help with pump selection

[todd_nano]

Hi, I'm trying to decide on a pump for a closed loop with an SCWD in a 7.8 (18x9.5x10) gallon custom aquarium. The pumps gona be about 5 feet from my bed, so quiet is an issue. The lighting on the tank is going to be 48W pc over an open top. I'm thinking about either a velocity T1, Mag 5, Eheim 1060, or Sen 700.. All of um are pretty much overkill so I'll have to tone um down with a ball valve. I'd like to not have to keep a heater in the tank and maintain at least 78 degrees. I am in maine though, so this might be a little impossible, what do you think? I could cover the top to try to make it even hotter. The pump is also only going to have about 8" of head as its gona sit right behind the tank. I'm also not going to be able to screw this pump down onto anything because the tanks going to be on a dormroom desk and they'd be ****ed if i drilled into it. I'm leaning towards the velocity. Thanks for any help. Oh... also the tanks the gona have 2 1/2" bulkheads in the top corners for lockline returns, and a 3/4" drain in the middle of the back. Thanks.

-Todd

[organicreefer]

of those pumps- i like the ehiem or the velocity.im running three squids on my tank -youre gonna like em.

[todd_nano]

Do you think that even on so small all a tank, it'll be worthwhile? How do the eheims compare to the velocity in terms of noise? Do you think all these pumps are just too much overkill and I should just go with a maxijet 1200 or something? Thanks a lot.

[organicreefer]

id up the drain(intake for pump right?) to an inch too -maybe not absolutely necessary-but it cant hurt and most likely will help.best to keep things as free flowing as possible.

[organicreefer]

itll be killer for sps or other critters that like flow -too much for most lps and many softies.the more flow the better -as long as youre critters like it.i think it sounds good and you can always cut the flow back with ball/gate valves.youll lose alot of youre gph(i think about 30-40% imo) in the squid too -i think youre in the right ball park.sounds like a clean little setup -cant wait to see it progress-be sure to post some pics.

[organicreefer]

and ive never seen a velocity in action -but it cant be worse than a mag or sen as external pumps(theyre noisy and prone to leaking)...eheims are time tested and arent too bad in the noise department.

[todd_nano]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll go with the 1060, I havent heard one person speak negatively about them after a lot of searching. Is there any sort of prefilter attachment though that will be necessary? I understand that the scwd likes prefiltered water. I'll have a strainer for the drain obviously, but is there anything else I'll need? Thanks.

[organicreefer]

i havent been using any prefilters on mine and so far so good.

[todd_nano]

I actually have no inentions of keeping SPS in this tank, so I think I'll actually go with the 1250, 317 GPH should be plently, its only gona have about 6" head. For the outlets, do you think I should just have one on each side with like a 1 1/4" flare nozzel pointed towards the middle, or should I double it up and have a Y on each side with 2 flare nozzles?

[organicreefer]

actually since its a closed loop -youre only head will be the amount the outputs are higher than the intakes and friction.

but like i posted above -the squid adds quite a bit of friction -id go ahead with the 1060...but im a flow freak you could have a ball valve on the pump to throttle it back a little,which may not even be necessary. there are also some locline connections that are kinda like little ball valves-you could put a little more and less in different areas.with four outputs as you were thinking-maybe one in each corner,two larger flares in the back behind the rocks -two smaller nozzles in the front corners or something.?its nice to have the options,and youre need for flow will increase as the tank starts to fill up.

then again maybe im going overboard-im not sure youre gonna end up with many different "micro enviroments "in a seven gallon tank -but think of the endless hours of enjoyment fiddling with finding the best conditions for each critter in the tank