Pump for 300g setup

[glarior]

I am trying to figure out what pump to use for a 300g setup. It will have a huge bioload because it will house eels/small sharks.


I prefer something that has no maintenance to it.

What GPH should I look for at ~6ft head and what brands are reliable?

I looked at Reeflo, Iwaki, little giant and GEN X. The reeflo looked to be the best bang for the buck.

Any input from those who have used any pumps for large aquariums... Thanks

[alton]

I use two panworlds, the first is a 50PXX - 1100 gph that runs 24/7 @90 watts. the second is a 40PX - 480 gph@ 45 watts and runs 8am to 10 pm. Both pumps are quiet running together, the noise from the water drowns out the pumps, when the 40px drops out the tank becomes very quiet at night. To compare if I ran 1 panworld 100PXX I would use 130 watts at only 1270 GPH and not have the ability to slow down the flow at night. To add I also have a Tunze Wavemaker

[Bill S]

I have a Quiet One 9000 - 2300 gph sitting on my garage floor neer used... Oh THAT'S RIGHT. Someone else on MAAST borrowed it 7 months ago, and never returned it!

If you can use a submersible pump, they are quite a bit quieter, as the water insulates the sound somewhat.

I have both Iwaki and GenX pumps, and both are fine, but not that quiet. Reasonably, but not THAT quiet.

If you have a choice, I'd go with 2 versus 1. Eventually, one will quit/fail, and at least you have another running while you get it fixed or replaced. In my 215, I had 2 closed loops with Iwaki/GenX 12-1300gph pumps, and a Quiet One 6000 (1700gph) return from the sump.

[rrasco]

I have two Reeflo Darts. I was going to stay with an external pump until the disaster happened and I downgraded to a 105, so I am just using a smaller internal pump now, a ViaAqua I've had for a few years that pushes around 800GPH~. The Reeflo pumps are going to give you the best bang for your buck in regards to flow versus power consumption, but the seals WILL leak at some point. I bought one used, seals leaked, and bought one new, seals leaked. Reeflo sent me new seals and an impeller for the new pump since it leaked out of the box. They were not 'loud' per se, but I could hear them. Used one was definitely louder than the new one though, might need new bearings. I've never had an internal pump I could hear and am glad I am back to one. Plus, external leads to more failure points for leaks, etc. I'm not even sure a Reeflo would be right for the flow running through a sump though, 3000GPH+ is too much going through the sump. They are probably best suited for closed loops or feed pumps for various other things (e.g. reactors, water change station, etc).

[BBQHILLBILLY]

I have a hammerhead you can buy if you want. Its to much flow for my 55 gallon sump.

The hammerhead works off a siphon and is easy to add to a nondrilled sump.

The plumbing is allready done. You just put the tube in the return section and siphon the air and woola. lmk

[kkiel02]

Im a big "in tank pump" fan. I run two sicce 5.0 pumps and love it. Super quiet, like Bill said, because the water insulates it. Plus if one was to leak the water would just go right back in the sump.

[glarior]

I am so glad I posted this. I run dual rio 3100 on my 120g reef tank it does great. I am going to buy two sub pumps. In debate between the rio 32 hyper flow or mag drive 18, rio pushes a little more gph and a little less wattage than the mag drive plus $50 cheaper. I have used rio 2100 and 3100 for years and no problems (knock on wood)