changing powerheads to one external pump

[austinh]

hello all,
i am considering taking out all of my powerheads and putting just one external return pump in the place of them and the mag5 i have for a return pump....kind of like a CL system but without drilling any hole. that being said does anyone have any experience/advice in this, i was thinking maybe having pvc from the pump splitting into a few different smaller sized pipes in different locations on the tank.
thanks in advance for any advice,
austin

[naterealbig]

Austin,

I'm afraid your losing all of the benifits of running a closed loop by not drilling any holes in the tank. You have the drawbacks of adding a larger pump that will use more electricity and heat more water. These downfalls of closed loops can be mitigated by the benifits such as a "cleaner" look by drilling holes in the glass, which will also free up some room in the display. Unfortunately, your idea employs the worst of both worlds.

I'm sure that some will disagree with my opinion, and your results will vary depending on the size of your setup. IMO: either drill holes for the closed loop, or keep the powerheads.

Cheers

[username in use]

either drill holes for the closed loop, or keep the powerheads.

Cheers

this

[austinh]

thanks that was what i was looking for it just seems lately my tank has been getting so warm and its the begining of winter, maybe its cause im going from the cold outdoors to the warm tank but it seems to be warmer. so the external pumps heat the water worse than the mag5 and powerheads? maybe i will have to break down and get a couple vortecs would that help with the heat issue?

[Aporia]

The MAG 5 is around 45 Watts so that is going to add some waste heat. I have a MAG 5 that I use for salt mixing and when I take it out of the bucket the pump is quite warm to the touch. I have an Iwaki external pump and I have been quite happy with it. I forget the exact model. Check your heater also I was having trouble with my temps creeping up a couple of months ago and I had a heater that was sticking on this could be the case especially if everything was o.k. before.