Maxijet Wattage Question

[luntiz]

I have a Rio powerhead and it punchs out 12watts. Thats terribly high for a powerhead that only pushs out 200gph. I have another powerhead made from some other company that many of you probably have never heard of and that pushs 500gph at only 13watts. I was wondering how many watts the Maxijet 1200 pushs out. I'm looking to replace the Rio and my Penguin powerhead with something less in wattage. Its either another CA-1000 or a MJ1200. TIA.

 

[loganj]

According to my info, the MJ1200 uses 20 watts for it's 295gph. The MJ900, at 230gph, uses 8.5 watts. You can check out my pump spec page for info on other pumps including the other Maxi Jet models. http://www.captiveraisedcorals.com/pumpspecs.htm
The wattage difference between the 1200 and 900 is significant. I would attribute this to the difference in max head. The 1200 will do 69" while the 900 will only push 46".

 

[luntiz]

What does the "max head" do?

 

[loganj]

If you run a pipe straight up from the pump, the max head is the height at which the pump can no longer move water. Of course, in aquarium applications, we almost never run the plumbing straight up, so we have to take factors such as elbows and reducers into account. If I remember correctly, a 90* elbow will add about 1' of head pressure.

 

[fishfreek]

The max head on the 1200 makes it a great water change pump. Put a 1/4th diamater hose on the outlet and drop it in a bucket and let the powerhead pump the water up into your tank.