Internal vs. External pump

msl5078

msl5078

New member
Hi everyone,

I wanted to get some opinions on what direction I should go for a return pump. Right now I have a MagD-Drive 12b(110 Watts @ 1200gph) for a return pump with a Mag-drive 9.5 for a backup if that one fails for some reason. I have been doing some research on external pumps and they look like they could be a better deal.

I live in Groton and electricity down here costs 0.16/kwh in the summer so I am trying to make my tank as efficient as possible. What are your opinions on which way I should go?

Mike
 
Personally, I always opted to go with external pumps. I liked that it saved me space inside the sump and didn't add a ton of heat to the system. Mag Drive pumps are power hogs and run pretty hot.
 
Thats what I was thinking, put my mag pumps up for sale lol. Any suggestion on what I should use I only have a 12"x20" area to put the pump and the plumbing
 
i also say a panworld, i advise to go with head vs flow. with head the flow will not change, and you will get your moneys worth. 7+ years running a coralife 40ft head.......cleaned once when my cal went over 500. still sounds like new:)
 
how much noise do external pumps make? I only have a 1 bedroom apartment and the tank is in the living room. Don't want the girlfriend getting mad at me haha.
 
I would go with the external pump as well, to keep mine quiet I mounted it on some rubber and you can always feed all your other equipment, reactors for example.
 
I have been looking into the Iwaki MD-30, but I found this submersible pump the water blaster HY5000 that looks pretty interesting. Only uses 60 watts @ 1300gph
 
Lol just looked at my old pump for my 180 via aqua pump 205watt at 8500 liters a hour lol I'm happy I'm using a mag 9.5 right now bet my bill will be cheaper and my vortecs make up for lost flow
 
So I have been looking into this and here is what I have come up with:

Water Blaster HY5000:
60 Watts
750GPH @ 4' Head

Iwaki 20RXT:
57.5 Watts
540GPH @ 4' Head

Iwaki 30RXT:
126.5 Watts
960GPH @ 4' Head

I am leaning torwards the Iwaki 20RXT, I have a nano wavebox and two MP40's for my tank for flow so I'm not too worried about not having enough flow. I also believe that you don't need to have your sump flowing like the Colorado river.

I am planning on supplying water for my GFO, Carbon, and possibly Bio-pellets via the return. But I think even at 540GPH @ the outlet I should have enough power and water with the Iwaki that I can do this.

What do you think?
 
if you go big you can valve it back. if to small you cant do anything. i got the biggest one i could at the time, just because i

1 might upgrade
2 might run a skimmer off it
3 all my reactors might end up running off it
4 might run multiple tanks from it

glad i did BC i did all 4 of these over the years with the same pump today. by far my best investment:) if all your ever going to do with it is what you have stated then it still should be fine, just make sure you look ahead. BC the pump will most likely keep running for the long haul no matter the size:)
 
I run a reeflo dart/snapper hybrid. If I want to add on or need more flow I can put the dart impellor back in. It runs quiet and is pretty low on energy consumption.
 
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