I need a quiet pump

[Chipdog1]

I am looking for a near silent pump for a 135 gallon reef. I have run a Dolphin, little giant and quiet one. The Quiet One was great for the noise level but I went through 4 in just a few months. The Dolphin was the first and it was way too loud and the Little Giant is on now and it is too loud also.
The tank is in a TV room and my roommate has dropped a lot of money on his sound system and wants the tank gone if I cant get it quiet.

Please help

 

[Brian5000]

I don't know how the pumps in your tank compares, but I use Mag drives in mine (12 and 9.5). I think I get more noise from water trickle than I do from the pumps. They still give an audible hum from behind my cabinet doors, but it quickly gets drown out by my super cheapo TV audio.
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Percodan Rehab Forum

 

[Len]

Hi. The Quiet One and Velocity pumps are quiet, but like you, mine kept breaking. The Sequence DART can be quiet as well. I've enjoyed my Panworlds. Once you get them on rubber mats, the fan noise is quite acceptable.

 

[TheJGMProject]

tell your roomy that fish and corals are more important than that stereo system :lol:

I hope everything works out!!

 

[Chipdog1]

when the main speakers cost more then my car its hard to make that point....

I have used mag drives before but I would think it would take the 36 and that one makes a racket.

keep them coming please

 

[Anonymous]

wow what are you guys doing to destroy these quiet one pumps? Mine has been going strong for 3 years now, granted some maintenance is always needed but yikes! 4 in a few months?

 

[trido]

when the main speakers cost more then my car its hard to make that point....

I have used mag drives before but I would think it would take the 36 and that one makes a racket.

keep them coming please

Do you really need over 3000GPH of return pump? MY mag 18 seems pretty quiet as a return pump and is almost too much for my whimpy little sump to handle without microbubbles in the display.

You should let your room mate know that you both have your hobbies and the stereo can simply drown out the sound of a return pump. Or maybe it isnt all that? His/hers may sound cool but im sure yours looks much better. Why should the stereo take priority over a reef tank?

 

[Chipdog1]

main reason for the sound system to take priority is it is his house. :wink:
Either way I need a quiet pump

One of the problems with mag drives is that they are hit or miss. Some run silent and some clack like its thier job.

Any other great pumps?

 

[bleedingthought]

Is this a return pump or a closed loop pump? What size are you looking for? If it's not too big I'll go ahead and put in a vote for the sequence dart.

But as far as Mag drives go, I have a mag 5, a mag 7, and a mag 9.5 and the noise level for them is pretty acceptable, in my opinion.

 

[Chipdog1]

it is a return pump.
I was thinking I needed something around 1000gph @ 5'

 

[bleedingthought]

Internal or external? If the latter, Panworld pumps might work for you.

 

[Chipdog1]

whatever makes less noise

 

[ChrisRD]

One possible option for an external would be an Iwaki MD30RLXT. IIRC they're fanless (might want to confirm that) and IMO would provide enough sump turnover for a tank that size (although it would fall a bit short of the 1000 GPH @ 5' target). It would be an energy efficient solution too and shouldn't heat the water significantly.

I'm using the equivalent PanWorld for a return on my 180 and I'm satisfied with the amount of flow (I prefer to avoid high flow rates through the sump). The PanWorld version is cheaper and is an excellent pump IME, but it's fan cooled (not silent). The Iwakis are a bit pricey, but worth it IMO as they're extremely reliable.

HTH