Water Pump Question

[jw1977]

I'm looking for a pump to pump my water change water into my tank and out of my tank. Is there a difference between a powerhead and a pump? Will they both work? I have a Rio 400 powerhead but I don't see how that would be strong enough to pump water from my bucket into the tank.

 

[trippkid]

How big of a tank? How much water are you changing? A Maxijet 1200 will work for small amts. . If doing bigger changes may want to use something a little bigger like a mag 5 or 7 so it goes a little faster for you.
Matt

 

[jw1977]

It's only a 46 gallon tank, so probably 5 gallon water changes.

 

[trippkid]

Maxi Jet 1200 will do it no problem, your rio may but I'm sure you'll have to elevate the bucket on a chair or stool, I can't say for sure, I don't use that brand.
Matt

 

[t316]

Are you talking about some kind of simple in-line pump, where you can attach an IN hose on one side & an OUT hose on the other, then plug it in and go?

 

[jw1977]

Yes that's what I had in mind. Isn't that what most people do for their water changes?

 

[t316]

I'm still using the mouth/syphon method, but it's getting old. I have looked at Lowe's and Home Depot for a cheap "in-line", but no luck yet. There are plenty of the pond "sump" type pumps out there, but I'm looking for one that you can put a hose on one end, and another on the other end, and not have to submerge the pump. And, BTW, they are out there, I'm just trying not to spend $300 to get it. Surely there are some cheaper models somewhere.

 

[jw1977]

That's why i was asing if the maxijet 120o is capable It's only $30.

 

[trippkid]

Not capable of suction, if that is what you want. I don't see a problem, you are only changing 5 gallons you say. So you siphon out 5 gallons the old fashion way or if you want just attach the PH head to the hose 1/2", put it in the tank turn the PH on for like 2 seconds, your siphon is started. When done, just put the pump in the bucket and the other end of the hose in the tank, start the pump. It should take less than 10 min. Most of our pumps in the hobby are not capable of drawing water(not pushing) out with out being primed first via a siphon. They need to be flooded, not neccessarily submerged, but water at the intake, to work. No high flow suction pump that I know of for this use. Sorry, good luck finding what you want.

Matt

 

[mikeyjer]

A Rio-1700 would work great for that application running at $34.99 I do the samething, but I change a lot more then just 5 gallons at a time and with 3 tanks, it's back breaking.....Don't get no slow pumps like maxi-jet 1200, it's going to take forever to do. I use the pump to mix water and to pump water into my tank system. I used to use a Rio until it broke, I got it used so it was about done I guess. Got a different pump, hated it since it's soooooooooooo slow, time to get another Rio. I wouldn't use a Rio for in-tank use though, they're known to breakdown, but for that price, can't beat it for water mix and changes......