new pump needed - quiet please

ninjamini

Active Member
I am shopping for a new pump. I want one that works external and is whisper quiet. Here are the choices:
Quiet One Pumps
Turbo-Sea External Pumps
Little Giant 'Quarium Series Magnetic Drive Pumps
Gen-X Pumps
Eheim Hobby Pumps
 
J

jamparty

Guest
I'd have to agree with Reef.
I myself don't use an external and stick to my trusty mag drive pumps, but one of my buddies has a 480 reef and uses Little Giant. So far as I know it runs quiet, it's never been an issue when I was ad his house and he's never brought it up to me when talking about his tank either. So I'd go with that!
 

joncat24

Active Member
I will have to rock the boat a bit on this one...I had a little giant and it got very hot and it was quite loud. I prefer the Gen-x pumps by far, and they are lower priced as well.
I also like the fact that the Gen-x's do not have to be oiled like the little giants do.
 

scsinet

Active Member
Geez I don't like any of the ones on this list if quiet is a big priority. I'd especially take exception in the notion of Little Giant pumps being quiet, the ones I've heard are anything but. I'd certainly buy a Gen-x if I had to go off this list.
My choice would be Iwaki. I have a 40RLT on my reef and what noise it does make is somewhat relaxing... hummmmm... really faint, and my beer chair is 2 feet away from it. I also have a 55RLT on my FOWLR and it's pretty quiet, and 2 70RLTs on the shelf that are pretty good.
I just bought a Sequence for my big reef project, I plugged it in for a moment, I thought I had gone deaf for a second... I can't wait to hear what a REAL quiet pump sounds like in full operation...
 

jsn_hog

Member
Any experience with the Blueline HD series?? Would a Quiet One work outside as an external? The site says it would but I do not see any mounts for it, therefore, don't trust it so much.
Also, has anyone mounted an external on the side of their stand? Perhaps putting a piece of foam inbetween to dampen vibration. I would like to use it as a replacement for a 90 degree bend going back to my DT.
 

al mc

Active Member
I agree with SCSI...I have the Hammerhead by Sequence on both my reef at home and at work and feel they work well and are very quiet. I also run a pan world on an MRC recirculating skimmer which is also very quiet. My comparisons are to MAG drive (in sump) that are good but noisier (esp the 24 and 36) than the Sequence or Pan World.
 

ifirefight

Active Member
Originally Posted by ReefForBrains
Go little Giant.
Very easy to get parts down the road and they are top notch...also cheap
jmo
I also have a little giant, I never know its running...even AFTER installing my Durso standpipe. My tank is almost silent....except for the 2 , 4'' cooling fans in the canopy when the lights are on.
 

jsn_hog

Member
Any info about mounting Vertically? I don't see why it can't be done. Just curious if anyone has tried.
 

isistius

Active Member
i have a quiet one 6000 on my 135 for a return. altho it is used internally, i can't hear it. my skimmer pump is way louder, and that's almost silent. the only time i know its running is through vibration when my head is on the floor.
 

scsinet

Active Member
Originally Posted by jsn_hog
Any info about mounting Vertically? I don't see why it can't be done. Just curious if anyone has tried.
USUALLY, this can be done. Sideways should never be a problem. However, if you want to mount it veritcally in the sense of the pump housing at the bottom or top and the motor above or below, you need to be careful...
First, you need to be sure to arrange things as such as the pump housing is flooded via gravity by water from the sump... it should not have to draw water "up" without a goofy foot valve to keep the impeller from losing prime if the pump loses power, or you'll come home to burned up thrust bearings.
Second, the motor needs to have bearings rated for vertical use. Most motors take this okayish (especially if they have ball bearings), but since a pump is running 24x7, it's a lot of wear, especially if the motor uses cheap sleeve bearings. The bearings have to have provisions for the weight of the rotor bearing down on the shaft perpendicular to the bearings... perhaps I'm being too complicated, so the best thing to do is contact the manufacturer and make sure it's okay to run the motor this way.
I know for a fact that Iwaki pumps have ball bearings, so do Sequence. I have no idea on the pan world, blueline, or GenX, but beware that there are definite quality differences.
 

thangbom

Active Member
i had a iwaki, it was a great pump. started up everytime, but replaced it with a pan world... it's a lot quieter but you can still hear it... and it runs less electric then the old iwaki... off that list i would do the gen x then tied with the LG and Eheim... ( i trust the ehiem more then the LG but it is not a true external pump... kinda...)
YzGyz
 

jsn_hog

Member
Thank you so much for the reply SCSInet. I understand what you are saying. I will check with the maker before purchasing one. Need to think about the layout a little more now...
 
Top