. They make them everyday. Am I worried both will fail at the same time? No. Could they? Maybe, but odds aren't high enough for me to give a ****. Will I keep a spare in the shelf? No. Unless you're annoyingly rich or foolish with your limited resources it doesn't make sense to me. This is all subjective opinion. In the end do what you want, there's no right or wrong answer besides telling someone there's only one way to reef