Little Giant runs hot?

[Jhhnn]

I just set up a reworked (used) 75 gal that has a wet/dry trickle filter, using a Little Giant 3-MDQ-SC pump.

It seems to work fine, but the motor housing is hot enough that I really can't keep my fingers on it for more than a second... I'm not familiar with these pumps... Is this normal or reasonable?

I did disassemble and clean the pump part, and oil the motor as per the instructions on the housing... I didn't realize it was quite so old when I bought the whole shebang- 1992 vintage...

[Jhhnn]

Meh. Can't trust it, and it's a lot more powerful than I need...

Ordered a new Mag 5 from Drs F&S. They sell 3 versions of the same pump, but the pond version is on sale- $10 off... Go figure...

[Jhhnn]

Well, I wasn't happy with the mag 5, at all...

The pump housing is so short and close to the motor housing that there's no room to screw on fittings. And the pump housing deforms easily if you try, meaning it leaks...

Sent that back, got a little giant 2-mdq-sc, and it's noisier than the 1992 vintage 3-mdq-sc, and runs just as hot... even though it has an integral fan.

Any suggestions? I'm thinking of a 3000 series Quiet One from Aquatico, as F&S is out of them...

[tcyiu]

Do you get a hum from the pumps you tried? I have never used wet/dry sumps before. I bought an Eheim 1260 for the one I just set up. It emits a extremely strong hum which can be felt in the adjourning rooms. I'm just wondering if this is par for the course, or if I got a bad unit.

Tim

[Jhhnn]

Do you get a hum from the pumps you tried? I have never used wet/dry sumps before. I bought an Eheim 1260 for the one I just set up. It emits a extremely strong hum which can be felt in the adjourning rooms. I'm just wondering if this is par for the course, or if I got a bad unit.

Tim

Neither the mag or the little giants do a lot of humming. A bit of stiff foam rubber underneath kills it effectively. this new little giant has a very objectionable amount of... whirring, for lack of a better word... it's not motor noise, but rather pump noise...

[tcyiu]

whirring, for lack of a better word... it's not motor noise, but rather pump noise...

Perhaps noise from the water? Sort of like whistling from air movement...

[Jhhnn]

Well, I sent the little giant back to F&S, obtained a Sweetwater W20HD from Aquatico-

https://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/117/Sweetwater-Mag-Drive-Pumps/pumps/4

Not cheap, but so far, so good. Compact and quiet, with a low current draw. Nice pump. I suspect it'll transfer more heat to the water than the little giant, but that's not much of an issue w/ a discus tank. It's actually a re-badged Pan World NH-40PX.

Finally got smart, installed it w/ valves and unions so that I won't have to fight w/ draining the sump to service or change it if necessary...