little giant DC replacement?

D

Devolver

New member
I currently have a little giant 2-mdq-sc pump on my procal calcium reactor. the pump has stopped working and I need to replace it.

My hope is that I can find a DC external pump to replace it in hopes of reducing my wattage draw. would any of you have a recommendation of a good external DC pump.


I've looked and don't see anything I think will be a viable replacement. I looked at he Vectra M1 but for $350 I can buy a new reactor....


Little giant specs



Description 2-MDQ-SC
Item # 580506
Dimensions (H x L x W) 5.0" x 9.1" x 4"
Amps 1.6
Watts 96
Volts 115V AC
Hertz 60
Motor Horsepower (hp) 1/30
Flow @ 1ft 510 gph
Flow @ 3ft 465 gph
Flow @ 6ft 410 gph
Flow @ 10ft 305 gph
Flow @ 20ft 0 gph
Shutoff Head (ft) 14.4'
Maximum Pressure (PSI) 6.2
Intake 1/2" FNPT
Discharge 1/2" MNPT

thanks for the help
 
Look at an Ehiem. Not DC, but cheaper, reliable and lower wattage draw. They are a VERY popular reactor pump.
 
The issue is that most DC pumps will not last as a circulation pump on a calcium reactor. The calcium in them will coat the magnet and buildup inside ultimately causing the pump to fail. You will need to clean it almost constantly. Take a look at the Blueline 20 HD or a Panworld 30px. Another alternative would be an eheim 1260 or 1262.
 
Thanks for the quick response guys! Since both of you recommended the same pump I am going to order the eheim 1260!

Thanks again!
 
Not just that, but the pump is being asked to push through a lot of resistance. I tried downsizing the pump on mine (from a Panworld 40 to a Panworld 10) and it burned up on me in less than 18 months. PW pumps consistently last me 10-15 years.
 
slief said:
The issue is that most DC pumps will not last as a circulation pump on a calcium reactor. The calcium in them will coat the magnet and buildup inside ultimately causing the pump to fail. You will need to clean it almost constantly. Take a look at the Blueline 20 HD or a Panworld 30px. Another alternative would be an eheim 1260 or 1262.
Click to expand...
Scott, I thought you had a lot of experience with calcium reactors. Calcium does not build up inside a calcium reactor's circulation pump. I thought that was pretty much common knowledge. That with the water being acidic enough to melt the media, it also serves as self cleaning the pipes and pump.
 
Resistance is less with a reverse flow reactor. I would take this opportunity to flip it. It does take a lot of pressure to pump through compacted media that flows from top-down.

FWIW - I have the largest Korallin reactor (10000.1, I think) which is larger than that one. It uses an Ehiem 1250 in reverse flow which does quite well.
 
gcarroll said:
Scott, I thought you had a lot of experience with calcium reactors. Calcium does not build up inside a calcium reactor's circulation pump. I thought that was pretty much common knowledge. That with the water being acidic enough to melt the media, it also serves as self cleaning the pipes and pump.
Click to expand...

Boy, aren't you cantankerous... LOL Let me re-phrase it for you as I didn't say or mean calcification. Perhaps I should have been more clear?

The water inside the calcium reactor is particularly hard due to calcium being broken down and that isn't easy on the pumps. Heck, in cases where air gets in or excess gas, it can become particularly turbid until addressed. For the same reason that the subject of using Aquabee pumps in calcium reactors was not recommended by Aquabee. You even chimed in on that subject in the "other" calcium reactor thread. Remember that? Terrance elaborated on his findings as to why he had gone through multiple Aquabee pumps on his Deltec reactors. Calcium dust (as some would refer to it) isn't easy on pumps. Some pumps handle it better then others. I.E. Eheim, Panworld, Blueline etc. The calcium dust if one is to refer to it that way can collect inside the pump and certain pumps don't like that. A cheap DC pump likely will not hold up to the abuse as a circulation pump inside a calcium reactor for the above mentioned reasons since many are already known to require frequent cleanings in the best of circumstances. Thus why the above mentioned pumps are normally the preferred choices.
 
Last edited:
You had mentioned calcium will coat the magnet. That sounds like calcification not particles.
But now that it is understood as particles as in solids. Yes that can cause damage to any pump . The pumps with tighter tolerances between the stator and rotor can pose more of a problem. Some of the cheaper pumps mention tend to push those limits which may not make it suitable for a calcium reactor.
I may also add , I tend to prefer to use a pump that does not use neodymium magnets but rather use ferrite. Reason being that neodymium tend to be coated in a plastic coating which protects the magnet from rusting. In this case the small particles can scratch and erode the coating therefore possibly exposing the magnet , in turn the magnet begins to swell, and pump locks up.
Panworld and Iwaki I believe use ferrite . Not 100% sure though.
HTH
 
Last edited:
FWIW, I concur that pumping up through the calcium media is better than down. Media can still clog, but not as quickly and it 'insulates' the pump a bit from the grit that is invariably generated.
 
Check out the new Sicce DC pumps. Finally a DC Pump out of a reputable company (other than RE and Abyzz) that won't cost an arm and a leg.
 
little giant DC replacement?

slief said:
Boy, aren't you cantankerous... LOL Let me re-phrase it for you as I didn't say or mean calcification. Perhaps I should have been more clear?

The water inside the calcium reactor is particularly hard due to calcium being broken down and that isn't easy on the pumps. Heck, in cases where air gets in or excess gas, it can become particularly turbid until addressed. For the same reason that the subject of using Aquabee pumps in calcium reactors was not recommended by Aquabee. You even chimed in on that subject in the "other" calcium reactor thread. Remember that? Terrance elaborated on his findings as to why he had gone through multiple Aquabee pumps on his Deltec reactors. Calcium dust (as some would refer to it) isn't easy on pumps. Some pumps handle it better then others. I.E. Eheim, Panworld, Blueline etc. The calcium dust if one is to refer to it that way can collect inside the pump and certain pumps don't like that. A cheap DC pump likely will not hold up to the abuse as a circulation pump inside a calcium reactor for the above mentioned reasons since many are already known to require frequent cleanings in the best of circumstances. Thus why the above mentioned pumps are normally the preferred choices.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification Scott. I could've swore I read you said"¦
slief said:
The calcium in them will coat the magnet and buildup inside ultimately causing the pump to fail. You will need to clean it almost constantly.
Click to expand...

I guess I miss read it. The way I see it, you said what you said, you meant what you said, until I said you were wrong. Rather than admitting you were wrong, you spun what you said, you suggested I did not read what I read, basically spinning it saying I was wrong.

So consider my previous reply as fake news. Mods, how do I change my screen name to CNN? LOL[emoji23]

Sorry you took offense to my first reply. [emoji17]
 
thank you guys for the input. ive ordered the panworld 40px. it was the pump recommended by the manufacturer.

thanks again for al the help.
 
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