We all know the expenses involved in running a reef tank. Usually we complain about the electricity consumption, salt, prices of corals, fish and of course the live rock for start up. But, has anyone realized the money that goes into pumps?
I've kept every receipt from my seven years of reefing. I must admit I'm a bit of a water pump fanatic: always looking for the newer, better pump. I just got a Water Blaster 10,000 and one of the new DC adjustable pumps and after paying my visa bill it made me wonder just how much I've spent over the years on pumps, so I pulled all the receipts and started adding them up:
PUMPS
2x Reeflo
1x Iwaki
6x Mag Drives
1x Quiet One HH
3x Sedra
3x Eheim
1x Speedwave DC
1x Water Blaster
POWERHEADS
4x Vortech MP
8x Tunze Turbelle Stream
6x Hydor Korallia
14x Maxi Jets
TOTAL: $5900.
HOLY CRAP! 
And this isn't even counting dosing pumps, aqua lifters, Osmolators, and some skimmer pumps.
After seeing this I was tempted to add up all the receipts over the 7 years, then thought better of it. Probably give myself an aneurysm
FYI.
The most dependable large pump I've had is the Iwaki 70RLT A real workhorse. I bought it used 7 years ago and it has never given me one problem. Runs my big Beckett skimmer 24/7 Too bad its noisy and inefficient. The best small pump IMO are the Eheims. Pricy, but foolproof.
The best PH's for me are the Vortechs and Tunzes.
Worst pump is the Quiet One HH and worst PH's are the Hydors.