Question about pump purchase....

[AngelLeah1981]

I am needing a pump for a 120 gallon aquarium and I need it to be powerful enough so that I won't have to buy another one later but also keep in mind I'm not wanting to waste money either. lol. This is a tank that is not set up yet but I am wanting to put fish and reef in it. One lfs is suggesting I get one that pumps 1400-1500 gallons per hour and I don't know the price or brand but I'm sure it's ridiculous just like all his other equpiment prices; he is going to call me and let me know today..... and the other lfs suggests a GenX that pumps 1800-2000 gallons per hour and the cost is $120. Is this a good deal? This store usually has good prices but has other issues. lol. Do I need a better brand? Does it matter if it's internal or external? I think he may have said it's internal but I can't remember. How many gph do you suggest and what are your thoughts on this? Also, the lfs with high prices says the GenX only has 6000 which pumps 1600 and a 8500 that pumps 2250 and said the 8500 was probably what the other lfs store was talking about and his price is $199.00. He said this pump can be used as internal or external but he would use it internally because he would be afraid of it overheating ?? Any thoughts and suggestions on this would be GREAT.
Thanks.


2 internal overflows
30-40 gallon sump
probably going to do a fuge (macro algae and rock in sump)

 

[AngelLeah1981]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/biorhythm/PIC-0337.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/biorhythm/PIC-0336.jpg

48X24X25 - From the top of the tank to the bottom of the stand is almost 54 inches. I'm going to put macro algae and rock in the sump eventually.
I was told the next piece of equipment to buy after the tank would be the pump so I'm just assuming this is for the water that goes from the tank to the sump and back to the tank again. Here's 2 pics of the tank and the holes that are almost as big as a tennis ball. There is a plastic "box like thing" on both sides for the internal overflows each with two holes. ...just thought this info might be helpful.

 

[FroggyFox]

Hi Leah, I moved this to the saltwater section for you as you'll probably get more responses here. Salties tend to browse the saltwater forum and not the others.

 

[TRe]

with those 2 holes after the bulkheads will only be 1" each... if u have 2 1" holes thats 800 gph each so 1600 total... figure a few hundred for head loss so u wanna shoot for around 16-1800gph

 

[TRe]

with that said u dont really wanna buy that kind of stuff at the lfs since online is much cheaper.... the lfs is a great place for livestock, fishfood and thats about it! i get everything else online ie. testkits, lights, pumps,skimmer ect...

the standard for return pumps would have to be mag drive .... a 9.5 would work but a 18 would be the best choice

 

[SALTY WATERS]

How many gallons is your sump going to hold?

You want to have apprx 10x total system turn-over per hour.

What ever you get for a return pump make sure it's a mag drive as they consume less energy. Internal pumps will add extra heat to the tank, where as an external will not, on the other hand external pumps need to be plumbed just that... externally, which means greater risk of leaks.

I personal am going to be using a "Coralife high pressure 1270 external mag. drive pump" for my new system. I am not worried about the possibility of leaking.

 

[di0nysus]

tre...which web site would you recommend to buy a metal halide light? after i get my sump set up im upgrading my lighting... sorry dont mean to take of this thread...

 

[Lorna]

okay this is my suggestion. Go with the mag 12 return and remember that the return from your sump should not be the main source of flow to your display tank. You will need to add additional powerheads to the tank to achieve a higher turnover rate within the display of about 25-30 x, the sump return will supply only part of this, especially if you want a reef. Remember you are trying to recreate a turbulent wave action found on a reef. The flow through the sump/refugium shouldn't be so fast that the skimmer and macro don't have time to work their magic.