Pump opinion please? I gotta buy two of 'em.

[ylmaya]

Which pumps do you guys like......I know Kent recommends the RIO to run the Nautilus skimmer I am planning to use but I haven't read great things about RIO on this site....

What about the mag 7? I have heard from my lfs (which is pushing rio) that they run hot? I am planning to use an in-sump pump - so please....ADVICE?

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by ylmaya
Which pumps do you guys like... ...What about the mag 7? I have heard from my lfs (which is pushing rio) that they run hot?

ANYTHING BUT THE RIO PUMPS!!! (see the archives for info on this DANGEROUS pump)

Although I personally like external pumps for larger tanks, I have several Danner Mag Drive pumps. They are quiet, extremely dependable, relatively inexpensive, have good output, compact, and don't require much more than dumping them into the sump and connecting the hoses and plugging them in. Unless your house is not a/c'd in the summer, the pumps don't heat the water enough to make much difference. I have 2 mag 12's in my prop system and 4 x 150 watt Ebo-Jagger heaters, one runs the skimmer, the other is the return at 2ft to a manifold and spray bar. One is fairly new, about 3 or 4 months old, the other is about 4 years old. They have both gotten monthly maintenance and have been trouble free. I just replace the sump skimmer pump on the display with a Mag 12 as well (after the Sen 900 died), and although I use a pair of Little Giants externally for this tank for the returns, I would have no problem using the Mag pumps to replace them.

Overal a great pump at a great prie, but buy them on-line unless your LFS has a good price (around $100 for a Mag 12, makes 1100 to 1200 gph at 3 ft)

[R1Bill]

ditto with tom. DO NOT GET A RIO PUMP!!!! If you want to see why, check out the archives on this site or do a search on google.

i use maxijets for powerheads.

i would get a pump that is a magnetic drive else you will get oil into you tank when, note: when not if, your seals fail. look at the motor current the pump draws and at noise level. the power consumption of the pump dwarfs the purchase price. i just picked up a iwaki rl55 for my new home made skimmer and a blueline 70 for my circulation to replace a little giant md3&4. the little giants are great pumps but not very quiet.

good luck,

bill

[Rick O]

Rio is the only pump I have ever heard bad things about (ok, powersweep too but that's not really a pump). I have 5 Mag pumps which overall have served me well. I do have a problem with the Mag 7 not restarting and have read of others having the same problem but it seems to be isolated to the Mag 7 only.

[Mako]

I'd steer clear of the Rio.... I still have one working on my skimmer (Rio2500).... when it's going it's great... but ... I'm on my 3 impeller in 2 years... and they are anywhere from 28-40 bucks a pop... Also have/had a Rio1400 that lasted 3 weeks before the magnet cracked.... Just bought a Mag drive pump for my sump return, seems real nice, but is a bit larger than the Rio, but the big plus is the impeller is under 10 bucks... for inside the tanks I have 4 maxi-jets.. love them... good size, power and realtivly cheap... plus they last forever.

[galleon]

I would go Iwaki, probably 40 RLT. I love Iwaki. They don't die in my experience. And I'd much rather use an internally cool magnet drive that adds almost nil heat to the water. Can't do this with a submersible.

[Doug1]

YLmaya, I assume the posting mess was resolved
DO you know what the optimal flow thru rate for the Kent Nautilus skimmer?
I like the MAg Drives, and I like the Sen pumps except they are freakin huge