Pool pump for circulation

[Henry]

Has anyone ever used a pool pump for circulation on their aquarium? :? I have access to a new 3/4 hp hayward pool pump rated at 60gpm and was wondering if this would be acceptable to use. The guy selling the pump said there might be an upgrade on the gasket to help protect against the salt. The price on the pump is about $60 and looks much like the ampmaster series. I don't see a problem but maybe I'm just blinded by the price. :lol:

thanks

Henry

[Chris]

Price sounds good but that HP draw will kill you in the long run.

Is the pump pressure rated? At 0' head pressure, 60gpm will be 3600GPH. My AmpMaster 3000 pushes a bit less than 3,000GPH and to be honest it's pushing a little bit more water into my 200G than my overflows can handle. I'm either going to have to modify the overflow or continue to cut back on the flow.

Also your power draw will be huge! Do you know the average amp load of this pump? 3/4HP is a lot! A 1/2HP chiller rated at 9.1 Amps will pull around 1,000 Kwh give or take 100 Watts depending on efficiency.

The Dolphin pump I have (trying to sell, not use) is 1 HP, the average Amp load is around 10.XX with a startup draw in the high 11.XX range. Such a pump pretty much requires its own dedicated circuit.

Using our MAAST.org Energy Calculator... that 1/2HP chiller raises your electric bill by $47 all by itself. :oops: In the same respect, my AmpMaster 3,000 has a low 1.XX average load(some people have reported higher than the company says. So adding a little extra i'd say it pulls 150W's(probably less, I haven't been able to test it yet). At that rate, the AM3K will cost you a little less than $7/month.

BIG DIFFERENCE! ;)

[TexasState]

it's pushing a little bit more water into my 200G than my overflows can handle.

I know a guy using the AMP 300 on his 120G with Dual overflow. In situation like yours, you can do several things:

1) Mess around with your Durso pipe some more. Different holes size drilled into the cap determine the flow capicity of the Durso Pipe. Place your fingers over the hole in the cap of the Durso. Is your pump still not keeping up even when the top hole in the Durso have been plug up?
2) Surface Tension could be your problem if the overflow box can't suck in enough water. In that case, it's up to you to decide whether or not to widen the teeth on the overflow box. In my overflow box, the surface tension get about half way bwtn the teeth b4 it would drain into the overflow. The guy I know have this same problem in his 120G, but he's not keeping the grilled slot clean from algae buildup.
3) Drain some excess flow back to the sump through a ball valve if your overflow can't keep up with your pump.

[Chris]

Yeah I plan to get a dremel and just widen a few of the slots that are on the side of the overflow where they won't be seen. The water level touches the top glass if the pump is pushing at full strength.

[Triggerman]

chris,

i'm curious about that 1 HP dolphin you have. does it have a rating on it of GPM? how old? and how much are you asking for it?

ray

[Chris]

Sending you a PM in a sec Ray. 8)