How far down can I choke a Eheim 1262 pump?

[tang named junkyard]

I was about to pull my aquarium out of our bedroom because it was so loud. I figured out that I had way too much flow on the returns. I put a ball valve in and got it damn near silent. The only thing is I got it choked down 75%. Is it hard on the pump? I'm thinking about going to Eheim 3000 compact. I got that for my skimmer and it is DEAD SILENT. Like I can't tell it's on silent. I can hear a hum from the 1260.

 

[Dr. Reef]

choking the pump on the outlet side is just like adding head pressure or increasing the pipe height. it will make the pump consume less watts but i dont think it will break down.

 

[jake koppen]

It's not going to hurt the pump but I would pick up a new smaller return that will run the flow rate you're looking for. Smaller pumps are quieter too

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