Mag 9 return - two dead in three months, why?

[dan-in-gr]

Hi, I bought a Mag 7 and used it for a return with a ball valve, it did not like being turned down and crapped out with in 45 days. I use it for water make-up now. I will never buy one again, and wonder why I bought it, when I had a problem with one 3 years earlier. Shake, Rattle & Roll...sums up the Mag line.

 

[jimrawr]

What would you guys recommend thats around the same size as the mag 9.5? need around 700gph I guess of flow

 

[shifty51008]

can you take a pic of the sump so we can see what were dealing with? may even find out the cause of the dead pumps

 

[jimrawr]

yeah here you go

 

[sjm817]

Hard to say what is going on there. That is a really small return compartment. I assume there is an ATO. Has it ever run dry? Maybe the pump is getting really hot in there? How wide/long can the pump be? Here are a couple of small pumps. Dont really know too much about them.

Maxi-Jet Utility 3000, Eheim Compact+ 3000, Sicce Syncra 3.0 or 3.5. These small pumps dont seem to have the greatest head performance.

 

[allsps40]

I am running a Mag 5 and before that a Mag 3.5. I have never cleaned them, used the sponge and never had any issues. I have always ran them wide open ball valve to stop all draining from tank when the pump is off. These pumps are tanks run forever. In your pic you have a bit of calcium build up on the impeller. Try moving where you dose father away from your pump a high flow area is best.

 

[bad santa]

That's a pretty cramped return area. Is the water level in the pic the actual operating height? When I had a mag9 I never ran it with thE sponge filter so that will restrict flow once it gets flogged up.

 

[sjm817]

More info on the pumps below. Not crazy about the low head rating of the Eheim.

Maxi-Jet Utility 3000
775 GPH at 0 head, 500 GPH at 4' head.
58 Watts .96 amps
Dimensions 4 1/4" x 2 3/4" x 3 3/4"
110 inches maximum head (9.1')

Eheim Compact+ 3000,
792 GPH)
55 Watt Power Consumption
2.3M Head Pressure
7.5' max head

Sicce Syncra 3.0
714 gallons per hour
9.9 feet shut off
48 watts / 120 volts
Pump Dimension: 123mm (4.9") x 85mm (3.4") x 105mm (4.2")

 

[chadfarmer]

take the sponge off it will decrease the flow quickly

 

[jimrawr]

I cant remove the sponge or else I will have a ton of microbubbles in the DT. The skimmer is right next to the return pump. That is the operating water level and its maintained by the ATO which is also visible in that picture. I also have moved the dosing pumps up into the DT where there is a lot more flow to try to reduce calcium buildup

What does that 2.3m head pressure mean for the eheim??

 

[sjm817]

That is the max head. 2.3 Meter = 7.5'

Maybe its time to rethink the sump design. Cant it be removed from the stand?

 

[ksed]

I have a Eheim 1262 , now running on it's eighth year and no problems.
They consume a little bit more power than the pumps mentioned above but are bullet proof.
As Scott mentioned if you can fit the 1260 I would choose that first.
JMO

Do yourself a favor and get an Eheim 1260. Quiet, plenty of flow and what should interest you, very reliable. People have had these pumps running for many years.

 

[jimrawr]

I can fit the eheim compacts, how are those?

 

[sjm817]

From what I read, Eheim doesn't make it. Its an OEM. The head height is lower than the other two which is not very good. The Sicce Syncra (same pump as Tunze Silence) seems to get good reviews.

I kind of like the 3.5. The 12.5' head is nice. It might actually flow more than the 3.0 in real world.

Sicce Syncra 3.5
634 gallons per hour
- 12.5 feet shut off
- 42 watts / 120 volts
- Pump Dimension: 123mm (4.9") x 85mm (3.4") x 105mm (4.2")


Sicce Syncra 3.0
714 gallons per hour
9.9 feet shut off
48 watts / 120 volts
Pump Dimension: 123mm (4.9") x 85mm (3.4") x 105mm (4.2")

 

[trmiv]

It almost looks like you have enough room to run something like an Eheim 1260 externally if you can drill the return section of that sump without removing it. Hard to tell from the pic though.

 

[sjm817]

Yeah, if it were possible to drill for an external, a whole lot of possibilities open up. I prefer a true external for external use.

 

[jimrawr]

Not too much room under the tank as its a corner tank. Dont really want to drill if I dont have to and at this point I dont think it is necessary. I dont have much room at all even if I were to drill the return pump couldnt be all that big then either

 

[jimrawr]

Ok something has to be wrong with my chemistry or something. Today both my Koralia Evo 4 pumps stopped working. Had to remove both and clean them out a bit to work again, but neither of them were really caked up. Actually I could hardly see any precipitation on the impeller. Both were purchased together around 2 months ago, not even..

what the heck is going on?

 

[sjm817]

What are your ca and alk levels?

 

[jimrawr]

Ca 410
Alk 9.4dkh

Dosed via a bubble magus dosing pump 180ml/day