Recommendations on Return pump for 180

saintperez

saintperez

New member
Hello guys, haven't been on for a few years. Got bit by the bug again and bringing my 180 back to life. My Dolphin Ampmaster return pump is seeing its last days as it heats up and shuts down for a while then it kicks back up randomly.

Not sure what model it is as I cant easily see it without having to do some magic to get to it. Anyhoot wondering what you guys recommend for a 180 60x30x24D. return pipe is 6' above pump. Not sure how much GPH I need if I'm hoping to grow SPS. Also, just bought 3 JEBAO 2014 WP-40 powerheads so there will be plenty of movement in the tank.

Basing on the 30X Gallons rule I would need about 4500 GPH but with the JEBAO I believe that's way too much. SO wondering what's the top notch brand these days that will give me a long time with no hassles?
Iwaki
REEFLO
little Giant
Dolphin

Thanks
 
I have two lifeguard quiet one 6000 pumps each pumps 1600 gph a total of 3200 gph plus 2 mp40 and flow is quiet enought.
 
Reeflo pumps rule. Just bought a new one and it is great. Quite and great performance. Got the gold series... worth the extra $$, 5 yr warranty

email Beth - bethf@reeflopumps.com for a good deal

she will tell you exactly what model you need.
 
Think I've narrowed it down to the following:
IWAKI MD-100RLT (JAPANESE MOTOR) 2136 GPH
IWAKI MD-70RLT (JAPANESE MOTOR) 1536 GPH
REEFLO SNAPPER/DART HYBRID 3600⁄2600GPH
MAG-DRIVE SUPREME 24 PUMP (2400 GPH)

Any good sources to look online to get the best deal?
 
Andrew been in touch with Beth. She's telling me about this Dart Hybrids with the Baldor motor. Anyone have experience with this unit and motor?
 
i looked at that pump, it did not have enough flow for my tank (250gal) but seemed really good. i ended up with a larger one.
 
I'm quite surprised no one suggested the Iwakis. I've always thought they were the best of the best especially with the Jap motors. I was researching on Reeflo and it seems people have issues with the right out of the box quite frequently. I personally don't have the time to mess with seals, impellers and things that should have been working on a new item. With that said, should I still consider Reeflo?
 
Your only reading the complaints from about the less than .05 of sales.....read the 1 million they have sold with positive comments
 
I bought a reeflo due to high output of water per kilowatt of energy used, quiet function, and due to it being out side the water, there is less heat.

I wont lie, mine had a leak from factory, but reeflo, sent me a seal right away, that didnt fix issue. Then they sent me brand new pump, no questions asked.

I would buy again. 3 years running and no issues on the new one.
 
The iwaki are great, but they're expensive, and they add a large amount of heat to the water. I use a EHEIM 1262 as a return pump in my 200, and use 3 MP-40's in the tank for flow. Conserves energy and keeps the overflows very quiet. The EHEIM gives me all the turnover I need through my sump to skim the tank efficiently.

Leland
 
Thanks Leland, I'm quite surprised you're running a 200g on 900gph. How much head loss do you have? And how long has you're tank been setup?

Ilove the idea of more powerhead flow and a smaller pump but how small is too small. I came down from looking at 4500gph 20 about 2000gph.

When you say they add heat to the water... I'm not sure why as they are external pumps.
 
I probably lose 100gph maximum in head loss, if that. Julian Sprung pointed out to me that we don't need as much turnover through our sumps as we used to think. 2-3 times an hour is all that is needed. He runs a Sicce syncra 3.0 on his 250gal reef tank, which as far as I know currently has no skimmer. The flow inside the tank is what's important.

The tank in referring to has been set up 6 years. I'm currently increasing my skimmer from a Euro-Reef 12" skimmer to a 60" Life Reef skimmer. I feed my corals daily, and have been feeding my fish twice a day. I'm starting to get cyano due to the increased organics from feeding so much, so in going to increase my skimming. Plus I want to buy the skimmer for my own personal satisfaction. Lol

Leland
 
I use to run a 1262 eheim on my 200gal system. I wanted more flow so I changed to a waterblaster 7000s. Very happy with it.

I also have an iwaki30 that I use in my garage as part of my mixing station. Bought it used, no problems with it.

Stay away from the mag24 as a return pump......NOISE and HEAT!
 
Well I think you should look into the dolphin warranty. They offer 10 year replacement on standard and lifetime on diamond pumps. They may be able to get you going by you giving them a serial number. If that does not work and you want a external pump go with reeflo. I to say they are little work horse pumps. if you ever have a problem they will fix it right away. Best customer service offered by any manufacture. Now if you do internal the jebao dc12000 works great. I removed my reeflo and replaced it with a dc12000. Its been running for a few months no issues. I have it running 90% and still move a lot of water. I have it running on two 1" sea swirls and I ended up having to tone it down to keep it from kicking the sand bed. if you go this route i would have a "just incase pump" as no one knows the dc12000 longevity compared to a reeflo or other pumps.
 
THanks Jonny, I'm actually looking forward to replacing the monster Dolphin I have. I was messing with my tank this weekend and had to close one of my returns and was blown away by the amount of force coming out of the one return with return valve 1/2 closed! I need something much smaller and right now the Reeflo is looking really good. Mainly because the fittings look like they'll match perfectly with my current setup vs. the Iwata, I would have to reduce. The Jebao looks sweet especially for the price but when I looked up the company, CHINA! No thank you.
 
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