Little Giant as return pump?

[Fishfreak]

Just wondering if anyone is currently using a little giant external pump as their return pump, or has used one in the past. Any observations? Good experiences/bad experiences? Any obvious problems? Would you recommend their pumps? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

[EmilyB]

We have had our originals running for almost eight years. Just moved one over to a new tank. I have heard they are noisy, but we don't seem to have a problem with that.

[Delphinus]

^^ what she said .. although I don't think I can quite claim mine has been in use for 8 years yet. (Wow that's awesome BTW.)

Anyhow I've used two different LG4 models as sump returns. One is a fan-cooled model and one is not. The one that is not fan-cooled is what I'm currently running on my 75g. I would recommend getting one with a fan because this pump runs SO HOT that I'm not comfortable running it without a fan blowing air on it. I use a little 4" computer style AC fan, it just sits on the floor and seems to keep the temperature under control. I tried running it without the fan on and after a few hours the whole basement had the smell of "hot electrical equipment" and I've never tried that experiment again. It's so hot you can't touch it. I'm not sure that's correct, but then again the pump has been running for almost 4 years now so at least with the fan it's a good arrangement. In fact I'm wondering more about the fan I'm using, it's been on for like 4 year continuously, and I'm wondering how much longer I can expect it to keep turning.

[kari]

The 4MD I have running has been working great for 5+ years. However I don't think is would be very pleasant reading on my comments for the 2 & 3 models. Pumps that receive their required maintence and keep on rocking keep me happy.

[kari]

If this is looking at new pumps I would spend some extra $ and purchase a pump like a Sequence with a 3 year warranty and be done with it.