Mag 7 or 9.5 for a 75 gallon

[chris31]

Which size mag would you go with for a 75g? The mag 7 or mag 9.5?

[RockyProndoa]

Bigger is better right? Hehe... But seriously you can always dial it back if necessary, so I'd go with the 9.5. I would opt for too much flow than not enough.

[chris31]

Yea that's a good point. Thank you

[ghellin]

For return only the Mag 7 is plenty sufficient. If you don't want to run a heater go with the mag 9.5 as it will serve you two ways. I run a mag 9.5 on my 58 but it also runs a GFO reactor, carbon reactor, and a Ca Reactor.

[whiteshark]

How high are you pumping the water? I think either will work honestly. I would tend towards the larger pump and dial it back with a valve.

That said, I have had a couple mags and while they are pretty much bullet proof, they are loud, run hot, and you really can't run it externally. I would look at something like a sicce syncra silent, tunze silence or a waveline DC pump. I would get a waveline myself. That way you can get an overrated one and use the built in controller to dial it down.

[chris31]

It's a standard 75 so from sump up to return nozzle is a little under 5ft.

[whiteshark]

A 7 should be fine if you don't plan to run any reactors off of it. If you plan to run anything else from it I'd go 9.5 as ghellin mentioned.

[pmcadams]

Bigger is not necessarily better. If you have to restrict flow or redirect part of your return back into the sump to keep from over driving, then it's just wasted energy and extra heat. I ran a pretty successful 75G reef for a couple of years on a Mag5. I agree that if all you are using it for is a return, the Mag7 is fine.

[J2T]

I've been running a Mag 7 on my 75g for almost 3 years. Yes it is a bit noisy but its hard to beat for the price. Like others have said, if you plan on running a reactor off of it I would go for the 9.5 for sure.

[firemountain]

I had a 9.5 on my 65g and needed to throttle it back. I would still go with the 9.5 because there may be a need down the road to T off for a supplemental reactor. They are noisy and produce some nice heat...so if you are running a heater, you may have to ditch it.

If your DT is in an area where you need it to be quiet....I would look into the Sicce Syncra pumps. I currently am using an Eheim 1262...quieter than the Mags and are bulletproof.