Pump vs pump.. Opinions?

Brandon.Helvie

New member
Have to push some water some serious height. Straight shot from my fish room in the basement to my 72 gallon DT in the living room. This run us about 10-13 feet.Don't plan on many turns in the plumbing, running it as straight as possible. Here's the question, as I have very little knowledge on pumps. I'm looking at the reeflo snapper dart hybrid and the blohole 2700. Any input on which and why? Or different pump suggestions are more than welcome!
 
main circulation pump = heart of a reef aquarium

main circulation pump = heart of a reef aquarium

especially for high head returns (read: basement sump applications) I would go with a diehard Iwaki or Blueline even though they aren't the most energy efficient pumps.

Another chain of thought is pump redundancy.
Have two main pumps.

(knock on wood)
I've been running a used Iwaki100RLT on my 220 for over 10 years now and it does not so much as hiccup. I think the fella I bought it off of ran it for 5 years :)

Perhaps research penductors/eductors. You don't hear much about them but they certainly do work well with a Blueline or Iwaki to create a gyre.
 
Here is my blueline.
8998267153_5dcebd094b_c.jpg
 
Well, start by assuming the run is 13 feet, cause it always makes sense to over-plan. 72g is a little small and your head pressure is pretty high which is going to make it tricky to find the right pump. A Barracuda is overkill, a dart will shutoff at that height, but the super dart would fit the bill. I agree with some of the others that Iwaki and Blueline pumps are tremendous for lifting applications. Tried and true. So are the other Reeflo's (snapper, dart, hammerhead, barracuda, etc). A bluline 70, or an Iwaki 70 are probably the right size pumps for your application.

The new blowhole pumps are tricky. The specs of the 2700 look good, perhaps on medium speed for you. The trick is these things aren't well-tested yet. They claim to be magnetically coupled which is good because it prevents the need for constant replacement of shaft seals and you never have to worry about one leaking and ruining your day. It's bad because they tend to transfer more pump heat to the water and sometimes don't perform as advertised from a pressure standpoint and they may not tolerate restrictions (especially inlet) very well.

So the question really is, do you want the old tried-and-true shaft-coupled pump that's well known in the hobby, or the newer one with lots of engineering that's a little unknown. One good thing, Reeflo's customer service is apparently tremendous.
 
Mike, I don't mean to rip your post apart, but:

I agree with some of the others that Iwaki and Blueline pumps are tremendous for lifting applications. Tried and true. So are the other Reeflo's (snapper, dart, hammerhead, barracuda, etc). A bluline 70, or an Iwaki 70 are probably the right size pumps for your application.

...

So the question really is, do you want the old tried-and-true shaft-coupled pump that's well known in the hobby

Iwaki and Blueline pumps are magnetic drive as well, fwiw. Personally I don't think I'd consider shaft vs. magnetic drive as important if high head is the requirement in question, as drive style doesn't really alter the flow curve in that way. I agree the blowhole pumps are new in this hobby, but they're essentially rebranded industrial circulation pump technology with decades of history so I wouldn't personally worry about it.

You mentioned some of the conventional reeflo pumps - some of those would or would not be appropriate in this application. The OP mentioned the snapper dart hybrid - personally, I would not use that pump in this application.

Generally, larger pumps in this hobby come in two flavors, from a functionality perspective. On the one hand, you have pumps with big plumbing diameters, slow motor speeds, and relatively large impellers. These pumps are typically very high flow but low pressure. The reeflo dart/snapper hybrid is a perfect example of this style.

On the other hand, you have pumps with small impellers that are spun very fast and use small diameter plumbing. These pumps typically have very high pressure but only modest flow. The reeflow blowhole models are more or less this style though there are more extreme examples (i.e. the high pressure models from Iwaki/blueline).

The good news is, it's easy to tell the difference by looking at the pump specs. What you want for a basement sump is a pump with a very high max head, i.e. the point at which there is no more flow. A Reeflo Snapper/Dart would PROBABLY be able to pump up 13 feet of head but there would be very little flow. An Iwaki MD70RLT is rated at a lower flow, but it can keep pumping above 30 feet of head.

The Iwaki lineup is a perfect illustration of the difference. They make "normal" models (with an x in the name) and high pressure models (no x) with the same overall power consumption, for instance the MD40RLT and the MD40RLXT. Here's the performance curve, which makes the difference obvious:

pu_iwaki_curve.jpg


If you can afford them, the Iwaki pumps are awesome. If you want something a little cheaper, the gen-x pumps get close but are much cheaper. It really comes down to deciding how much flow you want through the sump, then looking up pressure-biased pumps that are able to produce that much flow at your given total head.
 
I appreciate the helpful advice that everyone has offered. I started knowing nothing a out this hobby a little over a year ago. I've picked up knowledge from this forum and the always helpful people. But like I said pumps I'm still oblivious about. I pm ordering the iwaki 70 at the end of the week. Looking forward to an install, it's been a long time waiting!
 
The MD70RLT is a great choice for basement sumps, tons of pressure on tap.

It's worth noting that a tradeoff you have to take in stride with basement sumps is extra power consumption. That pump will probably end up somewhere between 700 - 1000 gph depending on your plumbing, and it'll be sucking around 300 - 350w. If the sump was under the stand you could get 700 gph for under 100w. Many people won't really care about this, but I figured it's worth pointing out.
 
Same here except on my tank it would have been more like 600 - 700w to get the flow I needed. Ouch! Also my basement is cold year-round, which woulda meant hundreds of watts of heaters.

I'm a little jealous of people who are able to do the basement sump thing and get it to work on a reasonable power budget.
 
Wow, thanks dwzm, I always thought the Iwakis and the Bluelines were shaft coupled. Learn something new all the time :). I love your explanation about high-flow low-head and vice versa pumps, as that's very applicable and always missed by folks looking at new pumps for the first time.
 
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