Large tank return pump with basement sump? Large tank skimmer?

[Fitz19d]

I keep getting overwhelmed on choices especially without concrete comparisons other than people saying they like this or that. And many like 80% of opinions are on much smaller tanks with attached sump.

I'm looking for a pump that would be good for my 300g. Basement sump of unknown final head but assume 16 to 20. I was kinda leaning towards reeflo. But even there I'm confused on models. Like a barracuda or snapper or bigger like hammerhead. Saw there's a yellowtail and suntail? Sun I imagine overkill and a crap ton of power.

I'm looking for just flow to skim and heat tank, so not trying to get 20x turnover by any means. Any thoughts which are good of the above or perhaps other lowish power or cheap options? Thought of a jebao and backup but not sure they up to task.


Similarly, looking for a fairly no frills reliable skimmer. So far rlss seems most widely praised. Vs lifereef is 50/50. Again know nothing about jebao or whatever Chinese version On fish Street is. Hoping to stay like 400to 800. 1200 for a reeflo orca seems like madness. Almost want to try diy pvcing a skimmer.

 

[Harry_Y]

You are going to want a pressure pump

I run a Panworld 150 PS

 

[yacn]

I have 150 gallon tank located on my 1st floor, and sump located in my basement.

I had Dolphin pump for 10 years and loved it! Energy efficient, best shaft seal in the industry, and best warranty too.

I think Reeflo is junk....their shaft seals don't last very long at all....search forums and see. If going with this type of pump I would choose Dolphin.

With that said....Dolphin doesn't make the model pump I need anymore so I had to make a change recently. My 10 year old Dolphin pump was getting old and beginning to leak at the shaft seal.

I went with Iwaki. I'll never have to deal with shaft seal leak again. Panworld is just as good and at a better price. But I went with Iwaki do to their better customer service. I called both mfg's directly to ask questions, and Iwaki was by far better at calling me back, answering my questions, and helping me determine which pump best fit my needs, etc. So I am thinking they would be better should I encounter a problem with their pump and need their service

Both Iwaki and Panworld are great pumps but will use more energy and heat up your water a bit when compared to Dolphin pumps. If you decide to go with Dolphin be sure to get their Type 3 shaft seal or better.

I don't think you can go wrong with Iwaki, Panworld or Dolphin. I can't recommend which model pump for each manufacturer since I don't know your exact specs. Head pressure, flow, etc but there are charts available online or you can call them directly to ask them.

As far as skimmer goes....there are lots and lots of choices and many many opinions. Most look the same and perform the same IMO. I have 10 year old Euro Reef skimmer which they don't make anymore and still works great. I recently bought a used Super Reef Octopus 2000XL Cone skimmer, and it works just as good as my ER skimmer...maybe a bit better...still doing some testing side by side.

I've seen a few recommended nice deals on new skimmers from this forum....search around a bit. Some no name skimmers and not so popular names that might be worth a try below $300 and just above $300. Hard for me to say with tank your size...I haven't looked at skimmer pricing for tanks as large as yours. I just don't see the need to spend $500 or more for a skimmer but you might have to with 300+ gallon tank considering your sump size too. They are more expensive for the larger size skimmers

 

[ca1ore]

I'd used just about all of the 'pressure' pump brands and settled on Iwaki and PanWorld/Blueline as my long-term pumps. I use a PW 150 on my 265 tank pumping up from the basement. I've got a little less head pressure than 16-10, so on your 300 maybe the PW 200 or even 250 would be better. Either will give you adequate turnover. They are a bit of an energy hog, though IMO the larger, fan cooled models do not add material heat to the tank. Very reliable though. Got 20 years out of my Iwaki and 10 years out of multiple PanWorlds (so far).

 

[Fitz19d]

Guess my local scene is just biased towards the reeflos.

I'll look further at the panworld/iwakis. But the idea and control of DC still appeals to me. Any of those been kinda regarded as solid?

 

[Flippers4pups]

My panworld has been rock solid for me. Was thinking DC pumps at one time during my build, but too many stories of failures made me go panworld. Not many DC pumps are pressure rated, something to consider.

 

[ca1ore]

But the idea and control of DC still appeals to me. Any of those been kinda regarded as solid?

The trouble with the DC pumps is that none of them are really designed for pressure applications. If you look at the flow curves, they lose dramatic output in higher head applications. Beyond that, they simply haven't been around long enough to know anything useful about mean time to failure. Saving energy is great, but if you have to replace the DC pump twice as often, pffft go your savings. I did buy a Vectra pump for my closed loop though, and am VERY pleased with it.

 

[nsamouroux]

I have a 360g tank in my living room with a sump directly below in a cellar style basement. I used a ~6000 gph Dolphin Ampmaster pump for about 6 years and had only minor issues with it. It recently got fried by a water leak from my water change barrels so I replaced it with one of the hybrid Hammerhead pumps. I'm much happier with the Reeflo pump, it's noticeably quieter with less vibration and has a higher flow rate (had to readjust my beananimal drains quite a bit and rebalance the drain that leads to my refugium tank so it didn't overflow).

 

[jdraider75]

I run a pan world 200ps pump on my 200 gallon system with basement sump. Works great.

 

[Harry_Y]

As far as the skimmer I run a Lifereef 36"

Pretty much set and forget, I have mine plumbed in so I just turn the valve and drain out the collection cup.

I also have it plumbed in so it used outside air (to keep my PH up) and exhaust to outside (to keep the stink out)

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

The Abyzz Dc pump is pressure rated BUT you will likely fall over with the price.

 

[ali1]

I use the reeflo gold hammer/barracuda. I have a similar setup 300g with a 100g sump in the basement. No issues. I love it

 

[schandler88]

Been running a basement sump for 5 years. I love it, tank is in my office wall and visible to the living room.

Ran all sorts of pumps and finally found that the Reeflo Swordtail seems to fit the bill best. I ordered a spare seal/bearing kit when I ordered the pump because I had heard that they fail often but I have never touched mine. No leaks or salt creep either. Its fan cooled and run cool and quiet. Honestly, I forget its there and thats the only return pump ive ever had that I just "forget" is there. It just works. You have a slightly larger tank, so you might want something bigger. Give them a shout and they will make a recommendation for you.

Cant go wrong with a lifereef skimmer either! I just got mine about a week ago and am loving it so far. Based on my limited experience so far it seems FAR more powerful than my old Reef Octo...

 

[foxt]

I'm looking for a pump that would be good for my 300g. Basement sump of unknown final head but assume 16 to 20. I was kinda leaning towards reeflo. But even there I'm confused on models. Like a barracuda or snapper or bigger like hammerhead. Saw there's a yellowtail and suntail? Sun I imagine overkill and a crap ton of power.

I'm looking for just flow to skim and heat tank, so not trying to get 20x turnover by any means. Any thoughts which are good of the above or perhaps other lowish power or cheap options? Thought of a jebao and backup but not sure they up to task.

You mentioned that you don't need 20x flow, but you do need to pick a number to start with, and work backwards using the calculated head and pump flow charts to pick a pump. Once you have a target, you can use the manufacturer's performance curves to pick the best model ...


I am in the same boat at the moment, planning a basement sump for a 220G DT, about 18' of head. I have been aiming for about 5x turnover via the sump/return, which is about 1200gph. The Reeflo pump curves show that the Barracuda model is right on the edge of that flow rate at 18' of head, and the Hammerhead is around 3500gph so it is much more than I need. That's all theoretical design stuff, so real world results will be a little but different, but probably "close enough". I am leaning towards the Barracuda which will slightly lower my design point for the flowrate through the sump, but it is a tradeoff of that vs. having to throttle down the much higher flow of the Hammerhead. The Barracuda also consumes less energy, which is another plus.

I have concerns about the experience people have posted about the leaks with these pumps, so I am still researching - seems like more recent posts say "no issue", maybe Reeflo fixed the problem?

 

[Ah64av8tor]

I have in the past had a basement sump w/first floor DT running a Iwaki then a Dolphin. I have used nothing but Reeflows for the last 10 years on multiple tanks with an average between seal changes being 5 years, the hammerhead I'm running now is at 6 years and ready for a seal change. I think the shortest life of any of their pumps I've run was an AO Smith Dart that lasted only 3 years but that was a motor failure. I have nothing but good thoughts and experiences with the Baldor motors. I would not think twice about using a Barracuda / Hammerhead in a basement situation and oh by the way the only difference between the two is the impeller an easy swap if you need more or less flow.

Good luck with the build. I wish I had a basement, but they are like hens teeth here in Florida.

 

[Fitz19d]

Ah, someone found and bumped this.

I ended up going for a panworld. Liked the balance of cost and wattage compared to some others. The claimed wattage was a fair bit lower than the iwaki of relevant size. (One iwaki was rated below what I wanted and next one was a bit of a leap over)

I have bad luck so was a bit spooked on reeflo and having to change seals. If panworld doesnt work out for me I'll go ahead and try them, but the reeflo seemed to use even more watts for an amount of gph.

Almost got the Cone 5, but seemed like it was a "modified" sicce which I was worried about being able to get replacements, so I paid the extra $100 and went for the Regal RO. Still wishing some of my other choices woulda worked but they either didnt make them big enough or for the size I needed a $250 jump in price.

 

[foxt]

Any idea of what flow you are getting to your DT?

 

[Jae30001]

Been running a basement sump for 5 years. I love it, tank is in my office wall and visible to the living room.

Ran all sorts of pumps and finally found that the Reeflo Swordtail seems to fit the bill best. I ordered a spare seal/bearing kit when I ordered the pump because I had heard that they fail often but I have never touched mine. No leaks or salt creep either. Its fan cooled and run cool and quiet. Honestly, I forget its there and thats the only return pump ive ever had that I just "forget" is there. It just works. You have a slightly larger tank, so you might want something bigger. Give them a shout and they will make a recommendation for you.

Cant go wrong with a lifereef skimmer either! I just got mine about a week ago and am loving it so far. Based on my limited experience so far it seems FAR more powerful than my old Reef Octo...

Which reef octopus did you have, before you went with the lifereef? Any photos or more updates? Very interested!! Thank you@