External or Internal Pump?

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WaterDogs

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 4, 2003
Messages
374
Location
Snohomish, WA
I have a Lifereef overflow and an Oceanic sump that will handle an external or internal return pump; my question is how do you decide? Room is not a problem and I want the one that is quieter and puts the least amount of heat into the water and of course reliable.

Are there some recommended makes and models? Yes, I'm willing to spend the extra dollars. The tank is 75 gallon and the sump is about 20 - 30 gallons.
This will be return pump run through a SCWD. Skimmer has own pump.

Thanks,
Dwaine
 
The external pumps typically transfer less heat. There are external pumps that are quite quiet also. How much flow are you looking for?

My vote would be for an external pump. To recommend a particular pump I need to know how much flow you want.
 
reedman said:
The external pumps typically transfer less heat. There are external pumps that are quite quiet also. How much flow are you looking for?

My vote would be for an external pump. To recommend a particular pump I need to know how much flow you want.

I keep clams so I can't do the 30x turnover rate :) althought the fish sure like it. Right now the turnover is ~12x and I would like to have reserve to expand/change later by using a ball valve to throttle it down some. How does that sound?
 
Waterdog,
I use a Mag 18 for a return pump with a SCWD. I did have clams previously with no problem. I would think that the Mag 18 creates a little heat since it is internal. I know some external pumps create heat also. If you do decide to go with a external pump I would recommend a Sequence or Dolphin for quiet and reliable pump.

Good Luck Waterdog,
Ed
 
I would second the Sequence recommendation. I had bad luck with Dolphin, so I can't recommend them, but others swear by them. Might be just me with bad luck. Many people have had great results with the Mag pumps as internals. I have yet to hear a complain about the sequence pumps.
 
WaterDogs said:
I keep clams so I can't do the 30x turnover rate :) althought the fish sure like it. Right now the turnover is ~12x and I would like to have reserve to expand/change later by using a ball valve to throttle it down some. How does that sound?
You can use a ball valve on the out put side(not intake) to cutail the flow. The Sequence Dart is a quite pump that can also be useful on a larger set up.
However it requires a 2" intake.How much flow are you looking to achieve?
 

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