I am going to have about 12 - 14 vertical feet that I will need to have a new pump for. I am looking at the VarioS-8 by reef Octopus, the Vectra L1, or the Hammerhead/Barracuda Hybrid. I am looking at doing LPS and possibly moving into SPS within a year of set up. Please let me know your thoughts.
Finding the right pump
- Thread starter MAREEF
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Brew12
Electrical Gru
Here are the flows based strictly on a 14ft vertical rise. It does not include piping loses.
Varios-8 = 420gph
Vectra L1 =750gph
Hammerhead = 2250gph
Actual flow will be less than these maximums.
Personally, I wouldn't worry about what you were going to stock your tank with when it comes to return pump size. Some people like 2 to 4 times system volume through their sump, others like 10x system volume. I personally like 3-5x flow. For total system flow that coral relies on most people use powerheads or wavemakers to get the flow they want.
Hope that helps.
Thanks! That does help. I didn't really see any definitive articles about how much flow is good flow so I was going with about 3-5x as well. Sounds like the varios-8 is probably yht eway to go. I guess I just wanted to see if anyone had these pumps and a similar config to make sure they will send the water and last for a decent amount of time.
Brew12
Electrical Gru
What is your total system size?
And remember, those are maximum flows. Once you figure out your plumbing you could end up with 1/2 of what I listed.
Brew12
Electrical Gru
I don't think you would be happy with the Varios-8. The Vectra would be a better choice but even it might be a little low on the flow side.
Have you considered any other pressure rated constant speed pumps?
Something along these lines?
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/sicce-syncra-hf-12-0-pump-3200-gph.html
Agreed, if you're going that high, an AC pump is your friend. Not that DC pumps can't do it; but they're silly expensive for some reason. I have 6 DC pumps powering my heating in my house, and they're not that pricey, so I know they can do pressure, but not sure why for aquariums they don't really make pressure rated ones with decent prices. If you're doing the pumping out of the way, I can't see a good reason for a DC pump due to their cost. They're great for lowering heat and noise, but you'd be better off with one of the larger sized AC pumps, or even an external if you can tolerate the noise. I have the SYNCRA PRO (1900 GPH), and I go through a UV, and a manifold to drive some media reactors and have been happy with it. The HF ones may be more appropriate for that head height. I've been very happy with the Sicce; and I'm on my second because I undersized the original one and didn't account for the manifold or 3/4" hard piping very well. Whatever you get, assume 20% more headloss than your best calculations, or if you aren't going to do anything but raw height calculation, do 50% overhead for your piping. You can always reduce the flow on AC pumps on the output without hurting them, but most people get much much less flow than they realize after all the piping friction loss.
