IM Mighty Jet pump pushing out more than it says it is?

[Jonify]

Has anyone installed the IM Mighty Jet Desktop return pump on their Red Sea MAX NANO tank? I installed it to replace my 240gph stock pump, but even with the IM on the very lowest setting (supposedly 180gph), it is still pushing out WAY more flow than the 240 GPH stock RS pump. It's so much flow that the skimmer won't skim, the mesh charcoal bag in the back won't stay put, the water is boiling at the surface, hard. How is the IM pump pushing out so much more power at 180gph (allegedly) than the RS pump at 240gph? Is it defective? The display reads it's only using 9 watts of power, which would correlate to 180gph according to their chart ... WHAT IS GOING ON

 

[Ron Reefman]

Take the pump out and do a flow test. Put it in a bucket of water, run a hose from it to a 1 gallon container. Start the pump and see how long it takes to fill. At 180gph it should take 20 seconds. You might test your old pump as well.

 

[Labora]

yea those might jets are super strong

 

[Jonify]

Take the pump out and do a flow test. Put it in a bucket of water, run a hose from it to a 1 gallon container. Start the pump and see how long it takes to fill. At 180gph it should take 20 seconds. You might test your old pump as well.

Awesome advice--thanks, I followed it this morning. Learned the IM is indeed pushing out 180gph on its lowest setting; when I when to test the RS pump, I noticed the return nozzle on it was smaller than the return on the IM pump (so maybe .5 inch vs. .75 inch?). So even though the RS pump is rated at 240, it's really not pushing out that much--it was closer to 200. But still, in both tests, the problem remains:

Why, when I hook up the IM pump (with a .05 adapter to slow the flow a bit), does the display still slosh around so much more than the RS pump, which in my test pushed more water than the IM on the lowest setting? It does not make sense. Is it the way the IM pump fits into the chamber and creates some sort of vortex at the intake? Is it some magical ocean elf amplifying the IM at the output? I still don't know what is going on. Anyways, I put the IM back in, with the adapter, and the flow is more reasonable, still on the lowest setting. But if I bump it up even one level, my sand starts moving (it's black sand ... so more like gravel. Heavy.)

I'm leaving it in for now because it has a much, much lower power draw than the RS pump, and I need something with low draw since it's connected to my UPS, which at 8 watts should keep it going for about 6-7 hours during a power outage, vs. the RS pump which would cut that down to about 3 hours.

 

[Jonify]

yea those might jets are super strong

I wonder if it's just a more focused output jet/beam than the RS ... which would make more water movement, even if they both might have the same gph throughput.

 

[ksed]

What pump does the RS use? Sicce?

 

[Jonify]

Yes, a modified Sicce

 

[ksed]

Interesting that IM is stronger.

 

[Jonify]

Interesting that IM is stronger.

Yes, I don't know why, but it is an extremely noticeable difference. I reached out to IM and they said "yes, the IM has a much stronger flow--remove all your return/flared nozzles to help diffuse it" but no additional information on why. I thought 180gph was 180gph, and 240gph is 240gph--the higher gph, the more flow. Apparently that is not always the case. At least not for my specific application.

 

[Ron Reefman]

BTW, reducing the diameter of the output from 3/4" to 1/2" really doesn't change the over all flow rate (gph) and will increase how fast the water moves (MPH). That may be what you are seeing. It's not flowing more volume (as you found in your testing) but it has to move the water faster to get the same amount through a smaller pipe (outlet).