Choosing a return pump

[Fanof49ASU]

I've got a question about resistance.

I'm choosing a return pump for my 40g, and have been thinking about a Eheim 1250 at 317gph. (I'll have powerheads that come on during the daylight hours.)

Assuming that I want the Eheim brand.....

If I'd like a little more flow (say around 450gph), I'd have to choose the next model up which is the 1260 with 635gph. With a ball valve, I understand I could tone down the 636gph to around 450 or so....but would this be too much resistance for the pump? Wouldn't this lead to premature wear?

 

[ozzman69]

If you are going to run a sump set-up, you can run a bypass line with a valve back in to the return area in your sump. This way you are not throttling back the pump to much, causeing damage to the pump .

 

[Fanof49ASU]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13223494#post13223494 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ozzman69
If you are going to run a sump set-up, you can run a bypass line with a valve back in to the return area in your sump. This way you are not throttling back the pump to much, causeing damage to the pump .

Just to make sure I'm understanding this correctly.....
Do you mean using a wye from the pump, and having one line stay in the sump while the other feeds the tank?

 

[DMBillies]

I'll be honest, I'm mostly just guessing, but I would think you would easily get away with this. I've also heard that putting restriction on the output (within reason) will actually be better for the pump in the long run than running it at full throttle with no restriction... but take that or leave it.

My only concern with restricting outputs is if the ball valve accidentally gets knocked open you might get a flood. That problem can be solved by using a gate valve instead of a ball and you can probably fine tune it a little better.

You might also want to consider that you can split the output on your return in order to drive other equipment like phosban/carbon reactors or to create a current in your cheato area to keep the cheato ball tumbling. Using a bigger pump and splitting the output is a really "green" way to run a tank since bigger pumps are generally more energy efficient per gph pumped... so you'll save electricity and have less in the way of heat issues than you would have running multiple pumps.

Finally, if you ever decide to move up to something in the 75 or 90 gallon range, a 1260 would probably be just fine for running one of those... which would save you money on the upgrade.

And for the record, I had a 1262 on my 90 and it was bulletproof, quiet, and didn't add much heat... I loved it and would definitely recommend Eheims. In fact, I've thought about replacing my current return with an Eheim, but I just can't justify the $$$ with all of the other things I'd also like to add.

 

[ozzman69]

Thats right. Like DMBillies said you can also run other stuff with a slighty larger pump, and use gate vales for better control.