DC Pumps

[mozz]

Hi, after being out of the hobby for a number of years, I have decided to plan another system. My question is, with the variable speed dc pumps now available, do I need an energy bar outlet to turn pump on and off or could I plug it into a wall outlet and turn it off and on with the apex variable speed outlet. Thank you.

[Member No. 1]

Depends on the pump. Some can be controlled by the Apex in this manner, so you could plug the pump's supply into the wall. However some don't, like the Ecotech return pumps, which unlike their Vortex MP series power heads, can't be controlled, so to turn them off you would have to plug them into a EB outlet.
One of the main advantages of controlling a DC pump with an Apex, is that during a FEED Cycle, instead of turning the pump off, you would lower it to a percentage to keep the pump running just enough to keep the return line full. Then ramp back up once the feed cycle cancels. Doing this will prevent the usual splashing and bubbles you get when you turn an AC pump on.

Look into the COR pumps from Apex. Pretty cool what can be done with them, plus all the extra pump monitoring features you get vs other pumps.

[five.five-six]

Im running a tunze controllable return pump, what’s the ramp up ramp down feed command?

[gonereefing654]

I don’t think it would ramp down to a complete stop but if you can’t spare the outlet on your ev8 go for it. The Cor pump would probably have more Control ability but I’m not super big on the apex pumps. The lfs by my house has a few and he says it should probably come with an intake screen because even small stuff will get stuck in it.