Tunze 1073.040, Eheim 1260 or Water Blaster HY-3000

[txbonds]

Trying to pick an efficient return pump for my Oceanic 58 tank. The tank will sit on a 42" stand, which puts my return head height somewhere right at 5 feet.

I'm going to be running two MP10's inside for circulation, and want to keep the sump flow rate moderate for good contact time.

Would any of the referenced pumps work well? I'm planning to throttle the flow rate with a gate valve. I may or may not use some of the flow to feed my refuge, but am thinking of using my drain line for that. The skimmer will be on it's own pump pushing around 900gph (lifereef skimmer)

Any thoughts on how to choose the appropriate sized pump from above? I can get the Tunze or Eheim for similar price, and the water blaster is the most expensive of the 3. I'd like to keep the wattage as low as possible to help prevent heat buildup and chiller needs. Thanks.

[WhoDey64]

If you get the tunze you can throttle the pump right on the face without the need for a gate valve.

[txbonds]

I thought about that. My concerns are that over time the throttle may not be reliable versus a mechanical constriction like a gate valve and also that it's head height max is only 9 feet, so I'm not sure how much water it would be pushing at 5 feet. I can't find a chart that I can read on the tunze, as the ones posted seem to be in metric quantities.

Is the tunze throttle mechanical, or is it like a rheostat that controls the speed of the magnet/impeller?

Is there a gph / feet type chart available on the tunze regarding head loss?

Thanks. :)

[WhoDey64]

its just a physical restriction. I have the smaller one at home still in the box, I will look for some head loss charts in the paperwork that came with it. You might also give Roger a shout on the Tunze subforum here on RC, he is great to deal with.

[Ycore]

I have the Tunze with about four feet of head pressure. I don't know what the exact flow rate is, but it's certainly more than enough for my 50G tank. It is very silent and gives off almost no heat.

[MaLi]

+1 for Tunze. It has the smallest foot print, noise and better reliability. I replaced an Eheim 1262 with this Tunze and I am not disappointed.

cheers,
MaLi

[txbonds]

Well, I'm taking a gamble but I ordered the Tunze 1072.040 for my return pump.

I started off thinking a Mag 5 or Mag 7, but ruled that out in favor of an Eheim a few days ago. I'd also been looking at the water blaster pumps, but I've found quite a few threads out there where people are having problems with leaks and what not.

It really came down to the Tunze and the Eheim. I found both within $9 of each other from various vendors.

The ultimate reasons I chose the Tunze were the smaller size and the lower wattage. If it doesn't work out for me, the Eheim 1260 would be second on my list I guess.

[wesley6610]

Any updates on the Tunze pump?

[ChuckLawson]

Can't speak for the OP, but I've been running the Tunze on a 105G with good success for 3-4 months now. It replaced an Eheim 1260 that I'd been using throttled down somewhat -- I moved the 1260 to a bigger tank.

The Tunze is quieter; it'll be interesting to see what its reliability is like over the long haul compared to the Eheims; they've proved fairly bulletproof for me.

[dendronepthya]

Not a fan of water blaster pumps. Very low quality.

[coseal]

switched from eheim to tunze as well! no regrets!

[salty joe]

Not a fan of water blaster pumps. Very low quality.

Do you have firsthand experience with them?

[dendronepthya]

I have first hand experience with six of them all of which failed within 3 months in the most unacceptable ways possible.