Pump Sizes

[dean9922]

I have a bit of a dilemna. I started out about 8-10 months ago with one homemade tank I had built. I now am up to 6 tanks and changing water is a pain, as I do it every 2nd day 50%.
My question is, what size of a pump could i use to hook up to my gravel cleaning tube (1/2" tube) to go right to the drain. My tanks are in the basement so I could plumb in a permanent pvc tubing to the drain so I dont have to run back and forth to the sink. I've heard the mag pumps are pretty good and not to expensive.
I want a pump that will flow at about the rate of if I was just siphoning out the tanks as this gives adequate time to do the proper cleaning of substrate and even my bare bottom tanks. Not sure if mag 7 mag 9 or whatever size would work.
Also, if I add two 55 gallon holding tanks, (blue food safe barrel's), how much heat loss do you get with these if I added heaters and airstones to circulate the water. How do other people heat the water???? and do you insulate around the barrels.

pictures would be nice if anyone has some.....
any help would be appreciated.

[Jhhnn]

I don't quite understand... is the drain higher than the tanks? If so, how high from the bottom of the tank?

Definitely insulate the aging barrels. I use white styrofoam underneath, water heater blankets cut to fit around, and a double layer of large cell bubble wrap over the tops... airstones, submersible heaters, pond thermometers suspended through the bung holes... heaters need to be off when out of the water...

Pics and description of my system linked in my thread in pumps and plumbing...

[dean9922]

what I want to do is have a feed tube which will be "near" (central) to the tanks and plumb in some pvc pipe to the floor drain, which would stay there and not be moveable. I would then just stick the cleaning end into whatever tank I need to change the water in and the pump would draw dirty water to the stationary pvc pipe-floor drain. Hoping I can use a quick release type of end to hook and unhook to the drain. I would then use another pump and hose coming off the holding tanks to whatever tank needs filling. Not sure if the pumps are multi directional or not. Maybe I can get by with one pump.Hope this helps clarify what I want to do.....and thank you for the response

[tcyiu]

Sorry, I'm not understanding the setup. Is a siphon not possible? Meaning is the drain at a higher elevation than the tank?

As for refilling from an aging tank, a mag pump would be good. Depending on the length of the hose from the pump and the "head" which is the height the water has be lifted, you will get different flows from the same pump. Manufacturers publish charts and you can use these as guidelines.

See this link as an example: http://www.marinedepot.com/powerheads_pumps_danner_mag_drive_supreme-ap.html

NOTE that I am NOT endorsing this product or vendor. Just using the publish chart in the middle of the page to show what data you should use to size your pump.

Tim

[Jhhnn]

I use these on my tanks-

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5/R-100372238/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

A few pumps on the squeeze bulb gets 'em going, then gravity takes over. They'll accept 1/2" and 5/8" clear vinyl on the outlet tube. A little ingenuity extends the pickup tube to whatever length you need, also adapts it to larger diameter gravel vac attachments. Each tank has its own, plumbed to the drain w/ clear vinyl. You can accomplish the same thing using vinyl and pvc to create a drain manifold. You can speed up the drain process in BB tanks using powerhead pumps attached at a fixed depth in each tank, or by using one of these adjustable depth powerhead safety siphons-

http://www.jehmco.com/html/safety_siphon_aquarium_drain.html

For the barrels, you can cut holes in the tops so submersible pump(s) can fit down inside, stay primed. The barrels can also be joined using uniseals and pvc. Pumping from floor level up to usual tank heights doesn't require really strong pumps. I use mag 9's to pump from the cellar to the tanks, at a head of 10-1/2 ft. They're a lot more pump than you need. One of the mag or pentair submersible pumps in a smaller size would serve your purposes well, and a variety of float valves, etc can make barrel filling more convenient.

[dean9922]

Thanks Jhhnn for the info....I appreciate it....is there any pump size you "do" recommend to do this. My barrels would be about 12ft away(closest tank)-20ft (farthest tank) away from the tanks. Is an internal pump in the barrel easier or can I still use a mag pump????

[Jhhnn]

Thanks Jhhnn for the info....I appreciate it....is there any pump size you "do" recommend to do this. My barrels would be about 12ft away(closest tank)-20ft (farthest tank) away from the tanks. Is an internal pump in the barrel easier or can I still use a mag pump????

The big advantage to submersible pumps is that there are fewer places to leak, and that they're easy to install and service. Cut a hole in the top of the barrel, slide the pump to the bottom on the cord and tubing- done.

My experience with the Danner Mag pumps has been good- they just work. Epoxy filled, one moving part, the magnetic impeller- tough and simple. They're also less expensive than external pumps of the same delivery. I tried using a mag5 as an external pump, but the volute leaked, dripped, when I installed fittings on it- too little clearance from the motor. Submerged, it would have been fine.

Aquaticeco carries their full line. A Mag3 would do, I suspect, but you'd probably be happier with a Mag5. Theirs come with foam prefilters, always a good idea, and they also carry uniseals for joining barrels with pvc pipe, and a variety of float valves and float switches to make barrel filling easier.

Using larger tubing improves delivery, and rigid pvc for long runs is cheaper than vinyl. I like the grey stuff in the electical section at homecenters, particularly the sweep bends, which also help delivery rates. There's also flexible pvc in the irrigation section which uses standard glue fittings- you have to warm it up to keep it from being wild, to soften it up.

The only real limitations are your ingenuity and pocketbook...

[dean9922]

so I bought an external water pump rated for 350 gph and hooked up 1/2" tubing to the intake along with my gravel cleaner and hooked up another 1/2" tube 20 feet long to the drain in the floor. Works awesome!!!!
This will save a lot of time most definitely. I just hooked it up quickley to try the pump out to make sure it worked ok. So the next step will be to use PVC tubing to have a more pemanent setup.
I'm hoping this will cut my cleaning time by 2/3rd's. Just have to get the holding tanks set up to and should be clear
sailing....whoo hoo!!!!!!

[dean9922]

How did I live without a pump this long....wow!!!!!!
1 hour to do all tanks......and that was with still hauling 5 gallon pails to refill...
AWESOME!!!!!!!

All I can say is buy a pump if you have multiple tanks...you won't regret it....

[Apistomaster]

I bought 2 food/beverage safe 55 gallon barrels with removable lids for my RO water storage barrels.
I add enough RO right or equal to raise the TDS from zero to 50 ppm.

I use a 300 watt heater, connected the barrels with barbed fittings at the bottom and use a Quiet One 1200 to circulate water between the barrels so both are kept at the same temperature and facilitate dissolving the RO Right.

I use a MagDrive 9.5 for refilling tanks through 50 feet of RV potable water hose to a maximum height of 6'-8". even these top rows refill quickly. The aquarium end of the hose has some PVC fittings to form an inverted "U" so it will hang on the rim of the tank. I left the final connection as is so I can use interchangeable lengths of PVC 1/2" pipe. I use the same hose as a siphon which can can just run out the door. The intake has a 90* threaded fitting "Ell" which I used to connect to a clear plastic 2-1/2" diameter jar through it's lid. This makes the wide intake parallel to to bottom substrate. The bottom of the jar was removed and then covered with nylon fly screen to prevent small fish from being accidentally sucked out and dumped on the lawn. using the wider mouth prevents harming fry from too strong of a suction against the screening.

With this system I can either refill from the RO reservoir barrels and pump or directly from the faucet fitted with a garden hose thread adapter for the hose.

I also have a separate long flexible plastic tubing 5/8' diameter fitted with a gravel vacuum at one end for those times when I need to siphon accumulated debris or clean the substrate but the above described system is for mainly the routine water changes and isn't intended to clean the substrate. Not all my tanks have any substrate but most that do only have >1/4" thick layer. Many fish that I raise seem to like having some to sift through.

[dean9922]

Hi Apisomaster
thanks for responding.....so you use a 300 watt heater for 2 holding tanks and a pump to circulate to each other. Are your tanks insulated or or they exposed. I didn't think 300w would be enough to heat 110 gallons. That's good news as it will save on heater costs and power consumption. Do you use air stones also....let me know when you have time

[Apistomaster]

Hi Dean,

I literally had to squeeze my 2 55 gal plastic barrels into my bath room and they are not insulated except I did set them on a base of dense 2" styrofoam covered with a piece of 1/2" plywood. I wish I had insulated them when I set them up but the room stays at about 74*F.
My heater is a defective one stuck in the always on state. I only plug it in the night before I plan to draw water from the barrels and they are warmed to 84*F by the next day.

The recirculating pump, is a 300 gallon per hour pump. This circulation prevents thermal stratification and assures the chemistry is the same in both barrels. I do not also run an air stone since I see no particular advantages to do so. There are no fish in the barrels and the circulation is ensuring good contact of all the water with the surface so the dissolved O2 is sufficient.