Return Pump recommendation for drilled 22g

[Doberman13]

I am looking for a return pump for my drilled 22 gallon looking for something that is controllable. I was looking at the Jebao dcp series. I want something that can possibly scale to a 60 gallon tank later on. Debating whether to just getting a cheap hydor 200gph for now because this is the last piece of equipment I need.

 

[jcook54]

I've started this reply a few times. My initial thought was "get the hydor" but I've slowly started coming around to the idea of the Jebao. People love them and I've got my first one on order. Get the 3000 series and dial it back. For a regular pump, dialing it back can be harmful to the life of it since it creates so much back pressure but Jebao's are designed to be controlled and the internal mechanism is what changes to slow or increase flow. Plus, you'll already have your pump for the 60g. Finally, if you order one soon, you can get it by Monday or Tuesday.

 

[Doberman13]

I've checked Nemo and ATL aquarium. Unfortunately they did not have one. If the fish store doesn't have one I'll order online.

 

[jcook54]

Or go ahead with the Hydor. That was my fist thought anyhow. I mean, you can't have too many pumps around. There's always something that comes up and even a 300 gph Hydor will keep a 60g system running in case the higher flow one breaks. It's always good to have a backup.

 

[AquariumSchmo]

I've had this on my 20 gallon since May. So far so good.

Amazon.com : aquastation DC-2500 Silent Swirl Controllable DC Aquarium Pump 18w 660GPH-marine wavemaker Return Pump with sine Wave Controller for Salt/Freshwater Coral Reef Fish Tank Sump Circulation (DC2500) : Pet Supplies

Amazon.com : aquastation DC-2500 Silent Swirl Controllable DC Aquarium Pump 18w 660GPH-marine wavemaker Return Pump with sine Wave Controller for Salt/Freshwater Coral Reef Fish Tank Sump Circulation (DC2500) : Pet Supplies

www.amazon.com

Bought it because the reviews seemed better than a Jebao.

Only running it on level 4 out of 20 levels, on a ramping pulse mode.

Planning to upgrade to a 75 next year and hope to be able to use it for that.

 

[york1]

Been using a jebao return on my 90gal for a year now with no problems at all.

 

[Doberman13]

I've had this on my 20 gallon since May. So far so good.

Amazon.com : aquastation DC-2500 Silent Swirl Controllable DC Aquarium Pump 18w 660GPH-marine wavemaker Return Pump with sine Wave Controller for Salt/Freshwater Coral Reef Fish Tank Sump Circulation (DC2500) : Pet Supplies

Amazon.com : aquastation DC-2500 Silent Swirl Controllable DC Aquarium Pump 18w 660GPH-marine wavemaker Return Pump with sine Wave Controller for Salt/Freshwater Coral Reef Fish Tank Sump Circulation (DC2500) : Pet Supplies

www.amazon.com

Bought it because the reviews seemed better than a Jebao.
.

I was looking at this one but have never heard of them. Now that I saw you have first hand knowledge I'll go ahead and order it, free one day shipping works for me

 

[jcook54]

Please tell us how it goes. The pump itself and the one day shipping. Every single time I'm bought an item with "one day shipping" I get a notification that it'll be delivered the day after it was promised. I don't mind because it's never been an emergency but 3x I've had something that was supposed to ship one day and it never has.

 

[Doberman13]

I am just down the street from a major Amazon hub. There's been some days where I get free same day shipping if I order in the morning.

 

[Adam]

The lowest the Jebao's will go down to is like 30%. There are ways to control some excess flow though.

 

[Doberman13]

The lowest the Jebao's will go down to is like 30%. There are ways to control some excess flow though.

That's one thing that was holding me back on the jebao. I read a review that their newer sine wave pumps only go down to 65%

 

[Doberman13]

We've got flow! I still need to make some adjustments to the plumbing but it's cycling

 

[Doberman13]

Amazon driver didn't get here until 6:30 but it was still 1 day shipping. The pump seems good but maybe because I'm running two lineloc nozzles It just doesn't seem like it is all that much power. The power level I am running it at is 15/20. I do probably have 6 in of extra hose that I could cut off.

 

[AquariumSchmo]

Are there powerheads in the tank, or is this pump your only source of flow? On my tanks, I aim for 5-10 x turnover through the sump and 30-40 x turnover from powerheads in the display.

This is not exact, in fact could be quite a bit off, but I figure with a 660gph pump, if you divide that by the number of levels on the controller, 20, you get 33gph. So with 33 per level, at level 7 you would be slightly over 10 x turnover, not counting head loss going up to the display. And with not counting head loss, at level 15, you're theoretically sitting at 22.5 times your display tank volume.

If you want to be more precise, you could see how long it takes to fill a gallon jug and do some math based on that.

 

[ActiveAngel]

I've had this on my 20 gallon since May. So far so good.

Amazon.com : aquastation DC-2500 Silent Swirl Controllable DC Aquarium Pump 18w 660GPH-marine wavemaker Return Pump with sine Wave Controller for Salt/Freshwater Coral Reef Fish Tank Sump Circulation (DC2500) : Pet Supplies

Amazon.com : aquastation DC-2500 Silent Swirl Controllable DC Aquarium Pump 18w 660GPH-marine wavemaker Return Pump with sine Wave Controller for Salt/Freshwater Coral Reef Fish Tank Sump Circulation (DC2500) : Pet Supplies

www.amazon.com

Bought it because the reviews seemed better than a Jebao.

Only running it on level 4 out of 20 levels, on a ramping pulse mode.

Planning to upgrade to a 75 next year and hope to be able to use it for that.

I’m seconding the Aquastation. I have the DC-4000 on one of my tanks, and like it a lot so far. I think the 2500 or 3000 may be good for you. Or if you don’t mind a little extra flow, and your overflow can handle it, you can keep a 4000 on the lowest setting.

 

[Doberman13]

Are there powerheads in the tank, or is this pump your only source of flow? On my tanks, I aim for 5-10 x turnover through the sump and 30-40 x turnover from powerheads in the display.

This is not exact, in fact could be quite a bit off, but I figure with a 660gph pump, if you divide that by the number of levels on the controller, 20, you get 33gph. So with 33 per level, at level 7 you would be slightly over 10 x turnover, not counting head loss going up to the display. And with not counting head loss, at level 15, you're theoretically sitting at 22.5 times your display tank volume.

If you want to be more precise, you could see how long it takes to fill a gallon jug and do some math based on that.

I'm moving most of everything from my 10 g that is to the right. I have a jebao tw-10 that is rated for 132-1056 gph that I will have on here.

From what I've heard the levels might not be completely accurate due to some dc pumps not being able to turn down to zero. I will try your idea on filling a gallon jug because I am curious.