what size return pump?

[waymack97]

i am building a 180 gallon reef. what size of return pump do i need? 3/4 in holes. will mag 9.5 or mag 12 work
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[trido]

If its a submersible mag you desire. Then the mag 12 it shall be. :wink:

 

[bleedingthought]

Enough to run your skimmer/fuge/whatever else is down there. Mag 12 would probably be a good idea.

 

[fcmatt]

i own an ehiem 1262 and i think it is equivalent to the mag 9.5.
this is in a 33 gallon cube with a ~25 gallon sump.

if i was going to setup your size of a tank, i would be thinking external
for sure. or maybe two ehiem 1262s sitting in the sump.

i prefer ehiem over mag drives. lower power usage, seems to run cooler,
well built, low noise, etc...

 

[waymack97]

thanks fellas.
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[Anonymous]

Consider the mag18 if you are looking for a submersible. A mag12 will not give you as much flow as you think.

 

[trido]

Consider the mag18 if you are looking for a submersible. A mag12 will not give you as much flow as you think.

I dont recommend the 18 to most because of potential micro bubble issues I have a sump related to a 20 long and have modded it to have 5 baffles. I run the mag 18 and am very close to the fine line of hating my return pump. I did run a mag 12 at one time because of this but was able to work out the micro bubble problem and go back to the 18.

 

[bleedingthought]

Consider the mag18 if you are looking for a submersible. A mag12 will not give you as much flow as you think.

A mag12 would probably yield him about 800-900GPH. It should be enough for his sump.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a 90 with a mag 12 on a single penductor return. I would say that for a 180 reef you would want a sizeably larger pump. I have one return and I have to have another MJ MOD in there for flow too. If you are using tunzes(or other PH) in the tank as well, then you will have no flow problems and a 12 would do fine, but if you are incorporating it into your flow as well as return, you will want more.

 

[pcardone]

The mag pumps seem to slow down after a few months. bigger is better.

 

[Anonymous]

The mag pumps seem to slow down after a few months. bigger is better.

All pumps need to be cleaned from time to time to keep at peek performance. Speaking of that it is time to do my 6-month cleaning of my return pump.

 

[bleedingthought]

You can't count on flow from your return pump only, obviously. So, the return pump doesn't need to be that large, in my opinion.

 

[Anonymous]

You can't count on flow from your return pump only, obviously. So, the return pump doesn't need to be that large, in my opinion.

Agreed, but there is a point where it would be to small. I got about 700 gph going through my sump on a 150 gal tank.

 

[waymack97]

i will try the mag 18s out. thanks for all the input.
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