LF Sump Pump

[intarsiabox]

Originally Posted by Aquatek

A needle wheel is just another form of impeller. If there is no air then there is no bubbles. The only way you can create bubbles is with a venturi or your sump runs dry. I have used this style of pump in many of my tanks. You are correct that they get used in skimmers to chop the bubbles but work equally well as a pump to push water, they are just rated for less gph. Either way, I have a regular pump as well. Your choice. I'll bring both.

Thanks but I already know a skimmer needs air in order to create a lot of bubbles. A needle wheel is just a flat plate with a bunch of pins sticking out of it used to mix air and water into a froth, it will move very little water against any head pressure. You need to know the GPH against a pump curve that will tell you how many GPH it can actually do at at the height of your return line into the display tank. The GPH printed on the pump is at 0 feet of height. A regular centrifugal impeller will by far produce more flow. Keep in mind though that you don't need a ton of flow through your sump, I used a Mag9.5 on my 90g DT and 45g sump and still had to dial the discharge flow down a bit.

[Aquatek]

Originally Posted by intarsiabox

Thanks but I already know a skimmer needs air in order to create a lot of bubbles. A needle wheel is just a flat plate with a bunch of pins sticking out of it used to mix air and water into a froth, it will move very little water against any head pressure. You need to know the GPH against a pump curve that will tell you how many GPH it can actually do at at the height of your return line into the display tank. The GPH printed on the pump is at 0 feet of height. A regular centrifugal impeller will by far produce more flow. Keep in mind though that you don't need a ton of flow through your sump, I used a Mag9.5 on my 90g DT and 45g sump and still had to dial the discharge flow down a bit.

The point I was trying to make was that a needle wheel will work perfectly fine for a system of that size. There are a lot of pumps you can buy that use needle wheels. That pump was rated at 1300gph with a head of 5ft. You could use a much smaller pump than that to return water. We have now jacked the thread and are pretty much arguing the same point. LOL! I actually use the same Mag on my 60g. It's running my return and my skimmer and I have both dialed down. Not that the skimmer or tank require a lot of flow anyway.