Selecting a pump?

[DRIFTER]

I recently purchased a 120 gal setup from someone who had it setup for several years. One of the things i want to change is the pump because the one in there now is barely moving the water.

I have narrowed it down to 2 pumps that i like:

- mag drive md12 1200 gph 15' max head 110 watts.

- quiet one 4000 1017 gph 10' max head 50 watts.

I really like the magdrive pump but the quiet one uses half the wattage to power it.

My questions are is one better than the other and also will the quit one be able to push a decent flow since it uses a lot less wattage does that mean it cant push as much water up?

Te pump i choose will need to push through about 6' of hose to the inlet in the tank and almost 6' high.

 

[loganj]

My choice would be the Mag Drive.

 

[mrcowboy]

I have a mag and I love it. Its worth the money. Also Mag also backs a 3 year war. If anything ever happens to it. Take it back to the LSF and they will send it off for you.

 

[theatrus]

I have two MagDrive 7s running in my parent's koi pond, wonderful pump. Powerful too. If you're going to use any fittings (Ts, etc), the pump with the highest head will generally lose the least flow in situations like this.

 

[loganj]

Another point in the Mags favor is that parts are readily available and not expensive. I just ordered impellers and front housings for a Mag 3 and Mag 7. I got these pumps used and I've run them hard (24/7) for over 2 years. Both were still running but starting to get a little noisy. Once the parts went on, they were both as quiet and smooth as new ones.

 

[Bearfan]

I've got a Mag 36 and 9.5 and have had a little problem with the impellers, but they have been redesigned by Danner and they sent me replacements for free.

 

[DRIFTER]

I got the mag 12 and im now wondering if there is any diffirence as far as pump life wise if i run it in sump or external. Anyone know if its better for the pump to be submerged?

 

[captivereefs]

Do not run it external. The outer face cover is to thin and cracks very easy. You risk flooding your house if you run it external. I have seen this happen to a few local guys and it is scary!

 

[loganj]

I agree...the Mag pumps are rated for external use, but as Darin said, I wouldn't trust it long term. Your front housing will probably never crack, but if it did, it would be a disaster.

 

[theatrus]

Submerged. I've never had mine crack, but submerged is better. But do make sure you don't get too many little bubbles going into the intake of the pump. That can be death for any pump impeller.