Iwaki WMD 20RLT as circ pump?

[Modo]

I was checking out the Comparison Chart on the Championlighting website.

Looking at the specs of the Iwaki 20RLT vs the Little Giant 2MDQ both are very similar pressure rated pumps. The cost for the Iwaki is about $30 more, but it only uses 52 watts vs the LG at 184 watts. The GPH is about
the same on each. The Iwaki is rated at 492@0' and the LG is rated 465@3'.

The other major difference that I can see is that the input/output of the Iwaki is 3/4" and Little Giant is 1/2".

Do you see a benefit of using one over the other? Will the 3/4" plumbing be a problem when reduced down? Electricity is a factor in my setup and the less I use the better. Please let me know what you guys think.

-Kurt

 

[Casie]

Heeeey Modo!

Great find and nice question. I would also love to go with a Iwaki pump. I'm looking forward to hearing more about reducing the fitting.

Can't we just get the 3/4" female threaded to a 1/2" male threaded adapter? Short and sweet!

 

[fergy]

Yep, it will work fine.

BRIAN
_________________
gremlin strain

 

[Casie]

sweeet!

Thanks for the confirmation Fergy. =)

 

[fergy]

In fact, I'd like to use them on my products, but customers are cheap.

;-)

BRIAN
_________________
pot joints

 

[Modo]

Glad I was prowlin'. Thanks for the tips.

 

[msorenson]

Did anyone buy this pump?

~ Mark

 

[Modo]

I haven't bought it yet. But, it is definately the one I am going to use on my reactor.

 

[Unresistible Blue]

Where did anyone end up finding the best price on the circulation pumps (iwaki or otherwise)?

Russ

 

[Snowman]

The best price I have found is from Jeff's Exotic Fish, he has a sale of %15 off all Iwaki pumps. MD20RLT $144 - %15, WMD20RLT $130 - %15, I bought a MD55RLT to use on the up comming skimmer and had great service from them. I think that I have heard of some having trouble but I have ordered three times and all went well. If anyone knows of a better price please let me know. The MD is the designator for the Japanese motor and the WMD is American made, IMO the MD is worth the extra few $$. Snowman

 

[Modo]

At http://www.championlighting.com they have the Iwaki WMD20RLT for $104 and the MD20RLT for $160. That's the cheapest I have found for the American made, but I would imagine you can find a better deal on the MD like Snowman found above.

 

[Unresistible Blue]

Any opinions on using an Eheim 1250 on one of the larger reactors? I found them for $63.50 at criticool.com

Russ

 

[fergy]

They work also. And they are pretty good, for a powerhead. The Little Giants and Iwakis are real pumps, so kinda of in a different class. However, with the Eheim, you can set the reactor in your sump.

BRIAN
_________________
African Forum

 

[mattboy]

I just bought one of the new blueline HD pumps to use in a closed loop. Apparently, they're very similar to the japanese iwakis. Usually I'm a bit skeptical about blueline stuff, but this pump looks to be very well made, and quite a bit cheaper than the iwakis. I have not yet set up my new system, so I can't comment on it otherwise. For the skimmer, I'm thinking about a quiet one. Anybody have any experience with these?

Matt

Oh yeah, regarding the larger eheim, it's actually easier to modify for the reactor than the smaller one. I wish I had bought it instead. A lot of commercial reactors use this pump, FWIW. I got one for an 18" reactor I'm building for a friend.

 

[Unresistible Blue]

How do you modify what look to be slip fittings on the Eheim to change them to standard 1/2" or 3/4" NPT fittings?

 

[mattboy]

I'm pretty sure on the larger eheim (300gph) the inlet is a 1/2" female thread if you remove the hose barb. So, for that side, you just use a 1/2" close nipple and you're done. On the output side, you need a 3/8" close nipple and a 3/8" to 1/2" bushing. At least that's what I remember; I haven't built that reactor yet. For the smaller one (175gph) that I used on my 12" reactor, you do the 3/8" close nipple and 3/8" to 1/2" bushing on the inlet. On the output, you need a 1/4" to 1/2" bushing, or you can just put the 3/8" to 1/2" bushing right on the threads on the hose barb. That's what I did. You have to grind away the "nut" part of the bushing on the inlet to get it to fit.

Matt