What is the most quiet return pumps?
 

So i love the Poseidon pumps because they are watercooled and quiet as a result, problem is, they are not large enough and strong enough for what I need. Anyone know of another similar pump that is capable of flow of 2500GPH-3500GPH and above?

Has to be as quiet as possible....

Red Dragon $$$$$$

I'd have to agree, I just ordered one for my new tank but mostly because I wanted a submersible pump which is both quiet and efficient or low heat loss but still pushes significant flow. They are pricey but then again should last forever so to me it seemed worth it. I have seen many people replace a return pump a number of times trying to get a quiet and reliable pump, sometimes it makes more sense to just bite the bullet and possibly even save some money in the long run.

If you're OK with an external pump the smaller reeflo series (snapper & dart) are fairly quiet, but it does depend on your standards and what you consider quiet. I used one in sealed cabinet and I couldn't hear it, but if the cabinet was even slightly open it did kind of sound like you had a hot tub running.

I use a Dolphin Amp Master 3000. It is not a high pressure pump however it is rated to move about 3600 GPH. It is the quietest pump around and it only uses approx 90W of power per hour.

I have been using this pump for 7 years without a problem. It uses approx half the power of the Reeflo pumps.

I currently have about 525G in my system all going through the one pump and sump.

Tom R

my red dragon is completely silent. impossible to get any quieter

Ive used an amp master pump before as well, they are quiet but I don't know if they are that efficient. The 4000/3000 model has an average power rating of 170W. The dart has similar flow characteristics but has an average rating of 145W. I do think the amp master may be a quieter pump though, but tough to say as I've never actually had them side by side in the same application.

I'm ordering one of the new Tunze Silence pumps... the one I'm ordering is too small for what you'd need, but they do have a new synchronous electronic pump that draws 120W and pumps 2192gph. It's called the Master Electronic. http://www.tunze.com/149.html?&L=1&C...-infoxunter051

The master electronic looks pretty similar to a quiet one, especially the impeller, I wouldn't expect it to be very quiet.

http://www.lifegardaquatics.com/data...4000_small.jpg http://www.tunze.com/fileadmin/image...e/1073.090.jpg

Hmm, yeah I sorta thought so also, but it is a Tunze. And the synchronous drive probably makes it quieter than a regular asynchronous magnetic drive pump.

I would assume the quiet ones are also synchronous. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe this simply means the frequency of the AC motor is consistent and therefore always turns at the same speed. This would likely be consistent with any magnetically driven pump. I'm fairly confident that these two pumps are identical, meaning the same motor and impeller.

I got this message from Roger Vitko over at Reef Central regarding the Master Electronic Pump, maybe it'll be helpful to you:

reeflo snapper gold 2600 gph
reeflo dart gold 3800 gph
A buddy has a snapper gold and you have to put you ear up to it to see if it is on. Extremely quiet.

I think synchronous refers to the rotor (impeller) rotating at the same speed as the rotating magnetic field in the coils, which I assume is where the electronics come in.

It's good to know that this pump is not quiet. It is efficient though...

IN truth, All Mag drive style pumps are Synchronus. Meaning they have a Fixed magnetic field on the rotor. Most motors, (external pump style motors, AKA Squirrel cage) the electricity has to induce a magnetic field in the rotor. This will result in "slip" between the speed of the Electricity in the stator and the rotor. Synchronus motors use some form of magnet, be it permanent or electromaglet for the rotor, so the slip is not seen.

What I think they are talking about for submersable pumps is the direction. On a single phase motor(common house hold electricity is single phase) If there is not some sort of starting device. Be it a start winding, a start capacitir, whatever. The rotor will just occilate and not acctually turn. Thats why the smaller MAG pumps, the impeller is "Loose" on the rotor. The rotor will jiggle back and forth, CW, CCW untill it gets momentum enough to spin around, then when spinning, the electricity keeps it going. With the directional style impellers/housings, the motor needs to allways spin in one direction. this, the need for a start winding.


I can get into ALOT more detail if needed, but I got to go to work now

Thanks for the info bandit.

So for external pumps there are a few options for high flow and low noise. But are there any other submersible pumps other than RD that can push over 2000gph quietly?

Thanks for the info guys!

For me the snappers are not as quiet as I like, but I think that is more from vibrations than actual fan/motor noise. Any ideas, going to be using rigid plumbing on a closed loop?

BTW, are the RED DRAGON pumps just submersible?

thx :)

Red dragon pumps also can be used externally. Hands down
The quietest pump out there. As well, extremely energy efficient!
I have one and it was well worth the money.

Excellent explaination bandit, I understand now.

So, I have a question to post about pumps also. I'm looking at getting a pump that will provide somewhere around 750 gph @ 2 ft, and I don't want it to be super loud. I've heard good things about Sedra pumps, but does anyone have any experience with this?

Hi, looking for an extreme quiet pump got to be the red dragon, running in sump now, low to no heat issue compare to a previous mag 24 and quieter. Expensive but worth the money in the long run without replacing pumps as needed. REgards Ken

Where is the best place to get Red Dragon pumps in Canada? Or is everyone getting them from the States?

Cheers,
Vic

I have an Ampmaster 3000 that is absolutely silent, no noise, no vibration.














I wonder what it will sound like if I plug it in.

:lol:

I,m also wondering where Red Dragons are in Canada. I found them in California.

Ask your favourite dealer, I know my local shop can get them, not cheap but worth every penny.

there is a place on 16th ave that sells them. North side of 16th ave.

PM me for info on obtaining Red Dragon pumps.... :)

Any LFS that sells Vertex products should be able to bring in RD pumps. My LFS sold me the deluxe 6.5m3 version for under $700. Which isn't too bad as they tend to sell for around $650 US.

return pump
 

I am interested in this thread as I have recently set up a 120gal sps tank and the noise from the return drives me nuts!! I have the sump in a closet..the sump is on styrofoam and the pump is submersed and on neoprene. When the return is off the other pumps in the sump are hardly noticeable.

I don't want to go with minimal flow..would rather too much than too little. Are these Red Dragon pumps seriously quiet? What size would be preferable for a 120 gal tank.

Thx

Dragons are seriously quiet but they are also seriously expensive.

I have an Eheim 1260 and while it is not dead silent it is very, very quiet and has been absolutely bulletproof.

I am also interested in a quieter pump. I am new to reef keeping so really don't know how many gal/hr is required for 120 gal. I think the pump I now have in the sump is 2600 but I could be mistaken.
Everyone says the Red Dragon pumps are expensive...expensive is a relative term...what would one be expecting to spend to get it to the tank?

LOL, I was like... NICE, my pump will be quiet..... Oh crap, maybe not!??!

Well like I mentioned before I paid a little under $700 for the 6.5m3 version which does around 1700GPH at zero. The biggest version is the 12m3 which does about 3200GPH but expect to pay a little over $1000 for it. You could also get the DC version which can be controlled with an ocean simulator but that's really pricey, too much to even mention.

The Eheims are OK pumps, fairly quiet and reliable which gives them a good reputation. However the biggest model, I believe, only does 900gph and costs $200. It's also rated at 80W (not sure what it actually uses) which isn't anything special and pretty consistent with other pumps. Really I think the eheim is more over priced than the RD line, I'd probably go with an ocean runner over Eheim as they are very similar in noise level, use less power and even cost less. Plus has anyone tried plumbing into an Eheim with North American PVC fittings, not a plus for me :sad:

Thanks..for something you listen to every day 1K is not outrageous:) Do most SW LFS have them in stock? What turn over is required for a very full 120g sps w/fish and no chiller?

I would be very surprised to see these pumps in stock at any LFS, however most should be able to special order them within a week or two.

Your turn over depends on your sump layout and plumbing restrictions but usually 10x is plenty, provided you'll supplement more flow some how for the SPS. My new tank is 100 gallons and I went for the 6.5m3 which should give me around 1200gph with head loss but I'll also be running two tunze streams.

For anyone interested, the Red Dragon pumps are also receiving a few awesome upgrades very shortly:

- Anti-calcium bypass, as found on the RD skimmer pumps, will now be a standard feature for all RD's.
- All impellers will now be equipped with Titanium shafts for increased durability.
- Mini RD's will now have custom CNC'd volutes much like the larger Deluxe lines. You can probably expect a slight increase in performance from this upgrade. I'm still not sure if this translates over to being External-use compatible yet, but we'll see in the next couple weeks =D

Pricing should remain constant - unless I'm missing something...

I have the return pump, a tunze wave box, 2 tunze 6100 and 2 koralia 4 for water movement. I hope that is adequate for a 120 sps.
If the Rd is coming out with an upgrade I can wait for that. Hopefully someone will notify the list when that comes available.
Thanks for any and all help...this SW keeping has a steep learning curve.

I've got my 1260 plumbed with NA fittings. I just used SCH80 fittings and a little extra teflon tape and everything's been leak free (knock on wood) for several years now.

Eheims (at least mine) seem to be underrated. I believe it is only rated as pushing about 400gph at a 4 foot head, but I actually measured it to be almost 500 gph at 4 feet when I was filling my tank with water for the first time out of a Brute trashcan.

Has anyone find a distributor for the Red Rragon pumps in the vancouver area?

Try J&L

Hey guys,

Havent i seen your cards at JL? :biggrin:

Anyway, i'm using a reeflo dart right now, and its pretty quiet, considering its in a cabinet. Im happy with it. BUT, make sure there are absolutely no elbows on the intake line of the reeflo if you want it to be as quiet as possible, because they are extremely sensitive to negative pressure (restriction on intake side).

Red dragon is good too, if you have $$$$$ One thing though, keep in mind that the red dragon pumps are uncomparable to reeflo when it comes to pump size-watt draw-flow. I looked into buying an equivalent red dragon pump to the reeflo dart, and it was a huge pump, and was going to run me approx. $1000. :surprise:

My advice: go reeflo. I mean, poseidon is great, but it heats your water, and wont get as much pressure. You can ask Jeff at JL; awhile ago, both of the titanium shafts on their poseidons rusted out, leaching harmful metals into their tank, killing most of their nice sps corals.......