I use the house brand pond pumps from home depot... They may not last as long, but I can replace them several times and it still not justify the price for the higher end pumps.
Product Review:Velocity Pumps
- Thread starter calamari
- Start date
![]v[onster Loaches](/forums/data/avatars/s/24/24510.jpg?1431689616){kind=avatar}
cassharper;1514456; said:
After using many quiet ones, and hearing lots of bad reviews on mag drives, I would have to disagree.
The closest thing QO makes that I tried to my Dart pump was the 9000. It flowed less, was way louder, and is rumored to have lots of problems including the cermaic shaft breaking. And the price was only $60 less. If you had to replace it once then it would be well over the cost of the Sequence (My Dart was $200 or 210, I forget exactly). Also you cant put a price on your favorite fish that died since the pump failed when you were gone. The Sequence was also more energy efficient as well. But the main thing that did it for me was the quiet operation. If you dont care about noise this might not matter, but my tank is sitting next to my bigscreen in the family room... I needed a quite pump and I'd much rather pay for quality anyhow.
]v[onster Loaches;1514852; said:
Yes, the energy savings alone make Sequence a better choice.
And like you said, who wants to lose fish during "expected" pump failures just to save a few bucks?
]v[onster Loaches;1514852; said:
I don't use mag drives, I think they are over-priced crap. I have never actually had one of these pumps go out on me, but I was throwing out hypothetical examples. I was also just showing a seperate view pump, perhaps I should have emphasized that my external pumping needs are minimal so I have no need for a high quality pump... my apologies.
No prob, and I know some cannot afford to spend hundreds on just a pump, but this is MFK I figured most would use above average setups 
Sometimes the pumps are just extra, you have other pumps/ canisters etc that if one failed it wouldnt crash the tank.
I had actually planned on using QO pumps. Like I said I tried many. But above the QO4000 they were energy hogs and just couldnt match the flow of the better pumps along with being annoyingly loud. For example the QO6000 was $90 and I got two ($180). Thats only like $20-30 shy of the Dart, which is nothing really, and I'd now shoot someone in the head for not spending $20-30 more for an awesome pump vs a cheapie
. But anyways, each 6000 is rated 140W (280W total). The Dart is 160W max, (145 avg) so basically half the power consumption. Also the flow ratings are similar 2x1500gph for QO and dart is 3600. But in reality... On my tank which I have estimated around 8' total head loss, I got roughly double the flow or more from the Dart as opposed to 2x 6000's. So double the flow and half the wattage, 4X more efficient
. That wattage will probably offset the $20-30 cost savings pretty quick. And then you have the noise factor, quality, warranty, etc. Heck the efficiency alone would probably completely pay for itself over its life cycle compared to a cheap pump assuming neither ever fails.
FWIW the QO4000's I have are relatively quiet. I was pretty happy with them just couldnt get enough flow. So I use them for the auto water change pump, etc.
Sorry to go on about the Sequence, I really wish I had some more info on the Velocity. However, I do recall the name being popular on reefcentral when I looked for pump reviews there. It was reefcentral that I based my decision off to ultimately get the Sequence pump. Id try to search over there for some info on the velocity.
Sometimes the pumps are just extra, you have other pumps/ canisters etc that if one failed it wouldnt crash the tank.
I had actually planned on using QO pumps. Like I said I tried many. But above the QO4000 they were energy hogs and just couldnt match the flow of the better pumps along with being annoyingly loud. For example the QO6000 was $90 and I got two ($180). Thats only like $20-30 shy of the Dart, which is nothing really, and I'd now shoot someone in the head for not spending $20-30 more for an awesome pump vs a cheapie
. But anyways, each 6000 is rated 140W (280W total). The Dart is 160W max, (145 avg) so basically half the power consumption. Also the flow ratings are similar 2x1500gph for QO and dart is 3600. But in reality... On my tank which I have estimated around 8' total head loss, I got roughly double the flow or more from the Dart as opposed to 2x 6000's. So double the flow and half the wattage, 4X more efficient. That wattage will probably offset the $20-30 cost savings pretty quick. And then you have the noise factor, quality, warranty, etc. Heck the efficiency alone would probably completely pay for itself over its life cycle compared to a cheap pump assuming neither ever fails.FWIW the QO4000's I have are relatively quiet. I was pretty happy with them just couldnt get enough flow. So I use them for the auto water change pump, etc.
Sorry to go on about the Sequence, I really wish I had some more info on the Velocity. However, I do recall the name being popular on reefcentral when I looked for pump reviews there. It was reefcentral that I based my decision off to ultimately get the Sequence pump. Id try to search over there for some info on the velocity.
Has anyone used one of these: Rainbow 1/2 HP Seahorse Pump?
http://www.aquariumguys.com/rainbowpump1.html
Its only $179.00
http://www.aquariumguys.com/rainbowpump1.html
Its only $179.00
