Which return Pump?

[bllfish]

I have a 72 AGA RR bowfront. Tank contains mostly LPS with T5 lighting.
Which pump should I use for the return.
Pan World - Iwaki - Eheim - Mag Drive - Other?

[amike5]

It all depends on what you are trying to do..... external, internal, how much room do you have, does it need to be extremely quiet, how much are you willing to spend, what size is your sump?

[GreenSarco]

I like the pan world pump. It's pretty quiet and efficient.

[leeweber85]

Ocean runners are quiet, efficent and a good price. Eheims are always rated highly but they have a hefty price tag and aren't the most efficient, although they are still more than a mag.

[bllfish]

I am trying to make my setup as efficient as possible. For example, if the water in the tank should be turned over 3 to 5 times, should I be using a mag 9.5 and three MJ1200 in my tank. I have an LPS dominated tank. The pump has to be quiet since the tank is in my family room. I have a 72 AGA RR bowfront with a 20 gallon sump right now.
I am willing to spend what it takes within reason. As with most things in life, the most expensive isn't necessarily the best.

[AZDesertRat]

If you want quiet and efficient you don't want Mags or MJ 1200 powerheads. OceanRunners and Eheims are much better choices for a return pump and things like Seios, Tunze Nanostreams and Hydor Koralias are much better for circulation.

[bllfish]

I am probably going to go with the eheim but I have read some good reviews about the Pan World return pumps. Have any experience with them?
I am looking for the Hydor Koralia pumps. I had three ordered but they were backordered.

[GreenSarco]

I just installed a pan world pump after trying an Iwaki, a GRI, a Gen-X and a T-4. I like the pan world out of all of them. It isn't as quiet as the T-4, but it performs a whole lot better without adding heat to your tank.

[DaveJ]

I have a mag 9.5 in my sump, its fairly quiet, but it does add heat to the system. I am about to replumb my system and went with a pan pump just to avoid the heat exchange and free up space in my new sump.

[bllfish]

Thanks GreenSarco, that is what I had heard.

DaveJ
I am doing the same plumbing and I have a mag 9.5 in my sump too. Have you installed the Pan Pump yet and how does it compare to the mag as far as noise goes?

[DaveJ]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9380822#post9380822 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bllfish
Thanks GreenSarco, that is what I had heard.

DaveJ
I am doing the same plumbing and I have a mag 9.5 in my sump too. Have you installed the Pan Pump yet and how does it compare to the mag as far as noise goes?

I just got it a few days ago and am waiting on my sump to be finished so I haven't used it yet. From all reports, its much quieter, but my mag was never that loud, not once I put it on a rubber pad at least. My main complaint about the 9.5 is the heat exchange and the wattage not its performance. Mag 7 on the other hand.... kept having restart issues with it. I don't know if this is still the case, but mag impellers used to have these little rubber nobs on the impellers that would stick when a restart was done. When i installed the 9.5 I trimmed them off and have had good success.

The Pan 150 that I got is a bigger pump, but its going to be pushing water a greater distance due to the new location of the sump. After I do the replumb and install, I'll post my experience.

[scarter]

I like the ehiem 1262's there dead silent, are internal or external, and are pretty good on the wattage and put off very little heat. the externals are just to loud for my taste.
I ran iwaki and gen-x pumps for years, to loud, to much heat(although it is external) and to hard to clean. I am very happy to have switched to the two ehiem 1262's.
for years I tryed to use return pumps to generate flow in the tanks, its a waste of energy, the tunze are low watt and privide all the flow you could want. so why run a 300w return pump?

[bllfish]

Thanks scarter,
I am deciding between eheim and Pan World. Did you ever try the Pan World?

[harday]

I run an Ehiem 1260 for my return on a 90, and it seems to be perfect. I can tell you, that I do not have a heat problem at all, and the pump is DEAD quiet. You can't even tell it's running. I run mine in the sump.

[bllfish]

Thanks harday.

[Slamajama]

ehiem for just pumping water, but the iwakis (presure rated vers) are great for power, but have igh energy cost

[bllfish]

I just need to turnover water so the eheims look like the way to go.