External pump recommendations please!

[rskillz]

Hey guys, so my new setup is a 93 rimless. Fortunately, my new place in Minnesota has a basement, so I can use a massive sump and install barrels for more water volume:thumbs: With that said, I have almost no experience with large external pumps (as not many Augustans have large tanks, so any recommendations would be great. I know the Reeflo are pretty solid.

The pump needs to operate at 15 feet head with at least 1000gph or close at the tank. I dont care so much about noise or power or heat, just looking for performance and longevity/low maintenance.

Thanks in advance!

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Reeflo pumps! Great pumps, low energy use, tons of volume, fairly inexpensive, quiet, good customer service....did I leave anything out? For external use, I'll probably never use anything else.

 

[1mbrews8]

I'm pretty happy with my reeflo wahoo. I converted it with a diff "thingy" ) to get even more flow to my 1st floor...

 

[rskillz]

wahoo? lol is that the real name? Never heard of it.

Edit:

porpoiseaquatics;874338 wrote: Reeflo pumps! Great pumps, low energy use, tons of volume, fairly inexpensive, quiet, good customer service....did I leave anything out? For external use, I'll probably never use anything else.

Awesome, that is what I was thinking.

Edit: Also, which Reeflo? Hammerhead/Barracuda?

 

[gregoryleonard]

+1 on the Reeflow Pumps. I use a Barracuda Gold series from my basement to DT upstairs - Lots of Flow. I even have teed off the line to run my ETSS skimmer beast and still have plenty of power/Flow. Plus these have the 1.5" or 2" inlet and outflow.

Rskillz;874344 wrote: wahoo? lol is that the real name? Never heard of it.

Edit:

Awesome, that is what I was thinking.

Edit: Also, which Reeflo? Hammerhead/Barracuda?

 

[ripped tide]

If you get Reeflo, ask for replacement seals. The stock seals are not the best and often get damaged in shipping.

They are pretty easy to replace, just follow the directions, or buy an extra seal kit


I'd probably go with a blueline.... But the owner of that company is a pain if you have any issues.

 

[rskillz]

Ripped Tide;874362 wrote: If you get Reeflo, ask for replacement seals. The stock seals are not the best and often get damaged in shipping.

They are pretty easy to replace, just follow the directions, or buy an extra seal kit


I'd probably go with a blueline.... But the owner of that company is a pain if you have any issues.

The Blueline BL-100 would fit the bill for sure. Any other comments on the blueline? I see that they have no seals to leak and has 2000gph and max head of 45ft

 

[ripped tide]

If you google the terms "blueline leak" and "Reeflo leak", you'll find very different results.

 

[rskillz]

Ripped Tide;874373 wrote: If you google the terms "blueline leak" and "Reeflo leak", you'll find very different results.

Yea my old Reeflo Dart on my 180 leaked like crazy. And it went bad once, but it was used when I got it so that could be why. Either way, they would send me a new unit for about half-price and were great about it.

That is really the only reason I made this post, or Reeflo would be a no brainer.

 

[rskillz]

Any more ideas? Blueline or Reeflow? Anyone else have experience with the blueline?

 

[putemup]

I currently have a blueline pump. I've had it about 4 or 5 years with no leaks. The only problem occurred a couple of years ago when a snail crawled into the pump and broke the propellers. I was only able to find one place in the country that sold replacement parts. The part was ordered and replaced and I've had no problems since. I see no problems with the pump.

 

[lagunareef]

Rskillz;874409 wrote: Any more ideas? Blueline or Reeflow? Anyone else have experience with the blueline?

Ryan, FWIW I am still running my Blueline pump on my skimmer since startup...that was 5 years ago. It is also the pump of choice for my CA reactor. I never had a Reeflo but I am sure either of the two will perform. But in terms of longevity and durability, my experience vouches for Blueline...:yes:

 

[acroholic]

Blueline and Pan World are the same thing, and I can recommend them from years of experience. They are very reliable, and I have yet to have one go bad. That being said, I use a Hammerhead Hybrid on the big tank and it works well, of course, after I replaced the bad seals on the new pump, hehehe! Reeflo is good about it. If they didn't have great customer service, no one would buy their pumps, IMO. Seems they are solid once you get one with good seals.

The Reeflo series is more energy efficient than the Pan World/Blue Line pumps as well. The more you valve down a Reeflo, the less electricity you use. Same for the Pan World, but only to a point. The Reeflo has the pump shaft directly connected to the impeller, and the Pan World electric motor is connected to a spinning magnet, which turns and makes another magnet turn that is connected to the impeller. Not sure from an engineering standpoint why that translates into less electrical consumption Reeflo vs Pan World/Blueline, but it does.

I would guess that the direct connection of the impeller to the motor shaft reduces the RPMs in the Reeflo a bit more than the Pan world when you valve it down, using less electricity.

 

[lagunareef]

This may come down to what application you are using it for, much like mesh vs. felt socks. I would have to say that for running water from your basement to DT, a Reeflo would be my pump of choice with regards to reliability, energy consumption, and most importantly, reputation as a 'workhorse' pump.

On the hand, for running appliances (skimmer, reactor), a Blueline is be hard to beat.

Simply put, you can always buy/use another pump for the appliance application, but when your 'workhorse', or life line, pump gives way you'd want a reputable company with the customer support of Reeflow to be there for you. Hope this helps...

 

[grouper therapy]

aquaculture;874434 wrote: Ryan, I have used several Reeflo ext. pumps throughout the years, and some panworld/blueline, all work well for the applications I was using them for, BUT if you want the best (IMO) and silent, get a Dolphin Ampmaster Diamond series Marine Grade 4, they are worth their weight in platinum, I have used the current one I have for well over 12 years and never had to replace seals, I have to touch it to ensure it is still running sometimes (it's that quiet), albeit I see great flow coming from it. They are on the pricey side, but you know the saying, you get what you pay for. Good luck in your pump quest!!!!

Same here. With the marine grade seals they can't be beat.

 

[budsreef]

I used a Reeflo Tarpon from my basement sump up to the tank and ran a Blueline on the system that I kept in the basement. I never had a single problem with either one.

Make sure you have a lot of redundancy in that system, I'm not driving to Minnesota!

 

[silver surfer]

My system in total runs 8 external pumps. I rely on iwaki and have not been disappointed.

 

[rskillz]

Budsreef;874805 wrote: I used a Reeflo Tarpon from my basement sump up to the tank and ran a Blueline on the system that I kept in the basement. I never had a single problem with either one.

Make sure you have a lot of redundancy in that system, I'm not driving to Minnesota!

Haha! You are the man Bud.

 

[skriz]

I have dealt with thousands of blueline and reeflo pumps. I've never had a leak issue with bluline; reeflo is notorious for leak issues due to failing seals. Change the seal and you're good to go for a while, but know that yoi will need to chsnge it again; no seal to Change on the blueline. Power consumption difference is big, so if that's a consideration, look closely at the specs.

I use both reeflo and BL on my tank (and practically every system I design).

I am using dolphin for a project in Miami; so far I hate the union they come with (very cheap and flimsy feeling), but we'll see how they pan out.

 

[rskillz]

Skriz;874832 wrote: I have dealt with thousands of blueline and reeflo pumps. I've never had a leak issue with bluline; reeflo is notorious for leak issues due to failing seals. Change the seal and you're good to go for a while, but know that yoi will need to chsnge it again; no seal to Change on the blueline. Power consumption difference is big, so if that's a consideration, look closely at the specs.

I use both reeflo and BL on my tank (and practically every system I design).

I am using dolphin for a project in Miami; so far I hate the union they come with (very cheap and flimsy feeling), but we'll see how they pan out.

Thanks for the input. Decided to go with the Reeflo Wahoo! Gonna grab some extra seals though...