One return pump vs. two return pumps ?

Frogbone · 04-21-2005, 01:48 PM

I was thinking about getting a Quiet One 6000 return pump. 1508gph 140 Watts. $143.99 plus shipping at Marinedepot.

I looked on fleabay but none was available. Instead I was looking at the Quiet One 3000 pumps. 780gph, 40 Watts 449.99 plus shipping

So, I was wondering if there is any reason why I shouldn't buy two of the smaller pumps. More gph, less power consumption, lower overall price.

Any objections ?

PS: I only have one 1" bulkhead below teh waterline in my sump for return pump purpose. I think the two pumps can safely draw through the same bulkhead via a T or better yet a Y- adapter ?

Jeremiah · 04-21-2005, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frogbone

I looked on fleabay but none was available. Instead I was looking at the Quiet One 3000 pumps. 780gph, 40 Watts 449.99 plus shipping

So, I was wondering if there is any reason why I shouldn't buy two of the smaller pumps. More gph, less power consumption, lower overall price.

So the 780gph pump only uses 40 watts?

David Grigor · 04-21-2005, 02:01 PM

Usually pretty mixed bag of reviews for the quiet one pumps.

If you convinced quiet one is the way to go and two smaller is less $$ and power consumption, I would do it mostly for redundancy.

A pump failure you wouldn't be without any flow through the sump. You could have each on a seperate circuit to protect against breaker tripping and/or put one on a UPS to extend the runtime in a power outage.

Frogbone · 04-21-2005, 02:06 PM

Jeremiah, yes, according to the spec sheet.

David, that's what I thought too. I am going to do some experimenting with UPS's and this 40 watt pump should get me easily through the day instead of running powerheads.

The only concern ( or I wasn't sure of) was teh single bulkhead draw from the sump. I figured that if a 1" bulkhead can accomodate 2400gph of my MAG24 then it can handle two 780gph pumps

Frogbone · 04-21-2005, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Grigor

Usually pretty mixed bag of reviews for the quiet one pumps.

What kind of negative things did you hear about them ?

David Grigor · 04-21-2005, 02:11 PM

I don't recall specifics since I never have considered one but being a moderator on RC I have run across some soon after the re-design........

Any reason you can't drill another 1" bulkhead ? That would be the cleanest plumbing wise and again ( although remote ) gives you redundancy in case something clogs or slows down the input.

Frogbone · 04-21-2005, 02:40 PM

I suppose I can drill another hole

David Grigor · 04-21-2005, 02:45 PM

Another nice thing if two pumps, If using a RR where in return comes up through the corner overflows ( or planning to do something similiar ). You can have one pump on each side of the sump so it's a straight up shot vs. one side having to travel far and loose gph. Realizing that likely because of skimmer compartments etc. you wouldn't want it to pull from the other side but can plumb the intake either through the baffles ( if exist ) for both to draw from the one end of the sump.

Frogbone · 04-21-2005, 03:14 PM

I will use both as external pumps and they will draw water from the left front side of the sump. The pumps will be placed pretty much in the center so both returns have about the same lenght of travel. The upside is that there won't be any T's between the pump and the overflow compartment

Frogbone · 04-21-2005, 03:15 PM

BTW: Do you guys up there have any openings ? I'd like to find a place a bit closer to home from where I can hang out on TRT

Tutmos · 04-21-2005, 03:47 PM

Of course I have power issues creating a bias, but I'm a big fan of the low gph return pump school. Using the return pump for circulation in the display is kind of silly since you have to deliver all that water X number of feet upward first, which takes a lot of energy, creates a lot of heat and means you have to buy a more expensive pump. There's no logic to it. I like the idea of only pumping enough back to allow you sufficiently drain the surface of the water off to skim it in the sump.

I have to thank Derek for talking up the Tunze's and tipping me off about the used T24 kit, I couldn't be happier. I've got up to 6000+ GPH flow if I want it for the same power consumption as a couple RIO1400's. They might be a bit spendy but they're so nice to have.

Kevin

David Grigor · 04-21-2005, 04:22 PM

I'd like to think I don't spend as much time here as it appears. When there are so few active thread in the TCMAS it's easy for me to pop in here regularly just not stay very long.

It would definatley be sweet if I lived in Savage. When we bought the house I was working in Plymouth and was less then 10miles away. Who knew at the time I would switch locations a year later and be commuting about 1.5 hours a day.

Skipponator · 04-21-2005, 06:39 PM

So what kind of GPH would you reccomend on a 6 foot tank? I like my Quiet One 300, I cleaned for the 1st time since setup just a couple weeks ago and it looked just like new, except for the thin layer of film on the blades, but it's been a good pump, not truly "quiet" but I'd prolly use another one. I may get something different and use this in a pond pond outside. I run mine externally, I dunno what kind of heat issues it would have in water or noise.

FastFish720 · 04-21-2005, 06:42 PM

What about heat issues?