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Pump Question...

rich_one

rich_one

Members
Okay... so now that I finally have my 125 gallon, soon-to-be discus tank up and running, due to the setup in my basement, I will need to use a pump system for my water changes. Basically, I plan to keep some sort of Rubbermaid-type trash can to age the water, and use a pump (thinking submersible) to pump that water into the tank. At the same time, I am thinking of using a separate pump (inline... won't be submerged, though, can be a submersible pump, if it can also be uses inline), to pump the water out of the tank and into a draing during the water changes.

I am looking at pumps on kensfish.com... and there are many choices. So, I was hoping for a bit of guidance here, in soliciting what others are using and/or recommend for what I am describing above. I really appreciate the input.

The pumps I am looking at are at:

http://www.kensfish.com/waterpumplinks.html

Thanks all, in advance for your insight!

-Rich
 
B

Billy Rocket

Members
I pump a lot of saltwater. I have always used Magdrives. I've had a lot of luck with them. Another plus is they put off heat, so most of the year I don't need a heater.
 
rich_one

rich_one

Members
just to make sure I understand the terminology correctly... 6 foot head means I can have a hose length of 6 feet, maximum... correct? because if that is the case, my drain is surely around 20 feet away from where the tank is, I think, and I would need to be sure the pump can pump efficiently for that distance... correct? if I am misunderstanding this, I appreciate someone chiming in... as you can see, I have zero experience with water pumps, albeit, they don't seem that complicated.

Thanks!

-Rich
 
B

Billy Rocket

Members
As I understand it, head means how far the pump pumps the water up. So if your tank is in the basement, and you were pumping the water to the 2nd floor, you would need a pump with 12 +/- feet of head. Out of the pump ,across the floor, into a sump pump is almost 0 head. No matter how far the distance.
 
rich_one

rich_one

Members
ah... excellent! not pumping upwards at all... just straight across... glad to know. means I don't need an expensive one! LOL...

-Rich
 
Matt

Matt

Members
Rich, I use a Mag-12 to pump water about 4' verticaly and then about 30' horizontaly out of my tank and into my yard with no problem at all, I also have a Mag-18 running returns on a 210 gallon. I think they are great pumps.
 
rich_one

rich_one

Members
awesome... I was trying to figure out what the whole "head" thing was about. now I can make a more confident purchase... I am liking the mag ones in particular, as well.

-Rich
 
bschuhart

bschuhart

Members
I'm partial to Iwaki pumps, I've had 2 one on my reef and one on the 150 Malawi tank at work, that ones been running for 18 years and is only off for power outages:( and not many other times. Never taken it apart for cleaning and it is sealed so it never needs oiling.

I had the Iwaki WMD 20rlxt External Water Pump on the 110 reef pumping a sump and the Iwaki MD 55rlt External Water Pump on the 150 g.

WMD pumps are American Made and
the MD are Japanese made (supposed to be better)

rlt= pressure pump for closed systems
rlxt = circulation pumps for use in sumps.

basically same motor but different impellers.


I bought both of mine from Champion, but like everyhting else shop around.
http://www.championlighting.com/home.php?cat=1000

These are industrial pumps made to last. Check out the Iwaki site for specs:
http://www.iwakiwalchem.com/products/wmd.htm
 
Prince

Prince

The ONE who is The ONE
i just use mine to pump water from the barrel to the. I drain into the the sump pump well via 1" PVC and pvc hose.
 
rich_one

rich_one

Members
Think I'm gonna go with the Maxi-Jet 1800 for pumping the aged water from the container to the tank, and a Maxi-Jet 1100 for pumping from the tank to the tub. The pump sending water from the tank to the tub doesn't need any head, while the pump sending water from the container to the tank would need about 5 feet... the 1800 has 7.5 feet.

Sound good?

-Rich
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
From my experience with saltwater, Maxijets are the best bang-for-your-buck, reliable powerheads around. They are great for pushing water around your tank and small, random pumping tasks.

However, when compared to the Magdrive (or the submersible Iwaki) pumps, it's night and day. The Maxijets are a lot smaller and don't nearly have as much "oomph" as an actual pump does. Check the power requirements on each and you'll see what I'm talking about.

If you're considering hard-plumbing your setup (or part of your setup), I'd go with a real pump (for that part of the setup).

Also remember that even without head pressure, you're going to experience loss of flow through elbows/curves in your plumbing and through friction loss.

Sort of like a Schwinn versus a motorcycle. Yeah, they'll both get you from A to B, but who wants to ride a bicycle 50 miles...
 
rich_one

rich_one

Members
I see... okay... more research... I'll look at the magdrive ones again...

I will not be doing any plumbing on this tank, btw... just pushing water from a trash can like container to fill with, and pushing tank water down the drain in the bathroom, with the other pump.

thanks for the advice...

-Rich
 
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