Mag pumps

[divefan]

Considering remote chiller location because of high heat transfer. Chiller location 30 flat feet horizontal away. Can I run 2 smaller EQUAL Mag pumps. 1 at sump outlet to chiller, 1 after chiller back aquarium. Are 2 equal small in-line pumps better than a single harder stessed pump?

thanx

[billsreef]

Running 2 pumps inline is tricky. They have to be perfectly balanced or your going to have problems, and even using two of the same pump will not yield perfectly balanced. It's much easier and less problematic just to get one good quality pump rated to do the job.

[token]

Horizontal runs are not as hard on a pump as vertical in that there is no back-pressure to overcome. Chillers usually don't need high flow so it may be that two would not even be needed if, as billsreef pointed out, an adequate one were chosen.

Judging by what I have seen when I lifted a Mag 9.5 without unplugging it first, I wouldn't be surprised if it could move more than enough water 30' through a chiller and back... ;)

Another thought is to 'T' off the main pump... even if that requires a slightly larger main pump, it might be more efficient than a dedicated chiller pump.

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10636383#post10636383 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by billsreef
Running 2 pumps inline is tricky. They have to be perfectly balanced or your going to have problems, and even using two of the same pump will not yield perfectly balanced. It's much easier and less problematic just to get one good quality pump rated to do the job.

Bill, its not that tough, you just can't do it in the method hes suggesting.

Put them one right after another.


I DO however think you'd be better off with something like an Iwaki 20.

[billsreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10643778#post10643778 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RichConley
you just can't do it in the method hes suggesting.


Which is why I told him what I did ;)

Even placing two identical pumps one immediately after the other will not yield the desired performance boost, so he's still better off with just one properly sized pump that can handle the whole job ;)