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View Full Version : Can I use two pumps in parallel to overcome head pressure?


BrettDS
08/04/2015, 06:11 PM
So I'm looking at setting up a fish room off of my garage, one floor below the DT. The first floor has 10 foot ceilings, and the garage (and fish room) are a couple of steps below the first floor, so by the time you take all that into account I'm looking at about 16 feet from the floor of the fish room to the top of the DT. Luckily the run will be pretty much straight up, so there won't be many bends in the pipe.

I have a Jebao DC3000 return pump now, but that's just pushing the water up four feet from my current sump into the DT, so obviously it won't work in the new configuration, but I love the speed controlable DC pump and the fact that it works with my Apex.

Unfortunately the largest pump that Jebao makes is the DC12000, which tops out at 16 feet of head. Could I get two DC12000 pumps and connect them in parallel to still get a decent flow rate or does it just not work that way?

Alternately, are there any good pumps that can be speed controlled with the Apex and still have a decent flow rate with 16 feet of head?

Icefire
08/04/2015, 06:13 PM
You need to plumb them in serie

ericarenee
08/04/2015, 06:25 PM
I do not think any of those pumps will be good for the long run....

There is a thread similar to this running... I would Recommend A reeflo pump or similar commercial grade pump. With a strong motor... Best to get a low speed motor pump that can push that head height...There are of course a few other brands.. I Think a APEX Controllable pump would be expensive....
Sielf (spelling might be wrong) Just changed to some controllable pumps that might do it..

I Push water from basement under a different room to display and have hammerhead ..

polywise
08/05/2015, 04:26 AM
You need a pressure rated pump.
Make supply and return lines as large as you can for your set up. Larger lines make it easier for the pump to do it's job..
Jim C.

Wazzel
08/05/2015, 06:51 AM
Pumps would have to be in series to add pressure, but the pumps in our hobby are not designed to run that way. I suspect the second pump would fail in short order.

The easiest way to reduce the pressure requirement would be to pick the sump off the floor. Put it on a stand and save 3-4 ft easy.

Up sizing the lines over the discharge size will not save much, maybe 1/2-1 ft depending. A properly sized system (using the pump discharge size) will only loose approximately 5ft over 100 ft of pipe run. Each elbow does not add a foot of loss, but a foot of straight pipe equivalent.

BrettDS
08/05/2015, 08:07 AM
Thanks guys, that's quite helpful. It seems like a pressure rated pump is definitely the way to go. There's a two year old Blueline 40HD on craigslist near me for a great price, so I'm hoping I can snag that. I think it might be a good fit here.

I'm thinking I'll run 1" PVC for the return and 1.5" for the drain. Do you see any reason to make it bigger than that? I'd like to plan for as much as 1000gph because I may get a second DT for FOWLR in the future. Right now I don't need any more than 300 or 400gph, but I'd like to build in some room for growth because I'd rather not have to redo the plumbing at any point.

gtguy256
08/05/2015, 10:02 AM
1.5 return would be better. 1000 gallons an hour through 1 inch pipe will have quite a bit more head loss. 15 gpm is the maximum through a 1 inch return.