Recommendations for a Return Pump?

[chony]

I have a 55 gal w/ a 20 gal sump/refuge. Kind of weary about used pumps. What is a good brand and what GPH should I use.

Thanks
Stephen

 

[hnguyen]

You'd want something that will produce around 500-700 GPH as your return, that will give you about 10-15 times turn over rate. As for pumps, there's many to choose from. I like the mag drives but they do run pretty hot, the quiet ones are not bad either. I like those better because they do run cooler. Here's a link to one that will be good for your tank.

 

[jimknutson]

I use a sicce 2.0 on my 30 cube. I have it turned down. No noise and no heat. At full power it was moving around 550 gallons.

 

[izoid]

I am very happy with the Sicce line of Syncra pumps. They run quiet, are adjustable and use very little energy. Marine Designs in Johns Creek has great prices on them.

I recently bought a Deep Blue return pump from Jenn at Imagine Ocean and I must say it is quiet also.

I only like to run about 400 gph through my sump and use PH's for the additional flow. I find that my skimmer works better with the lower flow through the sump.

 

[tony_caliente]

I have the same set yp (55g) and like the Lifeguard Quite One pump (bought from Jenn several years ago). I just bought another one as a back-up and use it for water changes. Not every likes them, but I do.

 

[grouper therapy]

While there is certainly nothing wrong with 10-15 times your tank volume through the sump , it usually is unnecessary and a waste of energy from a filtration standpoint. You only need as much as the highest flow demanding device/media in your sump. I purchased a Marineland from Sea Atlanta and it has been great and quite.

 

[hnguyen]

grouper therapy;724581 wrote: While there is certainly nothing wrong with 10-15 times your tank volume through the sump , it usually is unnecessary and a waste of energy from a filtration standpoint. You only need as much as the highest flow demanding device/media in your sump. I purchased a Marineland from Sea Atlanta and it has been great and quite.

Agreed, but I've always been a fan of higher flow. I notice I get better results from it. Maybe it's because when I had my tank all my corals where SPS. I've also seem tanks with almost NO flow to be successful. I guess it all boils down to what you plan to keep and what kind of equipment you have.