As you probably know I have owned a ton of different pumps over the last couple years. Best and quietest pump I have owned is the one I bought recently for my 180 build - ATB Flowtar 1800. Totally silent pump even quieter than the Eheims and the Water Blasters. Previously I liked and used the Eheims but not enough flow for a 180g although some people use them on 180's.

es i have purchased one of you quietone 4000 should have gotten the 6000 when i had the chance. but with my calculations i think im going to neeed atleast 2000gph min pump withhow im splitting the return lines within the rock wall design.. idhave to go with the 3200 model and thewife would kill me if i spent that much lol.. im a budget reefer aka cheapskate

Just go with a Laguna pond pump then which is exactly the same pump/motorblock but cheaper without the fancy volute and base plate. Also the Water Blasters are basically the same pump and very reasonabily priced. My 1800 will be split into two 3/4" returns and that should be plenty of gph at 1800 at 0' head

i should draw up my plan but it would taketoo long .. what i hope to do is 1" return split left to right halfway down tank then split again on each side with higher and lower outlets on each side hidden within the rockwall so alot of 90 degrees and pushing in at different levels to add flow tothe tank. you should be fine with your setup pushing into top of tank. with what im planning i call it the jet tub effect lol

in the end to do what i wish to do if i have to spend the money so be it cause i wish it towork wellto its full potential rather than just half a... but i hope to finda decently qietpump as well

laguna pond pump by hagen.

they have various models and they are the BASE pump for the RED DRAGON and ATB pumps and coralvue copied the design for their waterblaster/bubble blaster pump.

you can pick one up at most pond/general pet stores so you can test it out in fresh water then return it if you don't like. Its a submersible pump but i think you can run it external as well. Dirt cheap too. These pumps are actually quiet

BTW the reef flo pumps are not quiet - they are quiet in terms of other external pumps I guess. I dunno if you guys are spending your time at too many heavy metal concerts but your definition of quiet is different from mine. I run eheim return pumps and used high end computer fans to mod my light and cabinet so it was silent. All i can hear is the air intake on my swc skimmer (which everyone here says is silent but it isnt) and my vortechs (gentle hum in reefcrest)

I totally agree 100%

find my Dart quiet though admittedly not totally silent and will say also they are not all the same.

First Dart was near silent but replacement I was sent under warranty wasn't. Complained to Reeflo and third was near silent again. Imagine same with Snappers, some probably better than others.

I have 2 snappers.... They are not noisy but they do hum - a closed cabinet and I can't hear them

you guys are making my head spin with ideas...lol not helping my decision