New EcoTech Marine Vectra Return Pump

[shaginwagon13]

If money was no issue I would go with Abyzz as a first choice and Red Dragon as a second choice. I know the Red Dragon is Apex compatible not sure about the Abyzz, I believe it may be too. Personally I think the price on these pumps including the vectra is just nuts but for now there are no other choices that I'm aware of in the line of quiet DC pumps.

I love Red Dragon pumps and their Skimmers I have used them a ton over the years.

Why choose Abyzz over Red Dragon? I have never used one of their pumps so I am interested in learning a little more about them.


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[dangros]

I was just about to order a Vecrta, but this thread has put doubt in my mind.

What would you buy if not the Vectra?

What about the Octopus Varios pumps?

 

[shaginwagon13]

What about the Octopus Varios pumps?

Honestly I’m going to go with what I know works well.

Ordered the Red Dragon pump and controller today. I have a GHL controller and if I ever want to switch to Apex, the RD will work with that also.

 

[02tts]

Honestly I'm going to go with what I know works well.

Ordered the Red Dragon pump and controller today. I have a GHL controller and if I ever want to switch to Apex, the RD will work with that also.

A very wise choice. Wish I had done that myself from the start as I was contemplating the RD, but didn't want to spend the money, hindsight 20/20.

 

[02tts]

How are these pumps for noise?

They are quiet, however; some experience a wining noise. Do a search, many reported this. I too came across it, my fix was to turn off the pump for sometime, then run it at 20% for a while then run it at 100% for a while and then it magically went away.

Not saying that's the fix but that worked for me for (2) of the pumps.

However; my third pump which I use for closed loop purposes it has to run at 60/70% max, past that and it whines at a high pitch. Customer support was never able to resolve.

In fact, if you go through the trouble of reading these posts their official answer to me was "˜run it at 70%'.

Honestly, if you have the money go with Red Dragon. I will be switching all pumps once these die off.

Your mileage may vary as does for everyone, many people love these pumps so take my situation, albeit 3 pumps and 4 or 5 reeflinks later, with a grain of salt.

 

[shaginwagon13]

A very wise choice. Wish I had done that myself from the start as I was contemplating the RD, but didn't want to spend the money, hindsight 20/20.

Honestly they are expensive but they also have never ever failed me and their build quality is hands down amazing.

I have their Skimmers, and if I could have my return pump as a RD I would but my fish room is in the basement so I needed the Reeflo Hammerhead for the high pressure.

For the refugium and frag tank I'm going to run the RD.


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[Bronx19]

You guys are really killing my budget for this build. The price of silence eh.

 

[02tts]

You guys are really killing my budget for this build. The price of silence eh.

If you go with a DC pump plan for external plumbing only or you may face heat issues. Go with the Vectra and source it from a place you can return them if you're not happy with them.

 

[Bronx19]

Thats another spanner in the works. Are DC pumps seriously that hot?

 

[02tts]

Thats another spanner in the works. Are DC pumps seriously that hot?

They run hot yes. Some brands more than others.

 

[Bronx19]

Would anyone be against the Red Dragon 3 super silence non adjustable?

 

[HippieSmell]

Would anyone be against the Red Dragon 3 super silence non adjustable?

Why would anyone be against it?

 

[ca1ore]

Buddy of mine runs a RD. Very nice pump ..... but then, it should be!

 

[shaginwagon13]

They run hot yes. Some brands more than others.

The RD pumps transfer almost no heat to the water. I have a 1HP chiller which has legitimately never kicked on even in the summer months.

 

[shaginwagon13]

Why would anyone be against it?

The only thing I would says about some of the larger RD pumps is they require 2.5” inlet and 2” outlet pipe and fittings which is massive.

If your running the pumps external, you need to re-drill your bulkhead hole to account for the larger pipe size. I really don’t like going with pumps that require over 2” plumbing because the majority of pumps are around 1.5” for high pressure pumps, and the cost of fittings over 2” drastically increases.

 

[stage3-s4]

If I was looking for a monster pump that needs like 4000 GPH at 20 ft of head, I would stick to a 3phase AC pump with a VFD to adjust speed. You can probably even get it to work with a 0-10VDC output from an apex. a 3phase pool pump and VFD is still probably chepaer than something like an abyzz. Yes they are noisy but if you are moving that much water I have to imagine you have a remote sump setup and aren't too concerned about noise. Which is why I never really understood some of these Abyzz pumps.

 

[Dmorty217]

The RD pumps transfer almost no heat to the water. I have a 1HP chiller which has legitimately never kicked on even in the summer months.

I run a RD 230w and love it. No sound and no heat

 

[shaginwagon13]

I run a RD 230w and love it. No sound and no heat

Agreed, their pumps are some of the best on the market.


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[Bronx19]

I've read the RD pumps aren't great with head pressure. Would a 50w (4500l/h) do a 100gal Cade?

 

[Dmorty217]

I've read the RD pumps aren't great with head pressure. Would a 50w (4500l/h) do a 100gal Cade?

They make a pressure rated pump for tanks with vertical rise up to 30'. How high vertically is the return pump going to need to push water? I would ask this question to Slief in the sponsor section of Royal Excusiv