What is the most quiet return pumps?

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by JPotter

I am also interested in a quieter pump. I am new to reef keeping so really don't know how many gal/hr is required for 120 gal. I think the pump I now have in the sump is 2600 but I could be mistaken.
Everyone says the Red Dragon pumps are expensive...expensive is a relative term...what would one be expecting to spend to get it to the tank?

Well like I mentioned before I paid a little under $700 for the 6.5m3 version which does around 1700GPH at zero. The biggest version is the 12m3 which does about 3200GPH but expect to pay a little over $1000 for it. You could also get the DC version which can be controlled with an ocean simulator but that's really pricey, too much to even mention.

The Eheims are OK pumps, fairly quiet and reliable which gives them a good reputation. However the biggest model, I believe, only does 900gph and costs $200. It's also rated at 80W (not sure what it actually uses) which isn't anything special and pretty consistent with other pumps. Really I think the eheim is more over priced than the RD line, I'd probably go with an ocean runner over Eheim as they are very similar in noise level, use less power and even cost less. Plus has anyone tried plumbing into an Eheim with North American PVC fittings, not a plus for me

[JPotter]

Thanks..for something you listen to every day 1K is not outrageous Do most SW LFS have them in stock? What turn over is required for a very full 120g sps w/fish and no chiller?

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by JPotter

Thanks..for something you listen to every day 1K is not outrageous Do most SW LFS have them in stock? What turn over is required for a very full 120g sps w/fish and no chiller?

I would be very surprised to see these pumps in stock at any LFS, however most should be able to special order them within a week or two.

Your turn over depends on your sump layout and plumbing restrictions but usually 10x is plenty, provided you'll supplement more flow some how for the SPS. My new tank is 100 gallons and I went for the 6.5m3 which should give me around 1200gph with head loss but I'll also be running two tunze streams.

[albert_dao]

For anyone interested, the Red Dragon pumps are also receiving a few awesome upgrades very shortly:

- Anti-calcium bypass, as found on the RD skimmer pumps, will now be a standard feature for all RD's.
- All impellers will now be equipped with Titanium shafts for increased durability.
- Mini RD's will now have custom CNC'd volutes much like the larger Deluxe lines. You can probably expect a slight increase in performance from this upgrade. I'm still not sure if this translates over to being External-use compatible yet, but we'll see in the next couple weeks =D

Pricing should remain constant - unless I'm missing something...

[JPotter]

I have the return pump, a tunze wave box, 2 tunze 6100 and 2 koralia 4 for water movement. I hope that is adequate for a 120 sps.
If the Rd is coming out with an upgrade I can wait for that. Hopefully someone will notify the list when that comes available.
Thanks for any and all help...this SW keeping has a steep learning curve.

[fkshiu]

Originally Posted by sphelps

Well like I mentioned before I paid a little under $700 for the 6.5m3 version which does around 1700GPH at zero. The biggest version is the 12m3 which does about 3200GPH but expect to pay a little over $1000 for it. You could also get the DC version which can be controlled with an ocean simulator but that's really pricey, too much to even mention.

The Eheims are OK pumps, fairly quiet and reliable which gives them a good reputation. However the biggest model, I believe, only does 900gph and costs $200. It's also rated at 80W (not sure what it actually uses) which isn't anything special and pretty consistent with other pumps. Really I think the eheim is more over priced than the RD line, I'd probably go with an ocean runner over Eheim as they are very similar in noise level, use less power and even cost less. Plus has anyone tried plumbing into an Eheim with North American PVC fittings, not a plus for me

I've got my 1260 plumbed with NA fittings. I just used SCH80 fittings and a little extra teflon tape and everything's been leak free (knock on wood) for several years now.

Eheims (at least mine) seem to be underrated. I believe it is only rated as pushing about 400gph at a 4 foot head, but I actually measured it to be almost 500 gph at 4 feet when I was filling my tank with water for the first time out of a Brute trashcan.

[Toxik]

Has anyone find a distributor for the Red Rragon pumps in the vancouver area?

[fkshiu]

Originally Posted by Toxik

Has anyone find a distributor for the Red Rragon pumps in the vancouver area?

Try J&L