Return pump size for 10' or so head - Advice

[luckycat]

I'll have a sump setup in my basement, elevated several feet off the floor. I estimate about 10' total from the sump floor to the top of my tank (a 90g AGA )...so I have narrowed my pump choice down to a Mag 18, which should give me more than enough gph, I'm thinking, for this head height, I will put in a valve to control flow back up the 3/4" pipe to the tank if it is too much.

Does a Mag 18 sound reasonable for this return? I have seen these for around $100 or so...are there other manufacturers that I should look at in this price range?

 

[fishfreek]

Are you limiting your choice to only submersible pumps? Will your setup permit an external pump? If so then I would suggest looking at the little giant and iwaki pumps aswell.

 

[morphviper]

RIO makes some nice pumps for high head applications. I would look into external pumps myself though. (some of these rio's are external too)

 

[ellisz]

I have been happy with my Mak4/GenX PCX40. Mkae sure you check out the Head Height calculator on RC. You can lose head pressure fast going up and if you use any turns(90's or 45's)

I want to get a blueline/Panworld pump but the GenX was a cheap alternative.

 

[luckycat]

Are you limiting your choice to only submersible pumps? Will your setup permit an external pump? If so then I would suggest looking at the little giant and iwaki pumps aswell.

Yes I certainly can go external. I'll check out Little Giant. I did look at Iwaki but the costs were a bit higher..but perhaps if failure rates on the others are high it would be worth it. It will be in the basement, so I'm not too concerned about operating noise.

 

[luckycat]

I have been happy with my Mak4/GenX PCX40. Mkae sure you check out the Head Height calculator on RC. You can lose head pressure fast going up and if you use any turns(90's or 45's)

I want to get a blueline/Panworld pump but the GenX was a cheap alternative.

I'll look at th GenX and Bluelines. I'd like 600-700 gph in the tank, with 10' head (and really no 90s but I will have a flexible tube giong up/down, I think the 1800 gph of the Mag18 would cover it.

Let me throw this out - anyone hear of using a traditional sump pump for a return on a tank? I saw a 1/6 hp sump pump for $58... has a built-in switch to turn on/off to prevent burn out if for some reason the water runs out.

 

[ellisz]

I looked at water fall pump but it was not rated for saltwater.

Look at power consumption too. Big Mag pumps are normally power hogs.

 

[luckycat]

I looked at water fall pump but it was not rated for saltwater.

Look at power consumption too. Big Mag pumps are normally power hogs.

When you say "Big Mag" pumps is that a brand or are you just referring to the larger Mag brand named pumps? I'll definately check out the power consumption.

 

[ellisz]

I know the Mag36 uses quite a bit of energy becasue that is the pump I looked at for my basement sump. I needed something to pump 12-14ft. I am not sure of the Mag18 though.

 

[luckycat]

Are you limiting your choice to only submersible pumps? Will your setup permit an external pump? If so then I would suggest looking at the little giant and iwaki pumps aswell.

On the Iwaki pumps, there are those with an American motor and those with a Japanese motor...the American motors are much less expensive...any feedback on which pump performs better in the long-haul?

 

[fishfreek]

Traditional sump pumps are not designed to run 24x7x365. A true sump pump would burn up in fairly short order in non stop operation.

I belive I have heard the japanese motors are quiter. On the Mag 18 im assuming you have already looked at the head pressure chart. I havnt looked yet so I dont know what kind of flow it would have at the 10' head.