Planning on using a proflex 4 sump - 1 return pump or 2?

[johnnytaboo]

As the title states, I'm leaning towards the proflex 4 sump from aqueon. This will be my first sump set-up, and I like everything they seem to have to offer.

Background info: This is all for my 144 1/2 circle tank; 4 holes drilled in the bottom - all the same diameter as far as I can tell: 1-3/4". I am planning on using 1" bulkheads for the drain and the return.

I was wondering if anyone ever used two smaller pumps as opposed to one larger pump. If I did 1 larger pump, I was thinking the MAG1800 would be sufficient for my set-up. Conversely, if I used 2 pumps, 1 plumbed to each return line, I was thinking about the MAG9.5's. This way, if one of the pumps happened to fail for some reason, I would still have the other one running. Would there be any issues with reduced flow using the smaller pumps? With a 30" stand (as planned right now) and a 29" tall tank, the water has to get pumped about 5' vertically.

Thanks for any advice,
John

 

[ElectricBlueSeanBurch]

2 pumps are better than 1 IMO. You should look into laguna max flo pumps. They are the same quality if not better and use half the electricity of the mag drive pumps. I used to be strictly danner magdrive but I have been converted!

 

[johnnytaboo]

Did a quick search. Love the idea of a more efficient pump, I'm just not sure if 2 of those will fit in the sump area. There don't seem to be any dimensions listed for the 960. Any idea on the rough size of these bad boys?

 

[qadaemon]

I have two laguna maxflow pumps in a proflex 4. There's plenty of room for both after you take off the round pond pump prefilter part. This is a relatively new setup (~6 months?), but I have two identical lagunas that are a few years old with no issues.

 

[aldiaz33]

I like the idea of running two smaller pumps.

I am also a big fan of Laguna pumps, but with your particular setup, you would probably have to run two of their Max Flo 1500's (and valve them back a little) in order not to overwhelm your two 1" drains or run one of their Max Flo 2000 model.

1" drains will do about 600GPH each, so with two 1" drains you max out at around 1,200GPH.

I think you'd probably have closer to 6' of head after factoring in friction loss from your plumbing, so you would want a pump(s) that does around 1,200GPH @ 6' of head.

The Max Flo 1500 does 697GPH @ 6' of head on 75 watts (total of ~1,400GPH on 150 watts)

The Max Flo 2000 Does 1,360GPH @ 6' head on 78 watts.

So you would have to choose between the benefit of redundancy in running two Max Flo 1500s, versus the lower energy consumption (72 watts less) by running just one Max Flo 2000.

Another option is the Coralvue Water Blaster Pumps. The WB 5000 does 609GPH on 60 watts, so running two of them would probably be better than running two Max Flo 1500s...but the Water Blasters are so expensive you may never see a return on your investment.

Looking forward to seeing your setup. Good luck!

 

[johnnytaboo]

As much as I love redundancy, it looks like it will be costing me an extra $130, as well as the additional charge on my electrical bill. Tough pill to swallow there. Do you think the 1 maxflow 2000 would be adequate even if I used a WYE fitting to split the return flow?

 

[bassguy]

Two is better for safety, and a little but not much worse for running cost. I prefer two when I can.

 

[aldiaz33]

As much as I love redundancy, it looks like it will be costing me an extra $130, as well as the additional charge on my electrical bill. Tough pill to swallow there. Do you think the 1 maxflow 2000 would be adequate even if I used a WYE fitting to split the return flow?

Yeah, the Max Flo 2000 should give you plenty of flow; you should put a ball valve on the return just in case it's too much flow, which it very well might be.

I would probably make the same decision to just run the 2000; although I would definitely have a spare (back-up) pump on hand in case of any issues. Even if it's a beat up cheap pump you find in the classifieds, it's always a good idea to have a spare to keep your system going. Not sure what you plan to keep, but the spare pump would be insurance against having to replace all of your stock in the event of a pump failure.

I forgot to post a link to the pumps last time; check out page 7 for the flow chart and 8 for more specs: http://www.lagunaponds.com/lagunaeng/careguides/2012-Laguna-Catalogue.pdf

 

[johnnytaboo]

Thanks Alex, I think that's what I'm going to do. I'm curious if you could give me your opinion on my plumbing plans for the return line? I was thinking:

Maxflow 2000 - ball valve - check valve (see link) - Laguna Y connector - the simply 1" hose to the bulkheads

check valve: http://www.amazon.com/True-Union-Sw...=UTF8&colid=O8QQZ2DAX9EG&coliid=ICYQFDF4UL760

laguna Y connector: http://www.amazon.com/Laguna-Y-Conn...UTF8&colid=O8QQZ2DAX9EG&coliid=I249FJXOIZM3VQ

Thanks again for your input. I just want to make sure I've set this up correctly. Obviously, If I go with 2 pumps, I won't need the Y fitting, but I'll be needing another ball valve and check valve.

 

[aldiaz33]

The swing check valve is the one you would want to use (you don't want one of the spring loaded check valves which will add a lot of head pressure to your system and reduce your flow).

In regards to the Y, I'm not really a fan of Laguna's "Quick Connect" fittings. I have heard that they are prone to leaking and in looking at the reviews in the link you posted, looks like 2 out of 4 of the reviewers experienced this issue.

I would prefer to just get a barbed Y and use hose clamps to ensure a nice tight seal. If you can't find barbed Y fittings in 1", a barbed T fitting in 1" seems to be easier to come by.