Need to get new pump

[reefburnaby]

Pumps usually push water from a lower elevation to a higher elevation -- the difference between the two elevations is known as head. The pump must counter losses that occur at elbows and pipeing. Each 90 degree elbow accounts for approximately 1 foot of head. So, if you wanted to pump water from the sump to the top of your 2 feet tank on a 3 feet stand (i.e. total height of 5 feet), then you'll need about 7 to 8 feet of head. The extra 2 or 3 feet of head comes from the elbows and piping.

At 8 feet, the Mag 12 would only pump 700 gph and a Mag 18 would only pump 1000 gph. On the otherhand, the Mak4 would pump ~1000 gph and the 4mdqx pumps around 1000 gph.

To make things worse, suppose your sump is in the basement. So that would add about 9 feet of head for a total of 17 feet. Mag 12 and Little giant would have .... 0 gph. The Mak4 would pump around 400 to 500 gph. The mak4 would die around 22 feet.

http://www.yourpondstore.com/supreme...ster_pond1.htm

Closed loop systems have very low head (only need to work against piping loss), so Mags work pretty good and they have a pretty good track record (unlike Rio). In most situations, the Mag is a good pump. However, if you have extra money to spend and you want a pump that will last a very long time...then a Mak4 would be my choice.


Hope that helps.

- Victor.