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MDharmony

Member
Location
Jersey City, NJ
Rating - 100%
8   0   0
What are the pros and cons of external pumps? I'm not sure whether I should buy it? Is it too strong? What brand do you suggest?...Any quiet and energy efficient ones you know about?
 

jackson6745

SPS KILLER
Location
NJ
Rating - 99%
201   2   0
Pros
Will not calcify like submerged pumps
pressure rated pump option (more flow pushed through pipes)
Only option for high water flow

Cons
Noisy (mostly because fan motor)
Large pumps add a great deal of heat
Ass with anything external there is a greater chance of leaking
Most pumps are high wattage

Forget about quiet but for efficiency the sequence dart is a good pump. It all depends on your pump needs.
 

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
Rating - 97.3%
36   1   0
Rich, some external pumps will calcify just like the internal mags, CSL T-4 is one, they are now being marketed under a different name.

MDharmany, Give more details such as your tank size, type of creature you like to keep and any future stock plans will help us in helping you.
 

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
Rating - 97.3%
36   1   0
I am not so sure there is a need to pass 1,500 gallons through your sump every hour, it's going to be filled with lots of micro bubbles. 5-10 times of your tank volume through the sump and the remaining flow from an internal pump like Tunze or a few Maxi-jet 1200 may be better.

How many tangs are you plan to get for your 72?
 

ezee

Senior Member
Location
Brooklyn
Rating - 94.7%
18   1   0
MDharmony,

You will probably hear this again from the others but you may want to consider not deriving all of your 20x from your return pump. There are many pros to using multiple pumps/powerheads/etc to achieve your flow requirements.

To start; greater control of the flow and redundancy in case of a pump failure.

E
 

ezee

Senior Member
Location
Brooklyn
Rating - 94.7%
18   1   0
MDHarmony,

Well even just one more will give you more outputs but it really depends a lot on how you aquascape, budget, etc. I would go for at least three outputs, whether they are t-off exits from a single closed loop or powerheads. Maybe more like four or five if you really want to direct flow all over the tank.

There are actually a lot of considerations but remember that a lot of experienced reefers feel flow architecture is one of the most (if not the most) important parts of your system. Take your time and plan it out right.

Your return is a good starting place. Is your tank RR or undrilled. Usually on that size tank Oceanic will include something like a 600 gph overflow kit. There is your first 600 if it is RR.

E
 
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MDharmony

Member
Location
Jersey City, NJ
Rating - 100%
8   0   0
Ezee,

Yes, it's reef ready with the overflow kit. I'm planning on getting wavemakers too. I'm just stuck on which pump to buy. I wanted an external pump because I want to have enough room for my skimmer and refugium setup. I don't really want to have one that's too powerful because I'll be having a sand bed and don't want it to have sand floating up...
 

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
Rating - 97.3%
36   1   0
MDharmony said:
Cali reef, I'm planning on getting a yellow tang, blue tang, powder blue tang...

Please read up on these and wait at least 3-4 month before putting these(or any) tangs in your tank. Reading some of the post here may just change your mind on keeping mutiple tangs in a small tank.
 

MDharmony

Member
Location
Jersey City, NJ
Rating - 100%
8   0   0
cali_reef said:
Please read up on these and wait at least 3-4 month before putting these(or any) tangs in your tank. Reading some of the post here may just change your mind on keeping mutiple tangs in a small tank.

Oh, definitely. It won't be for awhile until I get it. I want to establish the tank first.
 

gforce6

Senior Member
Location
Fort Lee, NJ
Rating - 100%
37   0   0
ezee said:
MDHarmony,
Your return is a good starting place. Is your tank RR or undrilled. Usually on that size tank Oceanic will include something like a 600 gph overflow kit. There is your first 600 if it is RR.

E

Second that with MD unless you are planning closed loop or tee off excess flow to chiller and reactor. I think eheim is good pump, you can do in or out and silent too.
 

ezee

Senior Member
Location
Brooklyn
Rating - 94.7%
18   1   0
MDHarmony,

I think what Cali means is take the time to research your decision, not just wait for your system to mature.

Check out some external pumps on Marine Depot and run their adjusted gph with the RC head loss calc tool here. You probably are looking for something like an 800-900 starting gph, just a guess though.

While you are there think about how you are going to set up your tank, especially rockwork, and you may find some powerheads that suit your plans or you can investigate a closed loop on this site. I believe there was a thread that outlined how people had their flow worked but can't remember where, you can search for it to get some ideas.

E
 

samksy

FISHING, I'M IN!!!!
Rating - 100%
346   0   0
MDharmony said:
Ezee,

Yes, it's reef ready with the overflow kit. I'm planning on getting wavemakers too. I'm just stuck on which pump to buy. I wanted an external pump because I want to have enough room for my skimmer and refugium setup. I don't really want to have one that's too powerful because I'll be having a sand bed and don't want it to have sand floating up...

MDharmony,

How big is your sump, in gallon and dimension? You really don't have that much of space under a 72, to have a skimmer compartment, refugium and plumb an external pump. Having an external pump would take up spaces. Also if you want a refugium, you might want to consider a hang on refugium instead. The good thing about a hang on is that your pod, mini critters won't be crush by the return pump.
 

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
Rating - 97.3%
36   1   0
jejton said:
I've read ( I think on wetwebmedia ) that 'pods being crushed by return pumps is not really a concern.

The fact is how many pods you think will be crushed? I also think fish and coral will have to do less work in order to eat a partial pod vs. trying to catch a swimming pod.
 

drunktank

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
i personally love my Iwaki pump. I can't hear it standing next to my tank. It puts off some heat, but what pump doesnt?

i like the idea of external, created more room in the sump for a larger skimmer/refugium area. Just as easy to disconnect to clean or replace.
 

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