Basement sumps - what pump do you use?

[crichard6069]

All - I've been in the planning stages of a basement plumbed sump for my 75g for what seems like 2 months now. My biggest hang up is the pump. I've used the RC head loss calc but still can't seem to settle on something that is a cross between affordable and workable.

Up until now, I've been looking at the mag 18 - I'm not certain this will work though... sooo..

-what does everyone else use in their basement sump?
-what's the height you're pushing with your pump??

 

[landlord]

I use a Mag7 to push top off water from my basement. It rises 9 ft vertically and another 32 feet horizontally. The rate it comes out will fill a 5 gallon bucket in about 2 minutes. Very slow, perfect for top off. For return however go as big as possible. Remember that you can always add a Tee to feed something else in the sump if the flow is too strong.

--landlord

 

[REEF-n-Chicago]

Like landlord said, go as big as possible. you won't regret it! Obviously, the water has a long way to travel and it is always good to have the option to tee the system.
Landlord-I had no idea a mag 7 would produce even that much flow?! Very Cool

 

[crichard6069]

I had no idea a mag 7 would do that either.. wow..

As big as possible - I guess that's defined by my non-existant aquarium budget that I'm not allowed to discuss with my wife.

Considering the mag 7 does that much, does it make a mag 18 feasible for my application?

 

[stingythingy45]

I use a GenX Mak4 to push up 11 ft. vertical and it's throttled back some.(few pictures in my gallery)
It will bury a 800 gph overflow if I open it wide.

 

[barclayrl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12383872#post12383872 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crichard6069
I had no idea a mag 7 would do that either.. wow..

As big as possible - I guess that's defined by my non-existant aquarium budget that I'm not allowed to discuss with my wife.

Considering the mag 7 does that much, does it make a mag 18 feasible for my application?

"As big as possible" This is not the best advice... Size your pump accuratly unless you want added heat and wasted electricity....

Another thing I always do as far as pumps are concerened, is buy another pump that can handle the job if disaster occurs. So if you go with a MAG 18, buy 2 or buy one 18 and one 12.. Your return in most cases is the heart of your system (It is for mine anyhow). I broke and impeller once and was screwed.... luckily I was able to get a mag 9.5 to barely work until UPS delivered the new impeller.. This got me thinking.. What would happend if my return died unexpectedly and it took a week to get a new pump... No skimmer and only power heads in the display for a week bad bad bad... Always keep a spare that can run the system.. Use the spare for water changes, mix water, etc..

Now on with the pumps..
I use a mag 18 on my basement, sump, it is plenty. It also feeds my skimmer at least 300GPH. I had a mag 12 that worked as well, but flow was very week, maybe 150-200GPH.

The Mag pumps produce a ton of heat transfer.. Just be warned your temp will rise. I also have a mag 3.5 that feeds a frag tank. I will be replacing both the mags with a Pan World 200PS (External). This will also feed my Skimmer, Frag tank, Calcium reactor, and my Media Reactors. I have heard that external pumps will not transfer as much heat to the water.. We will see how this goes.. I will keep my mag 18 as a spare if needed....

 

[crichard6069]

Thanks for the response.. It's good to know the mag 18 would be decent. Also a fantastic idea for a backup.. I hadn't thought about that.

The heat transfer from the mag will actually be a good thing for me. I live up in the backwoods of New England and winters can be bitterly cold - subzero temperatures. My basement gets pretty cold in the dead of winter... 50 degrees or so.. Heating is actually something I'm very nervous about. A 100g sump in the basement with a 75g display tank is an awful lot of water to try and keep heated.

 

[rbursek]

Mag 18 here for 8ft head and no horizontal run just straight up.

 

[serpentman]

I use a reeflo wahoo. Completely silent, drives my 150g display as well as my skimmer. I would say the Tarpon would work well.

 

[mrkalel]

I use a Reeflo Hammerhead on ~17' vertical. It feeds a 144 Gal display. It also feeds a UV and a 75 gal show fuge in the basement as well. This has worked wonderfully for me.

 

[rbursek]

The reason a Mag works so good is they have a good performance at higher heads if you look at there head curve.

 

[landlord]

I second the spare pump if it can be afforded.

BTW - My decision to use Mag7 based on what the label said it could push was, in retrospect, a poor decision. I go through about one every 6 months before they peeter out from the workload.

When money abounds (hahaha) I will upgrade to something a bit more robust.

--FWIW --landlord

 

[snorvich]

Reeflo Hammerhead on both tanks, both of which are in the basement. I DO have a spare, just in case.

 

[carlisimo1969]

I just switched from a noisy submerged mag24 to an external Dart that's nearly silent but not quite moving enough water thru my OM. So I picked up a used Hammerhead and I'm sure I'll have enough flow, but I'm a bit worried about the noise level. Just looking at it is intimidating, it's huge!

 

[thedoctor06]

I use a little giant 3mdscx (or whatever...it has lotsa letters) to run my 75g AGA RR. I have an 8 foot vertical and probably 15 foot horizontal run. I think if I had it to do over again, I would use one of the 4 series

 

[das75]

Iwaki MD70RLT in my basement with ~9' vertical, 9' horizontal. Figure even with loss I'm still pushing 1000gph back to the tank.

Seems bulletproof and am happy with it but thinking if ever fails might replace with a Reeflo Dart. Figure if I replace my current 1" return line with 1.5", my flow would end up being close but way quieter (have a Dart on a CL to compare to) and about 1/2 the power draw of the Iwaki.

Was trading e-mails with Reeflo about a replacement, keeping the same flow and they figure the Dart is border line but a Barracuda would be good for ~1500gph, which is really more than I believe I need going through my sump.