Basement Sump options

[Otiss]

Hello everyone,

Have been lurking for awhile but this is my first post here. I will be setting up 150 gallon reef tank in our new house coming up this week. I hope to run a roughly 100 gallon sump in our basement. This being roughly 15ft of head loss or so. I would really like to have the sump in the basement but to my understanding it requires a much larger pump because of head loss which requires a lot more juice.

Does anyone have suggestions for pumps that can handle this kind of head that do not require a ton of watts?

Thanks!

 

[Entacmaea]

Hey Otiss, welcome! A typical external Reeflo pump selection would be the Swordtail - 800gph @ 15' using 150watts. Yellowtail would be ~1900 gph using ~345 watts if you need that much flow. Iwaki 70 or 100RLT might work, but those are also over 300 watts. Vectra L1 should give you about 750gph at 15' @ 130 watts, at least on paper. Though, the Reeflo pumps mentioned are specifically design for high pressure applications, so may be more reliable.

For cost comparison, you could probably get away with a 80-100 watt pump for a return if you weren't remote locating the sump, so if you get an efficient pump, it wouldn't cost you too much extra power/cost.

150 gallon with remote sump sounds exciting!

 

[T Haynes]

You can get a 3/4 hp sewage pump from tractor supply. Moves nearly 14k gallons per hour :ape: jk you'll empty your tank in minutes in a beautiful water cannon display. Lol

 

[whosurcaddie]

You can get a 3/4 hp sewage pump from tractor supply. Moves nearly 14k gallons per hour :ape: jk you'll empty your tank in minutes in a beautiful water cannon display. Lol

I need this for water changes.:hammer:

 

[davehead86]

Im hoping on this.

Same situation, much smaller setup. 65 DT 40B Sump 12 feet of head loss. I really dont want an external pump, recommendations on internal pumps with 750 GPH at 12 feet?

 

[WWIII]

I am currently setting up a similar system. 200 gallon display and 150 gallon basement sump. After doing a ton of research and going back and forth as to which brand of pump I want to use, I ended up going with panworld 250ps (Blueline) I am not as concerned with power consumption, but am concerned with performance and longevity. I suggest getting everything designed and planned out best you can while deciding on which brand of pump to use, then you will be able to calculate the size of said pump that will best suit your needs. I have a manifold to run reactors and feed refugium off of my return pump plumbing. The headloss calculator here and the individual manufacturers flow curve charts can be very useful in determining pump size! The iwaki brand would have been my second choice, and I may end up buying the 70 or 100rlt to have a backup in place once I determine how well the panworld performs in my exact setup. These two pump brands are very similar and have a good reputation in this hobby. Good luck!

 

[Sk8r]

I have a 30 gallon sump and a 105 gallon tank in about the same relationship as the op describes. I use an Iwaki 100, Japanese motor. I could use a bit more, but with 2 power heads it seems to do the job. Iwakis are very noisy, but you can't hear it until you're halfway down the stairs. One thing they are is just about indestructible, single-cast impeller, mag driven, and if anything ever does get stuck in it (very tiny snails can manage it) easy to clean.

 

[Spectral_Ranger]

I'm in similar situation. 100g DT with 30g sump in cabinet, and looking to move sump down to basement w/ 12-13' foot head loss. I want to keep my pump internal, though (sump isn't drilled, and one less thing to leak!). Seems like the EcoTech Vectra M1 is the leading candidate. Seems like once you get to that much head loss, the L1 doesn't buy you that much flow over the M1 (look at their website for flow curves). Deepwater Aquatics appears to have similarly performing pumps for significantly less, but looks like they have more reliability issues relative to the Vectras. Being DC pumps, the technology is still evolving (but they are very efficient!).

 

[Entacmaea]

Yeah, the DC submersible pumps are very efficient. Hard to eyeball the flow curves, but you will get a little more flow with the L1 than M1, and in general the pump will be working harder at the outside of its envelope with the M1, over the L1. Don't forget to add curves and elbows to head loss, so it might be more than 13'. If cost isn't that much of a factor, I'd get the L1 and have a little more flexibility - you can always turn it down a bit - rather than run a smaller pump harder. But, either would likely work. If you want to add anything else to the return line like a frag tank, filter manifold, etc. then definitely go L1, if not larger.

 

[davehead86]

I'm in similar situation. 100g DT with 30g sump in cabinet, and looking to move sump down to basement w/ 12-13' foot head loss. I want to keep my pump internal, though (sump isn't drilled, and one less thing to leak!). Seems like the EcoTech Vectra M1 is the leading candidate. Seems like once you get to that much head loss, the L1 doesn't buy you that much flow over the M1 (look at their website for flow curves). Deepwater Aquatics appears to have similarly performing pumps for significantly less, but looks like they have more reliability issues relative to the Vectras. Being DC pumps, the technology is still evolving (but they are very efficient!).

If you look at the curves with that much head loss both of those pumps are almost useless. (just an observation from someone who loves ecotech products). Im thinking Danner Mag 24 for my basement sump. ~800 gph at 10-12 feet of head loss.

Just looked at a bunch of stuff today and thats what i noticed. And with the external pumps you dont need to have the sump be drilled for it to work. Just have the intake go into the return section and build a shelf for the pump to sit on at sump tank height. It doesnt reduce headloss any, but then you dont have to drill the tank.

 

[Spectral_Ranger]

If you look at the curves with that much head loss both of those pumps are almost useless. (just an observation from someone who loves ecotech products). Im thinking Danner Mag 24 for my basement sump. ~800 gph at 10-12 feet of head loss.

Not sure how you come up with useless... the performance of the Vectra L1 looks to be about the same as the Mag 24 between 10 and 15' of head. The M1 a bit less. And Mag is not exactly noted for their quiet operation nor reliability. I get frustrated with my Mag pump mixing saltwater, would never trust it as a main return pump.

Just looked at a bunch of stuff today and thats what i noticed. And with the external pumps you dont need to have the sump be drilled for it to work. Just have the intake go into the return section and build a shelf for the pump to sit on at sump tank height. It doesnt reduce headloss any, but then you dont have to drill the tank.

While this could work, it's hardly an ideal solution. Manual priming, loss in flow from all the turns, extra setup work required... and what happens when power goes out and prime is lost, then power comes back on? Nothing good. Submersible pump seems like a much simpler solution in this case.

 

[MMacro]

The ecotech vectra L1 advertises that it can withstand about 21.5 Feet.

 

[davehead86]

Not sure how you come up with useless... the performance of the Vectra L1 looks to be about the same as the Mag 24 between 10 and 15' of head. The M1 a bit less. And Mag is not exactly noted for their quiet operation nor reliability. I get frustrated with my Mag pump mixing saltwater, would never trust it as a main return pump.



While this could work, it's hardly an ideal solution. Manual priming, loss in flow from all the turns, extra setup work required... and what happens when power goes out and prime is lost, then power comes back on? Nothing good. Submersible pump seems like a much simpler solution in this case.

This is def my mistake. I read the wrong head loss chart. :crazy1:
Yes I also agree the L1 would be a great pump for this application, the mag is a suitable replacement that is significantly cheaper if cost is an issue.

And yeah the work of having an external without drilling the glass is a pain. But it is an option. Thats all i was presenting.

 

[Spectral_Ranger]

And yeah the work of having an external without drilling the glass is a pain. But it is an option. Thats all i was presenting.

Thanks for pointing that out, I had never considered it til you suggested it and I did some research! Think I'll stick with a submersible, though.

 

[hkgar]

I drilled my sump in order to use an external. I use the Iwaki 100 with a 180 tank and 50 gallon sump. Basement sump with 8 foot vertical and 15 foot horizontal. I would recommend external. I was concerned about drilling the glass, but it was much easier than I expected.

A submersible pump, with the watts required to move the water, will add considerable heat to the water.

 

[Drewl117]

I run a Deepwater bldc12000 DC pump which is bad to the bone and quiet. It's rated for 21+ feet of head pressure. I'm not personally running that much head pressure but I am using it to feed my 210 display( about 4 ft. Of head ), 3 reactors and a frag tank... Btw I still can turn it up 1 more notch on the controller.