What to look for in a pump?

[a rock kid]

I'm building a 90 into the wall of my new home, and running the sump in the basement...I want to do the 100g or so rubbermaid type container for the sump/skimmer/etc. We'll probably be moving the water 15', maybe less.

What kinda flow should I be looking for in a pump? And what brand suggestions would you give? I know everyone has differing opinions on the subject, but want to hear pros and cons. Also, this might be a stupid question, but do people drill their rubbermaids or just use a submersible pump? What are the pros/cons of submersible vs. external?

[Siffy]

You'll likely want to drill/cut and use a bulkhead and external pump due to the fact you'll have to get quite a large pump to overcome 15' of head and still produce a decent amount of flow. Likely an Iwaki 55 or 70 (or comparable) will do what you want. Those would give you 750-1200gph. An Iwaki 40RLT would give you around 500gph. That'd probably do as well for the return then get the rest of your flow from a closed loop. A pump in the basement won't suffer as much from the distance in a closed loop.

[Siffy]

I meant to add why I suggested the external pump. Not only because a pump strong enough will likely not be submersible, but also because one that large would add a good bit of heat to your system.

[David Grigor]

I don't know of any submersable pumps that is going to be able to handle that type of head pressure and still produce any significant amount of flow.

[a rock kid]

That's basically what I needed to know. Thanks.