mag 9.5 to much?

[jjkief86]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11670552#post11670552 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefergeorge
When you use a ball valve you are decreasing the work the pump has to do. So the wattage is dropped. It is just spinning the water instead of pushing it. My mag 9.5 runs at 76 watts with 1.25 plumbing to the bulkhead.

I don't know. Everything I have heard is if the pump is working harder it is drawing more power. More heat=more resistance=more power. If it was running at zero head it would be at its lowest power draw. At least that's my thought.

svynx, if your tank is a fish system then you want more flow thru the sump but if it's a reef you want slower. The slower flow allows more contact time for the skimmer.
It is not that the flow from a 9.5 is too much for a 55gallon. It is the fact that the the flow is too much for your sump (and overflow).

 

[tmz]

Another way to control return flow is to add a tee to your return line with the second line with a ball valve going back to the sump. As you open the valve on the second line the flow through the first line to the tank is reduced. You can also use the flow form the second line as you wish for additional devices.

 

[jamesnmandy]

i am setting up a fuge/sump for my 75 gallon hex using a mag 9.5 pump with about a 6' head measurement to the bulkheads, the return is going to match the output on the pump at .75", but the drain will be a 1.5", it is being setup by an experienced fellow reefer, so i am trusting him to pick the parts out right, sounds right to me though

 

[reefergeorge]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11671012#post11671012 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by capn_hylinur
I hope you are right===I was told the opposite ==that you can't drop the wattage in mag pumps===you have to go to a blue line etc???

anyone else comment on this?

It is true. I didn't believe it either. So I did some experimenting. I used a watt meter and the wattage dropped as I closed the ball valve. It seems that when you close the ball valve the pump is just spinning the water in the housing instead of pushing it.
If you use a t and redirect it back into the sump for no reason. You are just wasting electricity, and creating more heat. I'm not sure if it works with other style pumps, but with the mag pumps it does.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11680900#post11680900 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefergeorge
It is true. I didn't believe it either. So I did some experimenting. I used a watt meter and the wattage dropped as I closed the ball valve. It seems that when you close the ball valve the pump is just spinning the water in the housing instead of pushing it.
If you use a t and redirect it back into the sump for no reason. You are just wasting electricity, and creating more heat. I'm not sure if it works with other style pumps, but with the mag pumps it does.

great tip and great news for the hydro bill I'll try it

any idea for the ratio between pump output and the wattage used---eg if you crank it down 400 gph what's the saving in wattage?

 

[ccoral]

reefer gorge is correct that PH or sub pumps less flow less wattage. However why restrict pump just get the right size for the given appiclation. Option two add a T with a valve and diverert water back to sump to run your phoshate and carbon reactor. Then elimatiting other pumps in your sump.
Personally I run two smaller pump to equal the gallons needed in case of one the pumps not working properly. Also you have two direct lines back to the tank and two discharges. To vary flow rather than one real strong flow from one discharge.