Best Pump for Basement Return

JEMichael IV · 01-09-2003, 05:32 AM

Hi everyone, I just bought my tank and I am getting ready to plumb my new 175 gallon to the basement to connect to my 300g rubbermaid. I am ready to purchase my return pump for this.

Which pump would work the best for this? I would say I have about a 13ft to pump through with 2 90degree angles.

Any help would be apreciated, there are so many external pumps that could be used. Dolphin, Iwaki, Velocity, the new Bluelines.

Thanks!

John

**kevinpo** · 01-09-2003, 07:15 AM

Iwaki (I have 3 of them) or Sequence (I don't have one but have seen some working and had good response from owners when I was researching).

HTH,
Kevin

tane · 01-11-2003, 01:45 PM

Hi there,
I have a 175 also, and am using the Iwaki 70RLT. That seems to be quite good. I have it throttled back a bit. The pump is about 30" off the basement floor, I think around 11 feet of head, with no 90s.

Have a nice day - Ewe Chye

Ltspd · 01-11-2003, 02:05 PM

GRI (Gorman Rupp)

Good head capabilty and slightly less elec consp over the Iwaki.

Either are good pumps

organicreefer · 01-17-2003, 07:40 AM

need more info to give a good recomendation.

what kind of flow would you like out of it ?is electricity savings a factor for you?

as you may know ,centrifugal pumps (like ampmasters ,sequence ,rk2 etc etc) save on electricity-and provide very high flow rates.you may have read about seal problems with ampmasters -well ,if that scares you i would reccomend you steer clear of ALL these pumps-to my knowledge ,they all utilize a mechanical seal=it will wear out.you may find one that lasts longer than another due to differeces in manufacturing -but the jury is still out and time will tell.seems sequence are gaining popularity-but until just recently i hadnt heard of them being ok for use on saltwater=unproven .buyer beware.i just replaced the seal on my ampmaster.it lasted over a year.if the new one lasts as long ill be very pleased.the electricity savings is well worth it for me living in the bay area.

magnetic drive pumps(like iwakis , gri,little giants,aro mag etc.) have proven very reliable-they have no shaft seal to wear out -but they are energy hogs that provide less water movement.ive heard REALLY good things about the aro mag pumps-and i think they provide the most bang for the buck .flow versus electricity consumption that is -they arent cheaper$$

san sal · 01-22-2003, 04:18 AM

Don't forget to factor heat gain from the pump you select.
As for mag drives, I like the Iwaki due to the low heat transfer rate. If you have a chiller cycling on more frequently due to heat gain from your pump you will quickly make up the initial power savings of some pumps.

I was going to use an energy friendly centrafugal pump that was submersable. I would locate this pump in my sump; Thus avoiding potential damage from leaking seals. But I was afraid the heat gain would offset the energy savings. So I went with reliabilty. Iwakis reportedly run for >5 years with out any service. Although I personally clean the impeller annually.

organicreefer · 01-22-2003, 07:39 AM

i have to agree with san sal about the iwakis and reliability-i owned two for a couple years.however,id have to say that they transfrerred as much heat as my ampmaster-about 3 degrees.they were also MUCH louder (due to the fans ).all pumps transfer heat-some a little worse than others.

aquatic ecosystems is claiming that in their exp. aro mags last longer than iwakis-and no, i dont think theres an affiliation there.plus ive heard good things about the pumps elswhere and from the specs they look like a good pump.if i go back to magnetetic drive(not likely)its the pump ill try.
theyre pretty expensive though..

JEMichael IV · 01-22-2003, 10:31 AM

Hi everyone, thanks for all your replies! Sorry I havent gotten back to this thread, had alot going in my life!

Well to answer some questions,

Energy Consumtion, it would be nice to save some $$ every month, but I guess I really want what is going to give me the best results with the less headaches. I would like to run 2 return pumps, 1 one each overflow. This is for the reason as if one happens, just happens to fail, I have 1 running.

Where can I buy these argo mags so I can check them out? Originally I was sold and set one getting ampmasters. But I have been reading alot about the seals. How hard are these to change, when they go out what do they do? Just slowly leak or poor? It will be in the basement, I have a drain in the floor, it it were to start dripping I could then just change the seal. Any insights?

I have a friend here that is selling his MAK 4's, he has 3 of them so I was thinking of buying them all. He is selling them for almost half of what he bought them for. I figured 2 for the returns and the third for a spare or anything else I might need. Here is the link on these pumps:

http://www.marinedepot2.com/a_pu_mak4.asp?CartId=

Thanks for all your help!
John

organicreefer · 01-22-2003, 10:39 AM

john -when the dolphins seal go out -its just saltcreep or a very slow trickle/drip.it can be that way for quite a while too.so in youre situation-it would be no problem at allyoure pumps would be in a position to easily work on too i presume?my seal lasted about 14 months.
aquaticecosystems.com sells the aro mag.im not sure if its on the page or not -you might have to call.

01-09-2003, 05:32 AM	#1
JEMichael IV Just Moved In Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Longmont, CO Posts: 34	Best Pump for Basement Return Hi everyone, I just bought my tank and I am getting ready to plumb my new 175 gallon to the basement to connect to my 300g rubbermaid. I am ready to purchase my return pump for this. Which pump would work the best for this? I would say I have about a 13ft to pump through with 2 90degree angles. Any help would be apreciated, there are so many external pumps that could be used. Dolphin, Iwaki, Velocity, the new Bluelines. Thanks! John __________________ John Michael Proud Member of the Rocky Mountain Reef Club --Current Setup-- 172g Oceanic Bowfront plumbed into a 300g and 100g in basement, 3x250w 10k AquaSpacelight on Main Display, 2x250w AquaStarlight on 300g stocktank, 2 Iwaki 100 RLT's for returns plumed into a 100g stocktank sump, Aqua Medic T5000 Dual Skimmer, Aqua Medic T5000 Calcium Reactor, Aqua Controller II Pro, and running Red Sea 250ml Ozone generator.

01-09-2003, 07:15 AM	#2
kevinpo Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Spokane Valley WA Posts: 2,406	Iwaki (I have 3 of them) or Sequence (I don't have one but have seen some working and had good response from owners when I was researching). HTH, Kevin __________________ SPSguy On - On

01-11-2003, 02:05 PM	#4
Ltspd Governor Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Arden, NC USA Posts: 2,767	GRI (Gorman Rupp) Good head capabilty and slightly less elec consp over the Iwaki. Either are good pumps __________________ Paul C Timing has an awful lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

01-17-2003, 07:40 AM	#5
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	need more info to give a good recomendation. what kind of flow would you like out of it ?is electricity savings a factor for you? as you may know ,centrifugal pumps (like ampmasters ,sequence ,rk2 etc etc) save on electricity-and provide very high flow rates.you may have read about seal problems with ampmasters -well ,if that scares you i would reccomend you steer clear of ALL these pumps-to my knowledge ,they all utilize a mechanical seal=it will wear out.you may find one that lasts longer than another due to differeces in manufacturing -but the jury is still out and time will tell.seems sequence are gaining popularity-but until just recently i hadnt heard of them being ok for use on saltwater=unproven .buyer beware.i just replaced the seal on my ampmaster.it lasted over a year.if the new one lasts as long ill be very pleased.the electricity savings is well worth it for me living in the bay area. magnetic drive pumps(like iwakis , gri,little giants,aro mag etc.) have proven very reliable-they have no shaft seal to wear out -but they are energy hogs that provide less water movement.ive heard REALLY good things about the aro mag pumps-and i think they provide the most bang for the buck .flow versus electricity consumption that is -they arent cheaper$$ Last edited by organicreefer; 01-17-2003 at 08:00 AM.

01-22-2003, 04:18 AM	#6
san sal Just Moved In Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Northern Kentucky Posts: 7	Don't forget to factor heat gain from the pump you select. As for mag drives, I like the Iwaki due to the low heat transfer rate. If you have a chiller cycling on more frequently due to heat gain from your pump you will quickly make up the initial power savings of some pumps. I was going to use an energy friendly centrafugal pump that was submersable. I would locate this pump in my sump; Thus avoiding potential damage from leaking seals. But I was afraid the heat gain would offset the energy savings. So I went with reliabilty. Iwakis reportedly run for >5 years with out any service. Although I personally clean the impeller annually. Last edited by san sal; 01-22-2003 at 04:29 AM.

01-11-2003, 01:45 PM	#3
tane Just Moved In Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Longmont,CO,USA Posts: 16	Hi there, I have a 175 also, and am using the Iwaki 70RLT. That seems to be quite good. I have it throttled back a bit. The pump is about 30" off the basement floor, I think around 11 feet of head, with no 90s. Have a nice day - Ewe Chye

01-22-2003, 07:39 AM	#7
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	i have to agree with san sal about the iwakis and reliability-i owned two for a couple years.however,id have to say that they transfrerred as much heat as my ampmaster-about 3 degrees.they were also MUCH louder (due to the fans ).all pumps transfer heat-some a little worse than others. aquatic ecosystems is claiming that in their exp. aro mags last longer than iwakis-and no, i dont think theres an affiliation there.plus ive heard good things about the pumps elswhere and from the specs they look like a good pump.if i go back to magnetetic drive(not likely)its the pump ill try. theyre pretty expensive though..

01-22-2003, 10:31 AM	#8
JEMichael IV Just Moved In Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Longmont, CO Posts: 34	Hi everyone, thanks for all your replies! Sorry I havent gotten back to this thread, had alot going in my life! Well to answer some questions, Energy Consumtion, it would be nice to save some $$ every month, but I guess I really want what is going to give me the best results with the less headaches. I would like to run 2 return pumps, 1 one each overflow. This is for the reason as if one happens, just happens to fail, I have 1 running. Where can I buy these argo mags so I can check them out? Originally I was sold and set one getting ampmasters. But I have been reading alot about the seals. How hard are these to change, when they go out what do they do? Just slowly leak or poor? It will be in the basement, I have a drain in the floor, it it were to start dripping I could then just change the seal. Any insights? I have a friend here that is selling his MAK 4's, he has 3 of them so I was thinking of buying them all. He is selling them for almost half of what he bought them for. I figured 2 for the returns and the third for a spare or anything else I might need. Here is the link on these pumps: http://www.marinedepot2.com/a_pu_mak4.asp?CartId= Thanks for all your help! John __________________ John Michael Proud Member of the Rocky Mountain Reef Club --Current Setup-- 172g Oceanic Bowfront plumbed into a 300g and 100g in basement, 3x250w 10k AquaSpacelight on Main Display, 2x250w AquaStarlight on 300g stocktank, 2 Iwaki 100 RLT's for returns plumed into a 100g stocktank sump, Aqua Medic T5000 Dual Skimmer, Aqua Medic T5000 Calcium Reactor, Aqua Controller II Pro, and running Red Sea 250ml Ozone generator.

01-22-2003, 10:39 AM	#9
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	john -when the dolphins seal go out -its just saltcreep or a very slow trickle/drip.it can be that way for quite a while too.so in youre situation-it would be no problem at allyoure pumps would be in a position to easily work on too i presume?my seal lasted about 14 months. aquaticecosystems.com sells the aro mag.im not sure if its on the page or not -you might have to call.

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