Redsea Max chiller pump

[duckbilled]

I am currently wondering whether there are any RedSea Max owners out there who could advise me on the quietiest and most suitable pump to put in the sump of a RedSea Max tank (36 gallons incl. sump).

A friend gave me a Mag-7 pump. Two problems with this: first, the pump is probably too powerful for the 36 gallon set up (I could probably counter that by adding a valve in chiller outlet flow); second, and more problematic, the Mag-7 doesn't fit in the sump space. The problem is there's not much room for a pump (5.0"x"3.8"x4.2") because of the triangular shape of the RedSea skimmer.

I talked to RedSea rep today and he recommended a Mag-3 pump. But I looked up the specs and it looks like its exactly the same size as the Mag-7, which doesn't fit in the sump. He also recommended a Maxiject 1200 and a Rheo 100.

Anybody got any recommendations?

 

[josemtabares]

Hey! I too have a RSM with a chiller and think I can be of some help. First of all, it really depends on the chiller you have, as different chillers require different flow rates to work properly. I have the JBJ Mini-Arctica, which I believe has a MAX flow rate of 160 gph. By the way, being that the tank's sump is so small, you need a chiller that requires LOW flow rates because this will accomodate for a smaller pump which can FIT into your sump. The bigger the flow requirement, the bigger your pump needs to be! The Mini-Arctica has a minimum of about 110 gph and max of 180 gph. I was able to fit a Rio 1100 pump into the rear sump. What you gotta do though is take off the cover. You also have to saw off the pump's inlet tube to make it flush with the propeller housing. These 2 steps reduces the amount of space it takes up in the back significantly. Now, you rest the pump at an angle, with the rear of the pump resting on the glass which hold the column where the heater is inserted into and the intake of the pump facing the skimmer. To ensure that the suction of the pump doesn't paste itself onto the skimmer by the suction, place a litte separator in between it and the skimmer. I use a little piece of egg crate. Now using a 1/2" hose, you can (at an angle) position the hose to come out of the pump and out the back to the chiller. Being that the chiller's max rate is 160 gph, being that the pump has to force the water up about 5 feet, it puts the flow more or less at mid-range flow, or at least meeting the max flow rate for sure. This is how I was able to get it done. I hope this helps. If you'd like me to take pictures, please email me at josemtabares@aol.com and I'll be more than glad to show you everything I have done to my RSM that might help you out.