Recommendations

[GaryP]

OK,

I'm planning on doing some preventative maintenance and up grades of my tanks and need some suggestions from ya'll as to equipment choices and vendors. I thought some of the "gear heads" here could make some recommendations.

First, and easiest, I want to replace the 4" cooling fans in my 125 gal. SPS tank. Is there some place better than Radio Shack for these and if so do any of you have a recommendation as to what fans to use.

Second, after hearing all the horror stories concerning them, I want to replace my existing Rio 2500's that I am using for return and skimmers. I have a 125 SPS tank with two return pumps and one on the skimmer. I also have a 75 gal. softy/LPS tank with one return pump and one skimmer pump. I'd like to go with an external pump, if possible, to minimize heat. I don't have a closed loop on either tank. I had been thinking about going with Mag 9.5's until I read some of the recent posts. Can I go with a larger, single pump on the 125 with a SQWD? My only concern there is reliability. If it goes down, I'll have no circulation on my SPS. I'd also appreciate any vendor recommendations you might have. I know from reading posts that many of you are buying these on ebay and I will certainly check there.

OK, what do you think?

Gary

[captexas]

It's actually Atex on Gulfdale. Used to be Altex till before they moved all their computer stuff over to 281/Bitters. Problem with the fans there is that they are bulk fans and do not have any sound ratings on them. I picked some up there a long time ago for my 58g and they were very noisy. After reading all the threads on RC, I decided to go with the Orion OA119AP-11-3WB that were supposed to be the quiet ones. I found them at Arcade Electronics online. Haven't had to install them just yet, but will be soon with the increasing temps.

[matt]

About the pump, if reliability is the issue, you definitely want an iwaki pump, or possibly one of the new pan world/bluelineHD. These are very similar to the iwakis, being designed by the former chief engineer from iwaki. Just go to either premium or champion and find a model that fits your flow needs. I'd probably stay with the japanese iwakis, even though they are more expensive than the american ones. They're cooler and quieter. I have one of each; a blueline HD30X for return and an iwaki 40rxt for closed loop. The iwaki is a bit louder, but it's pushing a solid 1200 gph 24/7, never slowing down, and it's constantly cool to the touch. Mags will not hold their rated flow for long.

[manny]

Gary, I'd have to agree with Matt on the pump. I hooked up my tank this weekend with an Iwaki pressure rated pump and the scwd doesn't slow it down much at all. Tried it without the scwd and with it and noticed not much of reduction in flow. As for temperature, haven't seen much of an increase in temp. compared to havin my powerheads in there

[capntom]

Gary, For the fans take a look at www.Bantamelectronics.com( they have a store here in Austin). If your looking for almost silent fans, then you need to visit www.pcpowercooling.com , I have four of their 90's in my computer case, you have to stick your finger in the fan to see if there working :twisted: , you can't hear them. I'm also interested in any pump recommendations, I'm looking at the Ocean Runner's, anybody have any?

[GaryP]

Matt, what about a submersible pump for the skimmers?

Gary

[Brett Wilson]

tom, don't stick your finger in the fan. that isn't good for fingers :-p
kidding of course.
Josh, I'm interested in the part # you are going to look up.

Thanks,
-Brett

[GaryP]

Wow, there is a pretty big difference in the price of the Japanese and American Iwaki's.

Gary

[ryanrichter]

I havent heard. What problems have people found with the RIO 2500s. Too much heat? Unreliable?

[GaryP]

They leak current which can cause Lateral line disease in fish and other problems. I just want to get away from submersible pumps as much as possible. Heat is a secondary problem.

Gary

[greatbarrier52]

Just something funny to share Matt you reminded me about threee or four years ago I called Reef Fanatic to ask about the difference between the Japanese and American pumps. In a hard Asian accent he said " They wok harda,longa and quieter". :lol: Isnt that the truth! I guess thats why we keep farming jobs out over seas :evil:

[GaryP]

I ordered a Blueline 40. Its a knock off of the Iwaki for about $100 less.

Gary

[Instar]

Gary, You can get fans that move 2250 cfpm that are about 6 or 9 inches, I think. Its at a contractors equipment place. Great fan, completely silent and moves a ton of air. Ask RAllard for exact name of place and more info. I got a couple fans from WalMart recently that are great! Not easy to mount, but, for me they could be clipped and moved around some to get the maximum benefit. They are white, 6 inch fans and silent. I went to a WalMart that had them running on display so I could hear them. Not like the computer fans or radio shack fans that either move little air or make noise. These make a blast of cool air and are completely silent, all plastic.

[Instar]

For circulation on a 125, you need more than just one SQWD so if it does go down, its no big deal as there are other circulation pumps there till you get your SQWD cleaned out.

[GaryP]

Larry

I'm not adding a SQWD right now. Just running off a T. I got in on the order of MaxiJets from AW. I plan on putting 4 of them in the tank this weekend. That should really help my circulation a lot.

Gary