How hot will a Mag 12 return pump get? or should i drill a hole?

[launchnukes]

I'm going to be converting a 48" 50 gallon tank into a sump for my new 48" 120. it will have a ~20gal refugium on one side, the skimmer area on the other, and a return in the middle. I'm in the planning stages of plumbing and i can't decide where to put my return pump.

The easy way would be to put the pump in the return area and be done with it. but i'm worried about how much heat the pump actually puts in the water. I'd much rather plumb it inline and drill a hole in the side of the 50g.

my questions are...

is it ok to drill a hole in the long side of a cheap 50gal? (i would have a glass shop do it)

or should i not worry about it b/c the mag doesn't really affect the temp so bad?

[James77]

The Mag12 is a 110 watt pump, so it will add 110 watts of heat to the water. Running it externally will probably see a few less watts transfer to the water, however, it is still a water cooled pump whether it is run inside or out of the water.

[James77]

There are alot of other pumps that would use less watts and be quieter- Eheims come to mind. I wouldn't bother drilling to the the Mag externally, you won't be doing anything substantial.

If you do decide to drill- consider doing it yourself, it is about the easiest thing in the world. Glass-holes.com sells cheap bits. I have done dozens of them. I also did a tank very fast and carelessly, on purpose, to see if it would crack- it didn't.:)

[GTriever]

You'll be fine running it submerged. I've had mine running (125g tank, 40g sump/fuge) for over 4 years, and the temps stay where I want them.

[sjm817]

There was a test done here on a Mag12 internal vs external and it added the same amount of heat either way. As previously posted, it is a water cooled pump. It is also a big pump for a 120. I would use a smaller, lower wattage pump.

[tkeracer619]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15345182#post15345182 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sjm817
There was a test done here on a Mag12 internal vs external and it added the same amount of heat either way. As previously posted, it is a water cooled pump. It is also a big pump for a 120. I would use a smaller, lower wattage pump.

+1

[launchnukes]

Thanks for all of your help guys.


<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15345182#post15345182 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sjm817
There was a test done here on a Mag12 internal vs external and it added the same amount of heat either way. As previously posted, it is a water cooled pump. It is also a big pump for a 120. I would use a smaller, lower wattage pump.

I was planning on using an eheim 1262 but I'm going to be plumbing my return through a wall to my garage to my chiller, I also wanted my phosban & carbon reactors to be plumb through my return pump so i was afraid that after all of the plumbing the eheim wouldn't be enough.

below is a very rough diagram of the plumbing plan.

should i still go with something a little smaller? (because i just bought a mag 12. lol.)

http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/qq125/launchnukes/tank%20build/plumb.jpg

thanks again.

[tkeracer619]

not if its pumping through a chiller and reactors as well. You will be fine.