Sequence pump, too good to be true?

[kimoyo]

I got a sequence hammerhead for my tank the other day. Its replacing a pump that I had a lot of trouble with, noisy and not powerful. The first thing I noticed about the pump is that its really quiet. Its not silent (you can still hear the fan) but it has a hum on the level of my computer. Maybe its because of the screeching of my last pump thats making me so happy with the noise of this pump. The next thing is that its extremely powerful. Its running my skimmer and return with leftover.

Now they advertise that it uses about 350W so I hooked up to my cyberpower backup to see how much power it was drawing. I think i have around 15' of head pressure on my system and it was measuring around 248W. If its only using 248W that would really be awesome, but could my cyberpower be wrong?

 

[regal]

My baracuda draws about 350w when i hooked it up with my inverter. I think the hammerhead draws more energy than that.

 

[cali_reef]

Its probably not that far off. Becketts have huge back pressure so your power draw should be lower because the lower flow.

 

[techreef]

holy smokes, i hope this is all true. I am about to fire up a new Sequence Marlin pump. Would love to hear - nothing!

 

[kimoyo]

My baracuda draws about 350w when i hooked it up with my inverter. I think the hammerhead draws more energy than that.

The hammerhead does draw more energy, hammerhead - 350W, barracuda - 325W.

 

[ShaunW]

That's alot of watts for a main pump = big electric bill! What about heat output, is there any?

 

[kimoyo]

Its probably not that far off. Becketts have huge back pressure so your power draw should be lower because the lower flow.

If it is then I'm really happy. I'm going to call sequence in a little bit but from the flow chart @ 250W I'm only supposed to be getting 600gph which is not the case.

 

[scarf_ace1981]

kimoyo what size tank you running this on?

 

[kimoyo]

holy smokes, i hope this is all true. I am about to fire up a new Sequence Marlin pump. Would love to hear - nothing!

I have the pump sitting on 3/4" silcone gel and its attached to the bulkhead with one of those rubber clamp things called plumbqwik at home depot. This elminates most vibration transfer. I have an open stand also, but all you hear is a hum which you can't hear if you have a fan on.

 

[kimoyo]

That's alot of watts for a main pump = big electric bill! What about heat output, is there any?

@ $0.20 a KWH, 250W running 24/7 is around $36.50 a month, 350W running 24/7 is around $51 a month, I'm really hoping it is 250W. But how much heat it gives off is very important to me. I like the sequence (dolphin or whoever) design where they physically seperate the motor from the wet end (impeller housing). I had to change my plumbing around last night so I couldn't test it to see how much heat it adds but I will tonight and let you guys know. But it was worth changing pumps for the noise reduction to me.

 

[PVsPlayhouse]

I got a sequence hammerhead for my tank the other day. Its replacing a pump that I had a lot of trouble with, noisy and not powerful. The first thing I noticed about the pump is that its really quiet. Its not silent (you can still hear the fan) but it has a hum on the level of my computer. Maybe its because of the screeching of my last pump thats making me so happy with the noise of this pump. The next thing is that its extremely powerful. Its running my skimmer and return with leftover.

Now they advertise that it uses about 350W so I hooked up to my cyberpower backup to see how much power it was drawing. I think i have around 15' of head pressure on my system and it was measuring around 248W. If its only using 248W that would really be awesome, but could my cyberpower be wrong?

[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Sequence reef flo pumps like the Dart, Hammerhead and Barracuda all can be turned down and they will use less watts. I believe that the Hammerhead and Barracuda can be turned down 45% and use that less Watts as well. weather you turn it down or you loss it with pipe size or head you will use less watts. Dart can only be turned down 20%. I dont even know my Dart is on it is so quiat.[/FONT]

 

[kimoyo]

kimoyo what size tank you running this on?

4'*2'*2', but its pushing a 5' dual beckett skimmer and acting as a return.

 

[kimoyo]

[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Sequence reef flo pumps like the Dart, Hammerhead and Barracuda all can be turned down and they will use less watts. I believe that the Hammerhead and Barracuda can be turned down 45% and use that less Watts as well. weather you turn it down or you loss it with pipe size or head you will use less watts. Dart can only be turned down 20%. I dont even know my Dart is on it is so quiat.[/FONT]

Thanks for the numbers!

 

[pecan2phat]

I hate to ask if the "noisy & not much flow pump" being replaced, if it was the Tunze Master Recirc pump?

 

[kimoyo]

I hate to ask if the "noisy & not much flow pump" being replaced, if it was the Tunze Master Recirc pump?

Well, whatever pump it is I'm shipping it down to Texas today and haven't got a refund for it yet, so :shhh:.

I spoke with sequence and they said the 248W sounds reasonable in my situation. They also told me that I could cycle the pump on and off as long as I don't get extreme (like every few minutes). I told him on & off twice a day and he said the pump should have no issues. This is really cool because with my controller I don't have to run it 24/7 if I want.

I'm actually really happy about this because I've been really heated the last few weeks in regards to my pump situation.

 

[Deanos]

They also told me that I could cycle the pump on and off as long as I don't get extreme (like every few minutes). I told him on & off twice a day and he said the pump should have no issues. This is really cool because with my controller I don't have to run it 24/7 if I want.

Paul, if the Sequence is also running your return, why are planning on cycling the pump on and off? :scratch:

 

[techreef]

kimoyo, could you describe (or better yet post a pic and vendor) the 3/4" silicone gel you've got your pump sitting on? if your pump is like mine, it's got a metal bracket on the bottom that I figured was for fastening the pump to something stable. It's also uneven, because the end w/ the impeller is huge (around 12" diameter) and sticks down a little lower than this metal bracket on the other, motor end of the pump. A picture of your setup would be awesome.

 

[techreef]

Re: cycling on and off

Probably turning it off to feed his tank, like w/ the ReefKeeper2's feed mode.

 

[kimoyo]

Paul, if the Sequence is also running your return, why are planning on cycling the pump on and off? :scratch:

If I wanted to save on electricity. I have an acII with my temp and ph probe inside the tank and not the sump. My chiller is a drop-in and the pump feeds the skimmer and return. With the acII I can have the pump turn on and off at certain times but it can override those settings if the temp gets to high and turn back on so the chiller or heater can function. So with the probes inside the tank there isn't any issue with the pump being off.

Then there is the issue of skimming 24/7 but the cycling on and off is just an idea right now.

 

[kimoyo]

kimoyo, could you describe (or better yet post a pic and vendor) the 3/4" silicone gel you've got your pump sitting on? if your pump is like mine, it's got a metal bracket on the bottom that I figured was for fastening the pump to something stable. It's also uneven, because the end w/ the impeller is huge (around 12" diameter) and sticks down a little lower than this metal bracket on the other, motor end of the pump. A picture of your setup would be awesome.

I've used silicone for pump vibration isolation in experiments. I got the stuff for my pump at mcmaster-carr. I can't link directly to it but you got to www.mcmaster.com and search for '1782T34' which is the Ultra-Elastic Clear Gel Rubber, 1/4" Thick, 12" X 12". I also got the 1/2" thick piece and stacked them on top of the plywood. Total they cost me $40 but I haven't found anything else that comes close to stopping the vibrations from going to the plywood. You could feel the plywood next to the gel and not feel any vibrations. I'm going to post pictures eventually.