Mag-Drive opinions

[Tarasco]

So I'm in the process of planning my new 150, which I'm going to start setting up in a month or two. Since all my equipment has to fit in the stand, I was looking at submersible pumps to save space. I came across the Mag-Drives, and wanted to know people's opinions.

I was looking at the 24 or 36 in particular. I wanted a good amount of flow, planning on splitting the return. I have a Mag 9 in my current tank, and haven't had any problems with it, but I was wondering what people thought about the bigger models. Performance problems, how loud they are, maintenance required, heat transfer, that sort of thing. Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

Great pumps. I'm using a one as a return on a 150 as well, but the model # escapes me at the moment. OK, I just forgot, I won't know tomorrow either. :lol:
Good pumps though.

Jim

 

[Anonymous]

I have a Mag 18 as the return on my 180...no problems. I've had all the Mags up to the 18, and no problems at all!

Peace,

Chip

 

[Anonymous]

With the Mag 18 do you find you have enough flow? I would have run the 24 on that. Are you happy, or would you upgrade if you had the chance?
The plumbing is different, so a switch would not be so easy. As I recall, the 18 is 3/4" and the 24 is an inch and a quarter.

 

[Tackett]

I have a mag 5 on my 55 gallon never had a lick of problems. Been up for about 2 years now and never failed or had to screw with it any. I would definitley get the mother of the mag drives, simply because you cant go wrong with a bigger pump except for the strain on the wallet. But trust me the little bit of strain is worth it. It also depends on if you have a commercial wet/dry like a tidepool or some other bioballish thinger. Most of those have a specific GPH that you have to run through them, check out this equation:


max of 500-600gph+pump 3000gph=a big ass mess.

word from the wise of someone whose done it.... water damage is bad ummmmkay.

 

[Anonymous]

With the Mag 18 do you find you have enough flow? I would have run the 24 on that. Are you happy, or would you upgrade if you had the chance?
The plumbing is different, so a switch would not be so easy. As I recall, the 18 is 3/4" and the 24 is an inch and a quarter.

Since the plumbing is different, I would NOT upgrade unless someone would do it all for me.

I'm happy with it, for the most part. I need to get the new skimmer on there and get a couple more powerheads.

Peace,

Chip

 

[Anonymous]

I used 2 mag18's and a mag12 on my 110. Never had a bit of problems with them for the 3 years I had the tank up. They do add a little heat, but one should not be a problem. I wouid use the 18 so you do not have yo much flow going throught the sump.

 

[packman9111]

I was planning on using two 9.5's on my 110, one to drive the skimmer and one for the return. Now you have me thinking 9.5 might not be strong enough for the return. I also plan on having a closed loop using an old Quiet One" external pump w/about 900gph. hmmm!

Rick

 

[Anonymous]

I had the 12 as the return, one 18 ran my becket skimmer and the other was a closed loop. Mags are not pressure rated pumps so you loose a lot of flow with a bit of lift.

 

[Tarasco]

I wouid use the 18 so you do not have yo much flow going throught the sump.

I was thinking abou this, and it is a concern of mine. What about noise? Anyone have problems with them being loud, or vibrating?

 

[Anonymous]

No problem for me. Just make sure you use the pad and it does not touch the side of you sump.

 

[dcamp]

Mag 24's can be very noisy when run external or will add a couple degrees of heat when submerged. If a 18 will cover your needs you might want to look at Aqua Medic's ocean runner 6500. Less electricity draw than a mag drive

 

[grav]

I'm planning a 150 now and looking at a mag 18 for the return. My bniggest concern is over powering the overflow since I just have one, with (what will soon be) two 1 inch bulkheads.

With 5 feet of pressure, I think a Mag 18 will do ABOUT 1200 to 1400 GPH and I THINK my overflow will handle it.

Keeping the flow in the tank where it needs to be for whatever kind of tank you plan to have, I'm not sure turning more than 10x into the sumpskimmer is needed.

 

[Anonymous]

I have 2 Mag 12s in my sump. One of them I have had for almost 3 years. Both are throttled back somewhat because they would empty my sump pretty quickly.

Mags are a very good value in a pump, imo.