there's too many pumps! help please

[seecrabrun]

I am drowning in options!

I need a secondary return pump. It needs to pump at around 200gph with an almost perfectly straight 4' head height. And it needs to be cheap. Cheap in price, not so much in quality.

Can you help? I can't remember what was recommended before and I'm overwhelmed trying to read and calculate.

 

[santamonica]

I think many of the vendors who sell pumps would be able to recommend the best one they sell.

 

[pegasus]

I'm a die-hard Danner Supreme Mag Drive fan... or should I say fanatic? The Supreme Classic (NOT Pondmaster) Model 3 would be an excellent choice. It has a rated flow of 270 @ 5', but that would be best-case-scenario. A couple of elbows, and especially with a ball or gate valve (highly recommended), the flow can be brought down quite easily.

I have two of the Model 3's. I use one for my remote deep sand bed, and the other for my dual GFO reactor. Neither require strong flow, so the 3 is perfect... even though I have to use the flow valve on my GFO reactor, since the reactor is only 1' above my refugium. I've used Supreme Classics since I got in the hobby, and of the 5 that I have, I'm still waiting for the first failure. It can be bought and delivered for around $61, which is maybe a little more than you want to spend on a pump, but it may be the only pump you'll ever need to buy. They don't come with 5 year warranties for no reason. Just my 2c...

 

[lmforbis]

I have several Rio pumps. They are really economical and I have had no issues with them. I am ordering the plus 1100. It is 382 gph for about $30 on amazon. It is bigger than you are necessarily looking for. My other pumps from this manufacturer came with an attachment with a valve so you can lower the flow. They also have smaller models in the 20 - 30$ range.