First Tank - Please Help

[pzummo]

JennM;347364 wrote: *Cough* I can match the good doctor's (cough cough) pricing on a Mag Drive. Only snag is, I don't have a 7 right now but will likely have one next Friday. I encourage you to shop local if you can... we local sponsors value your business! I do have a Mag 5 in stock but I'd favor the 7 because at 4' of head the Mag 5 pushes only about 350 GPH. The Mag 7 pushes about 475 GPH.

Mag Specs here: http://www.dannermfg.com/instructionsheets/ZG120.PDF">http://www.dannermfg.com/instructionsheets/ZG120.PDF</a> They make larger pumps too but the next size up is a 9.5 (950 GPH at 0 head and that would be too much, IMO).

Your sump with the built-in skimmer... is it a Sealife or ProClear (or AquaClear)? If so, those skimmers are, well, umm... so-so. They can work... but they aren't in the same ball park as a stand-alone in-sump skimmer. It's better than no skimmer, but not my first recommendation.

It would stand to reason that the CAP pump is for the skimmer though - the last time I saw one it was on a ProClear skimmer. The Sealife and ProClear (AquaClear - they changed their name to ProClear a few years ago) stand alone skimmers are better than their built-in ones, and for the money they aren't bad, but there are much better skimmers out there.

Sorry - not trying to rain on your parade... just "FYI".

ProClear and Sealife products look almost identical. Both are made in Jacksonville FL. Separate companies but I *think* at one time both companies (owners?) worked together, and as such, their products are very similar.

Jenn[/QUOTE]

I would love to buy from a local shop. I did buy some stuff from a local shop and they had a nice selection but some of their prices were a high. I'm having trouble finding a good shop with good prices close by. Again, open to suggestions. Roswell/Alpharetta area.

It is an AquaClear sump. I am sure over time I will upgrade different components as needed, but I'll have to see where I'm falling short before deciding what to upgrade. I wasn't even going to buy a skimmer for at least a couple of months. Oh well, now I won't have to, but I do need the pump and return nozzle asap. I can't wait to set this up.

 

[jennm]

I have the Mag 5 but IMO it would be a bit weak. I tried to get another 7 in this week but alas, they were back-ordered (trying a different distributor this week - but that doesn't help your today...)

I do carry Loc-Line and have that in stock.

Cheers,
Jenn

 

[pzummo]

JennM;347406 wrote: I have the Mag 5 but IMO it would be a bit weak. I tried to get another 7 in this week but alas, they were back-ordered (trying a different distributor this week - but that doesn't help your today...)

I do carry Loc-Line and have that in stock.

Cheers,
Jenn

I appreciate the honesty. I'm going to try to find a Mag 7 local. Are there other comparable models? I would rather not have to buy online as next week is a short week and odds are I won't get it until the week after even if I ordered today.

Is the Rio 3100 any good? It says it does 690gph at 4'.

 

[tokejr]

pzummo;347421 wrote: I appreciate the honesty. I'm going to try to find a Mag 7 local. Are there other comparable models? I would rather not have to buy online as next week is a short week and odds are I won't get it until the week after even if I ordered today.

Is the Rio 3100 any good? It says it does 690gph at 4'.

First, where is the tank? We did a lot of research before we bought our pump (from a local LFS, BTW) and went with the Mag because our tank is in the living room and we needed a quiet one.

Of all the pumps we looked at, the Mag was definitely the most quiet.

 

[jennm]

:::::::Shudder:::::::: Stay away from Rio. I don't want to read about another disaster...

I'm not sure if they've "fixed" the problems with those or not, but I wouldn't take a chance.

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f6/another-rio-meltdown-10546.html?highlight=Rio+Meltdown">http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f6/another-rio-meltdown-10546.html?highlight=Rio+Meltdown</a>

Granted this was 7 years ago... and I've seen this happen a couple of times. I never sold those pumps - and I won't. But I've cleaned up a few of their messes...

Stick with Mag Drive... reliable pump, easy to service.

Jenn

 

[pzummo]

The tank is in my living room.

I tried to go local, but 14 phone calls and only 2 carry it for $129.99 while it's $74.99 online has sent me back to the internet.

I went to Home Depot. The guy there seemed to think PVC or vynil would kill my tank. He said the only options would be polyethylene, Pex, or CPVC. I still need a pump, but at least I got the return nozzle...

 

[jennm]

That's expensive for local (maybe I need to raise my prices!!!!) My regular price is close to online and if you account for shipping I'm probably within $4-5 and that's before ARC discount (or Reef Rewards points if you aren't an ARC member) - count that and I'm probably about on par with online. Wish I had one for you - like I said I should have it by Friday (usually Thursday but with the holiday weekend...)

LOL @ Home Depot - what's the big diff between PVC and CPVC? PVC is fine - I have miles of it here in the shop. I also use/sell vinyl "pond" tubing, which plenty of folks use.

Jenn

 

[tokejr]

pzummo;347786 wrote: The tank is in my living room.

I tried to go local, but 14 phone calls and only 2 carry it for $129.99 while it's $74.99 online has sent me back to the internet.

I went to Home Depot. The guy there seemed to think PVC or vynil would kill my tank. He said the only options would be polyethylene, Pex, or CPVC. I still need a pump, but at least I got the return nozzle...

Aquarium Showcase
They have boatloads of Mag pumps in stock and they met the online price for us.

They are an ARC sponsor and are in Alpharetta.
http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=220">http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=220</a>

Oh, and on Home Depot........you must have gotten the pond sales guy. Those folks will try to terrify you away from anything not marked "pond."

 

[pzummo]

JennM;347793 wrote:

That's expensive for local (maybe I need to raise my prices!!!!) My regular price is close to online and if you account for shipping I'm probably within $4-5 and that's before ARC discount (or Reef Rewards points if you aren't an ARC member) - count that and I'm probably about on par with online. Wish I had one for you - like I said I should have it by Friday (usually Thursday but with the holiday weekend...)

LOL @ Home Depot - what's the big diff between PVC and CPVC? PVC is fine - I have miles of it here in the shop. I also use/sell vinyl "pond" tubing, which plenty of folks use.

Jenn

$5 is a reasonable markup (8% above online) for the convenience of being able to walkout with the product. I wish you had one too. You run a good shop, don't change your prices :yes:

According to him, PVC is not recommended for drinking water anymore. He said they found that it adds toxins to water. He said CPVC, Polyethylene, and Pex are all considered ok for water lines used for drinking. And from his perspective, if it's not ok for humans to drink it, it can't be very good for fish to live in it. He did show me a warning sign that said not to use PVC for drinking water.

 

[jennm]

Interesting. I don't doubt what is being said - but I've had my own personal fish in the store systems for 7 years now... all plumbed with PVC. Same fish, 7 years.

Jenn

 

[tokejr]

JennM;347798 wrote: Interesting. I don't doubt what is being said - but I've had my own personal fish in the store systems for 7 years now... all plumbed with PVC. Same fish, 7 years.

Jenn

One has to wonder, also, if someone is going to require all the houses plumbed with PVC to be re-plumbed.....

 

[jennm]

No kidding. I have copper plumbing... but after all the polybutalene stuff... oy!

 

[pzummo]

Thanks for the tip with Aquarium Showcase. They are the 3rd closest store but were one of the one's that did not answer this morning. I now have a Mag 7 pump!

I am willing to bet there's truth from all sides regarding PVC. For absorption, surface area is a huge factor, and this only requires 4 feet. For two, the water is constantly flowing, so it wouldn't get nearly as concentrated as sitting water in drinking lines. And thirdly, the water in the tank getting changed regularly further dilutes any toxins. So I'm sure PVC would work just fine.

That being said, since it's only a few feet and I get to start from scratch, the cost difference is negligible. So I'll probably go with Pex or polyethylene since I'm reading CPVC is the worst of the bunch (requires glue, is brittle, and not flexible).

 

[one dumm hikk]

JennM;347364 wrote: ProClear and Sealife products look almost identical. Both are made in Jacksonville FL. Separate companies but I *think* at one time both companies (owners?) worked together, and as such, their products are very similar.

At one time both were together. They split and now its two seperate companies. Last time I contacted either one, they wouldn't do walk in sales, had to go through a retailer. They wouldn't do repairs either, told me to send it back to who I bought it from. That has been about a year ago and from what I have heard, one of them (don't remember which) does showroom sales now. But both companies basically produce the same products. Same guy designed both of them.