Quiet Return Pump For 180
- Thread starter Mr. Fish
- Start date
Mr. Fish
New member
Can you post a link to the pump, I am having a hard time finding it.
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reefknight
New member
ATB Flowstar 1500, run one on my 185. Great silent pump!
Mr. Fish
New member
I can work with either. Submersible would probably be a little better.
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I use a Gen-x mak4 on my 180. I have 1 as a return pump and one as a skimmer pump.I've been using the same 2 for 10 years so far.
http://www.marinedepot.com/Gen_X_Ex...nal_Water_Pumps-Gen_X-PI1115-FIWPEPZT-vi.html
http://www.marinedepot.com/Gen_X_Ex...nal_Water_Pumps-Gen_X-PI1115-FIWPEPZT-vi.html
Retired Reefer
New member
+1 flowstar 1500. I bought one to replace a piece of crap Sicce and love the flowstar. 100 times better than the Sicce.
reefknight
New member
It is a great pump, no noise and really no noticeable heat. I used a Eheim 1262 on my 90gal previously and liked it as well. The flowstar beats it though.
aleonn
New member
+1 on Water Blaster. It's very quiet and energy efficient. The HY-7000 is a bit too much flow for my 180 gallon tank, however. Even after plumbing the pump to a TLF 550 Phosban reactor, I still gated the flow halfway down.
10-15 years ago I purchased a Mak4 & it sounded like a freight train in my house 
Swapped with a Iwaki 40 & it was a LOT quieter but still not silent
A silent external pump is a velocity T4. I use one on my 210g but probably only see 800-1000 GPH of actual flow.
The ATB's I believe are based off of Laguna pumps just like Red Dragon. My Red Dragon 12m3 was very very quiet.....
The bubble blaster pumps like mentioned are another great option. Like the ATB & Dragons they can be used internall or externally... I believe this pump is a Chinese copy of the Laguna/Red Dragon etc family. I just swapped my 12m3 for a BB7000 & the pump is also silent. Like mentioned the 5000 or 7000 would give you the flow you want.
I hard plummed the pump internally in my sump & used a foot section of clear vinyl tubing to help reduce/eliminate any vibration noises....
Eheims are also excellent. The jury is still out on how long the bubble blasters will last, the eheims will go 20+ years!!
Swapped with a Iwaki 40 & it was a LOT quieter but still not silentA silent external pump is a velocity T4. I use one on my 210g but probably only see 800-1000 GPH of actual flow.
The ATB's I believe are based off of Laguna pumps just like Red Dragon. My Red Dragon 12m3 was very very quiet.....
The bubble blaster pumps like mentioned are another great option. Like the ATB & Dragons they can be used internall or externally... I believe this pump is a Chinese copy of the Laguna/Red Dragon etc family. I just swapped my 12m3 for a BB7000 & the pump is also silent. Like mentioned the 5000 or 7000 would give you the flow you want.
I hard plummed the pump internally in my sump & used a foot section of clear vinyl tubing to help reduce/eliminate any vibration noises....
Eheims are also excellent. The jury is still out on how long the bubble blasters will last, the eheims will go 20+ years!!
The OP stated he didn't want to spend an arm and a leg and while $270ish for the Flowstar is reasonable for such a great pump the identical pump can be had at discount in the form of the Laguna Maxflo 1500 which sells for around $95 on Amazon. It's a pond pump in a debris cage from which the pump can be liberated. Once popped out of the cage all you need to do is graft on a union like the Flowstar has and put a pad under it and you have a cheap alternative. I love mine and it has power to spare that I put to use running my manifold for BP and PO4 reactors along with a chiller and the return all while sipping less tha 70w. You can't go wrong with either the Flowstar or Laguna, it just depends how much of an out of the box solution you are looking for and how much you're willing to pay.
Just FYI here is my Maxflo 1500 with a union grafted onto the included quick release fitting it came with to work with my plumbing:
I actually liked using the quick release fitting because I can take the pump off in about 5 seconds if need be, sometimes unions stick a little when crudded up, and if it ever fails I can just pop a new one onto the fitting. I put the motor block onto a piece of ribbed silicone wine glass drying mat which makes an excellent vibration isolator IMHO.
I actually liked using the quick release fitting because I can take the pump off in about 5 seconds if need be, sometimes unions stick a little when crudded up, and if it ever fails I can just pop a new one onto the fitting. I put the motor block onto a piece of ribbed silicone wine glass drying mat which makes an excellent vibration isolator IMHO.
socalmonty
New member
I just installed a Reeflo Blow Hole 1450. Very quiet and has adjustable flow. Around $200.
