Help Choosing A Pump

[SvenBoogie]

Ok, heres the info on the tank I'm currently working to set up:

100 Gallons
Freshwater
18"x18"x72"
Stocking: Probably Lake Tanganyika Cichlids

Filter:

DIY Wet/Dry, aprox. 5 gallons bio-media

Overflows will be the DIY pvc pipe ones discussed elsewhere here, using 1 1/4" pipe. Either one or two depending on how much flow I end up with.


Question is, how much turnover is ideal for best bio-media colony growth, and what kind of pump should I be looking at for this setup? So far I've heard everything from 500 gph to more than 1000?

 

[boisblancboy]

I would recommend a rate of flow of 500-600 gph. If for whatever reason you end up needing more filtration, get a canister, that way you have more than one type of filtration. As for a pump I would go with either Mag Drive or Quiet One pumps. Mag drives seem to be the most popular and a little more expensive. Quiet one pumps are less expensive but have never really heard much bad about them, I currently have a quiet one myself.

 

[WyldFya]

I'd do a Mag drive 7.5. That will put you in at around 650 gph with head accounted.

 

[rallysman]

quiet one gets my vote. I go against the grain and turn tanks over 3x per hour with wet/dry filters. It works very well on every tank that I have set up.

 

[SvenBoogie]

How about a coralife/panworld/blueline (they are all the same pump sold under different names)?

Specifically, looking at the Coralife Turbo-Sea 1090.Specs are

GPH: 1090
Max Head: 13.1 ft
80 Watts
Fittings: 1" MPT

 

[eh1421]

i would go mag drive also but rally swears by the quiet ones so my next wet/dry will have a quiet one on it
you can't beat the price

mike

 

[boisblancboy]

One thing I noticed with the quiet ones as well, depending on the model is they tend to have a lower wattage then some others compairable to gph. at least that is what I noticed, could be wrong, didnt memorize every make/model.

 

[SvenBoogie]

I'd do a Mag drive 7.5. That will put you in at around 650 gph with head accounted.

I assume you meant to say mag drive 9.5?

 

[WyldFya]

Actually I meant the Mag 7. Mag 9.5 at 3 foot head does something like 900 gph.

 

[rallysman]

One thing I noticed with the quiet ones as well, depending on the model is they tend to have a lower wattage then some others compairable to gph. at least that is what I noticed, could be wrong, didnt memorize every make/model.

That's part of the reason I like them I'm only using 80 watts for filtration on my 300 gal.