Best Aquarium sump pump?

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Maich

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 21, 2009
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Redding, CA
Hey guys, OK so first of all... I'm setting up a 125 gallon RR aquarium, 2 overflows, with *1-1/2* inch drain pipe thingys going into the sump... plus did i mention the 80 GALLON SUMP. (yeah a bit of an overkill eh?)
For discus. and i want to find a good sump pump for it... My question is...
Discus live in fairly placid waters... So im not sure the turnover rate or anything... Could anybody direct me to a good pump for discus in a 125 gall tank? i mean would a 800GPH Pump be good enough for discus? I don't know to much about this department. Any info would be a help.
 
Turnover rate isn't really important for biological filtration. Slow if fine as it allows more dwell time in the filter, but many prefer to pick up the pace a bit to keep solids suspended.

Honestly, I wouldn't use a traditional wet/dry filter with discus. I would (as many do) have lots of plants in such a tank, and they don't grow as well in wet/dry setups as such filters gas off most of the CO2. Much easier and better to use a big Eheim canister on such tanks.

Still, if you are looking for 800 gph or so in your wet/dry, look as Eheim pumps. They make a 900 gph model.
 
Ok, well i bought this tank for the purpose of keeping discus, and it has the wet/dry already installed so im not going to change my plans. but. i was also wondering the best brand and the longest lived/quietest pump.
 
I have a quietone 3000 on my 75, it works well. Relatively quiet (it's old and I got it used) and efficient. The 4000 is rated at about 1000 GPH, but you are going to lose quite a bit due to the head height (at 4 feet, it would pump about 750 GPH). Flow charts: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9849

It only uses 50 watts of electricity, which is very low compared to equivalent pumps.
 
Does anybody here recommend a Mag Drive pump?? I hear they're good....
 
Sen makes a pretty good submersible pump in the 700-900 gph range. You also may want to look at the Tunze pumps as well as I have heard pretty good reviews on them.
 
Maich;3330613; said:
Ok, well i bought this tank for the purpose of keeping discus, and it has the wet/dry already installed so im not going to change my plans. but. i was also wondering the best brand and the longest lived/quietest pump.
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For something that size, go with Eheim. They are dead silent and run for years (decades!).

You'll get lots of suggestions (Mag, Rio, etc.) that are based on the popularity of such brands primarily due to them being comparatively inexpensive. You'll pay more in the long run just on additional electricity usage, not to mention complete pump replacement.
 
I agree, for a submersible pump Eheim is probably as good as it gets. I find that external pumps are usually more reliable than submersibles, but will require a bulkhead in the sump. The best pump in terms of reliability are iwaki external pumps, they will consistently last 10-15 years without any problems, my LFS has one that's been in use for 27 years.
 
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