My thought was for mechanical. the bb will catch up and have more bacteria in the filter will compensate for a higher flow to level it all out
Suggestions for pump for 700 gallon system
- Thread starter davenmandy
- Start date
I would get a big reeflo. For rays you need about 10x turnover through the filter socks. But u will need figure out good contact time through media though...
No filter socks, running pads. Ya i want to get close to 10 for sure. Going to upgrade the pumps on the 400 once I tip and pour it and probably add another bulkhead.
It's my understanding that Laguna pumps are the most efficient submersible, I don't know about in line pumps. I have a Laguna 2400 and a Rio 1600 on my 450 but there are a lot of fittings and bleeder lines so I get about half the listed flow so around 2000 gph I then have 4 korolias 2 850's and 2 1150's I think. These and the 4 airstones keep most things off the bottom and the tank well oxygenated
I like to geek-out on stuff like this (I like running numbers) so I apologize in advance for the long response.
It's definitely an important decision; since our pumps are running 24/7, it's crucial to chose something that is efficient while still providing adequate flow.
Assuming you are running a gravity-fed filter where the pump doesn't need to battle a lot of head, it sounds like two Laguna Max Flo 4280s would be a pretty good fit. Both of them combined should push 6500GPH @ 5' head and draw only 320 watts. That's ~20GPH per watt, which is awesome.
Not sure about Canada, but here in the U.S. they sell for ~$250 each, so that would put them right at your budget. I've been using this pump on my setup for ~4 years and am really happy with it.
I saw the recommendation to run a high pressure 1.5hp pump. Assuming you are running a basic gravity fed filtration system (like most of us do), I would stay away from high pressure pumps and/or the Baldor 1.5hp. Those pumps are really inefficient; for the amount of watts they consume, they don't push very much water.
The 1.5HP Baldor draws 1,500 watts and provide a maximum flow of 9,200GPH. (Even if you assume it's putting out 9,200 GPH which it wouldn't be, that's only 6GPH per watt...remember the Laguna was at 20GPH/watt).
The only scenario where the 1.5HP pump would make sense is if you were running a sump in the basement and you needed a high pressure pump to push water up one floor or more. Otherwise, high pressure pumps are totally unnecessary and a huge waste of money...
Assuming you pay close to the national (U.S.) average of $.11/KWhr, the 1.5HP pump would add almost $120 every month to your electric bill ($1,440 per year).
Both Laguna's would add ~$25 every month (~$300 per year).
So, over the course of 10 years, going with the Laguna's would save you over $11,000!
The Laguna's are a win-win-win. They are less expensive, they will be much cheaper to run over time and you will have the redundancy of two pumps.
If you definitely want an external pump, going with two Reeflo Barracuda/Hammerhead Gold pumps would be the next best thing (efficiency of about 15 GPH per watt). Still not as efficient as the Lagunas, but much better than going with one huge pump.
Hope this helps.
It's definitely an important decision; since our pumps are running 24/7, it's crucial to chose something that is efficient while still providing adequate flow.
Assuming you are running a gravity-fed filter where the pump doesn't need to battle a lot of head, it sounds like two Laguna Max Flo 4280s would be a pretty good fit. Both of them combined should push 6500GPH @ 5' head and draw only 320 watts. That's ~20GPH per watt, which is awesome.
Not sure about Canada, but here in the U.S. they sell for ~$250 each, so that would put them right at your budget. I've been using this pump on my setup for ~4 years and am really happy with it.
I saw the recommendation to run a high pressure 1.5hp pump. Assuming you are running a basic gravity fed filtration system (like most of us do), I would stay away from high pressure pumps and/or the Baldor 1.5hp. Those pumps are really inefficient; for the amount of watts they consume, they don't push very much water.
The 1.5HP Baldor draws 1,500 watts and provide a maximum flow of 9,200GPH. (Even if you assume it's putting out 9,200 GPH which it wouldn't be, that's only 6GPH per watt...remember the Laguna was at 20GPH/watt).
The only scenario where the 1.5HP pump would make sense is if you were running a sump in the basement and you needed a high pressure pump to push water up one floor or more. Otherwise, high pressure pumps are totally unnecessary and a huge waste of money...
Assuming you pay close to the national (U.S.) average of $.11/KWhr, the 1.5HP pump would add almost $120 every month to your electric bill ($1,440 per year).
Both Laguna's would add ~$25 every month (~$300 per year).
So, over the course of 10 years, going with the Laguna's would save you over $11,000!
The Laguna's are a win-win-win. They are less expensive, they will be much cheaper to run over time and you will have the redundancy of two pumps.
If you definitely want an external pump, going with two Reeflo Barracuda/Hammerhead Gold pumps would be the next best thing (efficiency of about 15 GPH per watt). Still not as efficient as the Lagunas, but much better than going with one huge pump.
Hope this helps.
Yes this helps a lot. The Laguna's are priced pretty high here.
What are your (and everyone elses) thoughts on the Jebao DCT15000's? Maybe run 2 of those? I run Jebao powerheads and have no complaints, I don't think everyone has had the same luck with the pumps though, but it seems best bang for the buck from what I have found. I do not know anything about the energy consumption, can anyone shed some light?
I had the dc12000's and they kept failing on me... Not sure if the design is better now...
I also like hydrive 4800 pumps. Good strength and low wattage. I run a super dart gold and its kinda weak but only 170 watts
I also like hydrive 4800 pumps. Good strength and low wattage. I run a super dart gold and its kinda weak but only 170 watts
I've read mixed reviews on the Jebao's. From what I understand, they are really efficient, but not so reliable.
Pumps are the heart of your tank, so I would be careful to not be penny-wise and pound-foolish.
I personally think the 10x turnover rule is overkill and if I were to be blunt about it, it's total nonsense.
I run about 2.5x on my 770G and although I don't keep huge fish, I wouldn't say that I'm lightly stocked and I've never had any measureable ammonia or nitrite readings.
The larger the tank, the less turnover you will typically need. Look at some of he huge public aquariums, and they have like 1 turnover PER DAY. I can guarantee you that they are not running 63 million GPH on the 6.3 million gallon Ocean Voyager Aquarium in Atlanta...and they are keeping whale sharks.
If the budget for your pumps is tight, I would suggest running two Max Flo 2400. They will get you around 5x turnover, which is plenty. If your water parameters are bad with that type of flow, you either don't have enough bio-media, you need to do more frequent water changes or you are overstocked. All the flow in the world won't help if you are trying to keep too high of a bio-load in a tank...water changes are the only thing that will solve for that problem. And if you decide you still want more flow you could always add an additional pump when the funds are available.
I know people will disagree, but those are my 2 cents.
Pumps are the heart of your tank, so I would be careful to not be penny-wise and pound-foolish.
I personally think the 10x turnover rule is overkill and if I were to be blunt about it, it's total nonsense.
I run about 2.5x on my 770G and although I don't keep huge fish, I wouldn't say that I'm lightly stocked and I've never had any measureable ammonia or nitrite readings.
The larger the tank, the less turnover you will typically need. Look at some of he huge public aquariums, and they have like 1 turnover PER DAY. I can guarantee you that they are not running 63 million GPH on the 6.3 million gallon Ocean Voyager Aquarium in Atlanta...and they are keeping whale sharks.
If the budget for your pumps is tight, I would suggest running two Max Flo 2400. They will get you around 5x turnover, which is plenty. If your water parameters are bad with that type of flow, you either don't have enough bio-media, you need to do more frequent water changes or you are overstocked. All the flow in the world won't help if you are trying to keep too high of a bio-load in a tank...water changes are the only thing that will solve for that problem. And if you decide you still want more flow you could always add an additional pump when the funds are available.
I know people will disagree, but those are my 2 cents.
We are definitely thinking on the same level. I run 2 mag18's at 8-10 foot head an one of those feeds a k1 reactor on my 400 gallon and my water has to be good because my rays are breeding and my pups the first time around did very well.
I will have an auto drip system that will change 25% a day or so.
My only thought is if I get the jebao, 2 put me at at high turnover and way under budget. So I can roll the dice and get lucky with them, or if not what are the chances 2 fail at once? I can run off one while replacing. If they are energy efficient to boot, bonus, plus if i get a year and and half out of them then that's not even bad for the price really.
I will have an auto drip system that will change 25% a day or so.
My only thought is if I get the jebao, 2 put me at at high turnover and way under budget. So I can roll the dice and get lucky with them, or if not what are the chances 2 fail at once? I can run off one while replacing. If they are energy efficient to boot, bonus, plus if i get a year and and half out of them then that's not even bad for the price really.
