Pump Decision Time

[tmncali]

Here it goes,
MagDrive 1200gph Water Pump
115 Volt 60 Hz
110 Watts - 1.6 amps
1100gpd at 4 feet
MagDrive 1800gph Water Pump
115 Volt 60 Hz
145 Watts - 1.5 amps
1350gpd at 4 feet
M12 10gph per Watt @4ft
M18 9.3gph per Watt @4ft
as P.A. website states
now i maybe wrong but isnt it Amps*Volts=Watts?
M12 1.6A*115=184 Watts yielding ~6gph per watt
M18 1.5A*115=172 Watts yielding ~8gph per watt

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Either way, my question is, "Would 2 Mag 12's for my 140 be ok?

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From Danner Mfg
Model 12
Mag-Drive 15.0'max 1175gph@1ft 110 Watts 1.5Amps
Model 18
Mag-Drive 20.0'max 1700gph@1ft 145 Watts 1.5Amps
so i dont know.. is the 12 a stronger pump seeing that they say it only loses 25gph@1' vs. 100gph@1' on the 18?
12 loses 3%@1'
18 loses 5.5%@1'
i may be thinking this too much so back to original reason for post.

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"Would 2 Mag 12's for my 140 be ok?

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Thanks
tony

 

[broomer5]

Tony,
I wouldn't say the 12 is a stronger pump compared to the 18, but it does certainly appear to be a much more efficient pump.
At 4 feet of head - side by side - the 12 only loses 8.33% of flow, where as the 18 under same conditions loses 24% of it's rated flow capacity.
Mag Drive #12 Flow at various heads in gph
1200 @ 0' 0.00% loss
1150 @ 2' 4.17% loss
1100 @ 4' 8.33% loss
910 @ 6' 24.17% loss
15 feet maximum head
Mag Drive #18 Flow at various heads in gph
1800 @ 0' 0.00% loss
1610 @ 2' 10.56% loss
1350 @ 4' 24.00% loss
1100 @ 6' 38.89% loss
21 feet maximum head
Are you planning to run (2) pump set up in a sump on your 140 ?
Brian

 

[tmncali]

broomer5
yes i want to have both overflows on separate plumbing and pumps. i would like the flexability of having the ability to shut down each side independently/ each side plumbed separately also .i am possibly throwing a mag5 or 7 onto a refugium. closed loop or half/quarter teed off to sump. or half teed to a skimmer.
Thanks
tony

 

[broomer5]

Sounds like you got a cool plan
Run each side by themselves or together, with option to bypass refugium / skimmer for maintenance.
Neat idea !

 

[tmncali]

well i dont know but i may be leaning towards the AMPMASTER 3600 just to make sure i have enough flow. any comments?
thanks
tony

 

[ironreef]

ampmaster 3000 would be a better choice for 140g. The mag 12 isn't very powerful. In my 120g I run a Iwaki40=1200gph@4' through my top return soon to be seaswirl and a iwaki30=960@4' in a closed loop through a spraybar on the bottom of my tank. The ratings aren't accurate. I had a mag18 0n my skimmer rated more than my mak4 but the mak 4 is ALOT stronger. But thats another story. For circulation I use these pumps and still use 3 maxijet 1200. It depends on what you keep. I would have got the amp3000 but this was awhile ago. I may upgrade to one pump in the future

 

[tmncali]

so the 3600 would be more than enough?
thanks
tony

 

[ironreef]

3600 is plenty but remmember your plumbing needs to be 1 1/2" The 3000 they say you can use 1" but i would use 1 1/2" then tee off if needed with 1" to get max flow. I belive the 3600 you can do the same. You just need to include the larger plumbing. amp3000 is only good for 1200 @4' with 1" 1800 with a 1"y so you lose alot with smaller pipe.= use largest pipe at least for the first few feet to gain max use of the pump.