Quietest pump to move about 1000gph

[brackishdude]

I have a Iwaki MD30RXT as a return and it has been a reliable workhorse under my stand for 3 yrs solid. It is on a reverse timer, so it is turned of for about 30 min every time I feed, an it has never failed to fire back up.

Problem? its pretty loud.

I am having to replumb my sump due to a crack, and now's as good a time as any to upgrade.

The head is about 5', so I'm sure I'm getting less than the rated 960 gph out of the Iwaki. Whatever I'm getting has been adequate, but getting up to about 1200 gph would be easily handled by my overflow.

Any thoughts on a quiet pump in that range?

 

[bimmerzs]

I would get a Sequence Dart and throttle it back. Dart's can be valved down without damaging the pump and it actually run's more efficient (less watts) this way. You can also just make a manifold and have it run your entire system if you are so inclined. You should always keep a backup pump(any kind)on hand in case of emergencies. ; )

Cheers,

 

[brackishdude]

Ive always heard that of mag drive pumps, though it is counter intuitive.

According to the plot on marinedepot blow, the wattage goes up with head, not down, at least to a point.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem.aspx?idProduct=MM1124&tab=1&child=MM1136

THat is a secondary concern, however, and just a point of interest.

I'm all about the decibels!

ETA: the table shows that if throttled down to the flow I'm after, I will in fact draw less watts than at zero head. win-win!

 

[sjm817]

Velocity T4. Very quiet, but will add some heat to the tank.

 

[greenmonkey51]

Does it have to me external. The ocean runners are pretty quiet. I think the suction cup bracket makes a big difference.

 

[levischilz]

just a quick heads up to you from previous experience. I have always run mag pumps. I have found if you throttle them back much at all they get louder and seems like they are under too much pressureand I have even heard some rattle like the impeller is getting too much back pressure. Levi

 

[James77]

Another for the velocity/poseidon pumps. You have to put your hand on them to know they are running. They add no more heat than a submersible pump of the same wattage.

 

[Curve]

+1 on the T4

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14537426#post14537426 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sjm817
Velocity T4. Very quiet, but will add some heat to the tank.

 

[viggen]

Been using velosity T4's for 10+ years now.... 100% trouble free & totally silent

that get's my vote

 

[reefknight]

The T4 is a good choice as it is quiet, but does add heat. An Eheim 1262 puts out over 900gph and its really quiet. I run one on my 90gal as a return. Also check out the ATB return pumps. The Flowstar 1500 is what I am considering for my 200gal tank that is underway.

 

[pjf]

There used to be a Reef Central review that compared a Pan World pump with an Iwaki pump. I am told that the Pan World 50PX-X (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~pumps_pan_world_magnetic_px_ps.html) and the Blue Line HD-30X (http://www.bluelineaquatics.com/products/water_pump/hd.html) are equivalent to the Iwaki MD-30RXT in performance with less noise. They have 1” male threads that match those of your Iwaki.

I tend to be skeptical of noise claims because I had an Iwaki MD-30RXT and could not tell if the noise came from the pump or from the overflow. Nevertheless, I replaced my MD-30RXT with a MD-20RXT and the noise went down dramatically. I suspect that in my case, most of the noise resulted from the high flow. Like the MD-30RXT, the MD-20RXT has 1” male threads and I can easily make up for any loss in circulation with a powerhead.

The lower return flow usually means that the skimmer may perform better because the overflow becomes richer in surface proteins and fewer proteins will bypass the skimmer to mix back into the water column.

 

[cadfishco]

I'm going with the guy at the beginning you can go with the Reeflo pumps personally if your looking for that output i wouldn't do the the dart I would do the snapper, it puts out somewhere in the range of around 1800 @5' i believe when you valve it back it runs more efficiently and cost less to run, the trick is you have to valve back on the intake and the output equally, otherwise you do put to much backpressure on the pump. Check it with an amp probe and you'll see almost a 20% drop in amperage. Plus its only 98 watts on average version the velocity pumps are 50% more at 145watts.

 

[Rwinfrey]

this is the ticket (silent)and 70 watts makes it even better

ATB flowstar 1800

 

[Snausy]

That ATB pump is nice but more GPH than he wants and not cheap. I was looking into buying one of those or the 1500 but they were not available. I have an eheim 1262 for my return and it's very quiet for 960 GPH imho.

My new Hurricone skimmer has an askoll 1500 that looks exactly like that ATB pump and it's VERY quiet.

I heard really good things about the Poisidon as well with the only drawback being added heat. Good price as well.