Mag Pumps

[ronj]

i read some reviews on these pumps....i know alot of folks like them... some reviews say that they are loud and run hot....some say that they are quiet....what's the deal...do they run too hot? also i am going to be using one on a closed loop system.. i currently have a 72g(looking to upgrade soon) would the mag7 or mag5 be better if i go with these pumps?

 

[bradreef]

I have a mag 7 for my return on my 75 and a mag 5 for my chiller. Like them both. they use twice as much power as a rio but are three times less likely to fry my whole tank.

 

[btuck]

I have a mag 5 running the return on my 55 and a mag 3 on the return of my 20. They both run great. I wouldn't say they run real hot, but they are loud. I would say the noise is the only downfall for this brand.

 

[PickledFish]

Ya, like Brad said.....I'd go with the mag 7 or mag 9.5 depending on how big ur return line is. I have some friends who use Rio HF 20's for there returns but I wouldn't trust them farther than I could throw them! Stick with the mags!!!!

 

[Brenden]

The smaller ones are fine. I would not use anything above a 9.5. I used mag 12's to make new SW before I had my current setup. They would heat 35 gallons off 55-60 degree water to 80 overnight.

 

[Krish]

I have a mag5 on my skimmer and a mag 950 on my chiller and use to have a mag950 on my closed loop, I've made a closed loop for my friend with a mag7 and tried out something with a mag24 so I've had my share of using them. I've heard they run hot and at one point I thought it was causing heat issues in my tank so I removed it (which I later found out it wasn't) so IMO, I think they are great pumps for the price. About noise, if they aren't sitting properly, they can make some noise or if the impeller gets screwed up (which I've only had one do that on me) it will make some noise. Other than that, I never heard anything to talk about

 

[ronj]

are the fittings on the mag5 and mag7 the same? also, would the 7 be too big for my 72?

 

[mmkeeper]

It all depend on how much flow you need.

 

[Krish]

Yeah, I think they are both 1/2 in and out. If you click on each pump here, it tells you the specs. http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=MAG Unfortunately, the mag5 doesn't give you the in/out plumbing size. I wouldn't use the mag5 though for your tank. At the least, the mag7. Remember that single picture I posted of the closed loop I did for my friend? Well I tested it on my tank and the flow was kinda of nice. I prefered what came out of my mag950 more even though it was slpit in 2, but the mag7 was cool. If you plan on splitting up the flow then I'd go bigger than the mag7. If you are afriad about too much flow, just think of it this way...I had a 950gph coming from my closed loop, 1600 gph from 1 Tunze, 1850 gph from another Tunze and 750 gph coming from my sump in my 75gal and thought about adding more! Don has around 10,000 gph of flow in his 4ft tank so I wouldn't worry too much about getting too much flow

 

[ronj]

well i have 2 maxi jet 900's and a zoomed something or another. i think i might try the mag5. should i use the wavemaker setup that is in Krish's link? do these work well?

 

[ronj]

ok i must have been typing while you were ...i will try the mag 7

 

[Krish]

The SCWD, they say causes you to lose quite a bit of the flow coming from the pump. Read the reviews at the bottem here

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...roduct_Code=SQUID-WM&Category_Code=Wavemaking

 

[Krish]

ok i must have been typing while you were ...i will try the mag 7

LOL...I saw that

 

[sryder]

I run a mag 7 for a closed loop on a 40 gallon and wish I had more flow through them. I would go bigger for a closed loop. Ialsorun a 24 on my 140 as a return for the time being and have had no issues with heat. I did have to y off the lockline returns though to slow the flow a little so the overflows could handle it.

 

[ronj]

ok, read the link...is there another way to split the flow and have equal flow in each pipe

 

[Krish]

ok, read the link...is there another way to split the flow and have equal flow in each pipe

Another way compared to what?? You can use a barbed "Y" adaptor and then just run viny tubing to the return spouts. Here's 3 things you can buy that would give you 2 nozzles and split them equally

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...uct_Code=SQUID-UTUBE&Category_Code=Wavemaking


http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...OD&Product_Code=P-0738013&Category_Code=Barbs


http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...OD&Product_Code=TUB-0500&Category_Code=Clamps

 

[ronj]

if i didn't use the wavemaker, which i am probably not going to after reading reveiws, what would split the flow equally

 

[Brenden]

If doing a closed loop I would do a dolphin/ampmaster external pump. Really quiet and high flow.

 

[ronj]

are the genx pumps any good?

 

[Krish]

if i didn't use the wavemaker, which i am probably not going to after reading reveiws, what would split the flow equally

The "Y" I posted will split the flow if you are using vinyl tubing for the return. The return spouts you see in the link above that is titled "Squid U tube" isn't just for the squid. It is a standard return nozzle you can buy seperatly. If you are using PVC for your return, then you'd have to use a "T" and go from there