heat problems with pumps

[ryan_lalande]

i am looking for a pump that can pump at least 100 gph without heating my water to the point were i would need a chiller

would a mag 12 heat the water alot??

thanks

 

[fungia]

did you mean 1000gph? a mag 12 is a big pump and i think it will heat the water a lot. i use a mag7 on my old 29 and it heats the water up a few degrees :?

i hear iwakis are very quiet and cool running. i will be using it on my new 100 gallon. not sure what size yet.

 

[Len]

Me again ryan

Yeah, I agree with fungia. A Mag 12 is a sizable pump that will put out a good deal of heat. In a 125gallon, it won't make a huge difference, but it will make one nonetheless. If you're concerned about heat (depends on how hot your area gets), you might want to consider an inline pump ... one with the motor sealed away from the impeller (ala Iwakis).

 

[mountainbiker619]

I know a Mag-24 adds around 8 degrees to water temp.
I am usung two Sen900's and they work great. Plus they can be
used either internal or external.

 

[Anonymous]

I'll be the dissenting voice here, I guess. I have a 180g with a SEN900 and MAG12 in my 55g sump, and I haven't had any problems with heat. I've had my water temp as low as 78F and as high as 82F with these two pumps in my sump. I will admit, however, that my tank is in my basement where it doesn't get too warm, so that surely helps.

The iwakis are fantastic pumps, IMO, so you can't go wrong there. They are a bit pricey compared to the MAGs, however. Good luck!

Chris

 

[Lifer]

If your concern is heat, do not use a submersible pump. They are water cooled motors. They cool themselves off by convection of the heat to your water. External mag-drive pumps are what you should do if you are concerned about heat, possibly a 40 RLXT Iwaki. Iwaki is still the Rolls-Royce of water pumps. What part of the country are you in? The guy in Wisconson with a sump in his basement and no heat problems is not the norm. Put that tank here in Texas and.....meltdown.

 

[Robin Goodfellow]

hi.
That's right. Submergeable pump will add every bit of energy it use to the water as heat. If the Mag12 is 110Watt, it will be exactly like a 110W heater on 24/7 in the water.

For external pump, a fraction of the energy is dissipated to the air directly, and the heating issue will not be as bad. It will still be a problem for a tank with small water volumn. For example, if a pump heat up a 50 gal system 5 degree, it will heat up a 25 gal system 10 degree.

It is also interesting to note that the more efficient the pump, the greater portion of its energy consumption will goes toward heating the water via energy conversion from kinetic->heat. Sounds like a paradox, but it is true. In another words, if two external pumps use 100W, and one is more efficient than the other, one is putting 50W of energy into moving the water, and 50W heating the air. The more efficient pump will put 70W heating/moving the water, and 30W heating the air.

 

[Anonymous]

One thing to consider if getting an Iwaki (I have a md30) is that they still get hot. Yes, a lot of the heat goes to the air, but some still goes to the water.

The biggest problem I had with mine was the design of my Cabinet. It is almost totally sealed. This made all the heat go to the water.

So, maybe I am the only one knuckleheaded enough to build something like that, but it is something to look out for.

In my system, with 55 gal main, 20 gal sump, Remora pro skimmer, and the Iwaki which is down in the basement now, There is still too much added heat to keep the temp low enough.

Luckily,the air conditioner is coming in two weeks

Good luck with the move

Bryan

 

[Mogo]

For all of the reasons above, I refuse to submerse pumps.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow...I see that I'm really in the minority here. Although I do live in the Wisconsin, it still gets plenty hot and humid here in the summer (although it ain't Texas). And while we do keep the house fairly cool in the summer, it's not 65F. What I'd like to do (but obviously won't) is turn my heater off and see how low my water temp gets. I think it might surprise a few of you.

Anyway, the gents above know what they're talking about...they're advice is right on. Good luck, and keep us posted!

Chris

 

[ryan_lalande]

mag drive pumps are inline usable correct?
also i have my tank i nteh basement and i live in ontario and my house has airconditioning

i was thinking that maybe the mag 12 running in the water would save energy by not using the heater

however i am not sure how much a mag 12 will heat my tank..the tank is 100 gallons

any thoughs on that?

 

[Robin Goodfellow]

hi.
100Watt*day is about 2000 kcal, which is the amount of energy to raise 5 gal (~20 liters) of water by about 100 degrees C (or 180 F), if my head calculation is correct...

 

[Lifer]

Using a pump as aheating source is possible but NOT reliable.

 

[Anonymous]

Mag drives are supposedly inline-capable....but I've heard some bad stories concerning leaking.

If you're just setting up, why don't you try a mag in the sump? What can it hurt? Summer is quickly approaching...and if it works in the summer, it should work year 'round. You can always change it if it doesn't work. I'm going on 18 months with no problems.

Again...the guys above are giving you very sound advice. I'm just telling you what's worked for me. Keep us posted!

Chris

 

[moreey]

I would not say i'm an expert on the subject by any means, But if you can afford to do external pumps, definately go that route. I have 3 mag 950's in my 180 and My water temp without lights is 89. I had to purchase a chiller and today was the first really warm day of the summer, and my chiller was having a hard time keeping the water temp at 80! (i'm in Minnesota btw!)

 

[Anonymous]

After reading moreey's post, I would go with the external pumps.

Chris

 

[Anonymous]

FWIW, I have 2 mag5's in my sump for my 75gal tank. I still see the heater coming on so i know that it does not raise the temp too much. My tank temp is 78f without the lights on and 82f with the lights on for 8 hours. I dont see a problem with mags.