Im looking into using a storage tank for water changes. Tring to gravity feed water from a 5g bucket is getting old. Plus I know the advantages of storing water. What im looking for is a submersible pump to pump the water from the 55g drum to the tank 50 feet away. I was looking at MAG pumps. But I dont know how big of one I need. Can someone shine some light on this subject. Or show me another option.
submersible pumps
- Thread starter hawkeye01
- Start date
uugh , i recall reading that pumps have a certain head pressure ,,meaning 50ft will send water to your tank at the pumps indicated rating. Less than 50ft and it will send water more slowly.
someone correct if im worng :duh:
someone correct if im worng :duh:
Last edited:
how fast do you need?
We need an idea of what sort of volume and speed you want. How much water are you moving at one time, how long do you want it to take? What size hose will you use? There is a site I found that had pump and fluid flow calculations for aquarium uses that wil tell you the equivalent head for various diameters of tubing and elbows. As I recall, the two elbows I has added almost 2 feet of head, I don't recall what the tubing itself was worth. I don't appear to have that site bookmarked so I'll need to look for it.
For example, I have a Via Aqua 1300 ($18.00) that pumps 370 gph at zero head and 120 gph at 5'. I used it to lift water from a bucket on the floor to the rim of a tank at 5' and through 2 90 degree turns. It was a bit slow at 5' so I bought a QuietOne 3000 ($41.00) that does about 525 gph at 5'. I never set up that one, as I decided to quit aging water (it was just too ugly for the kitchen).
You can find the charts for the pumps online at various stores.
As I recall, using the Mag pumps, I was choosing between and mag 5 and a mag 7, you probably want the 7 with that extra line you have. just start with the end point you want, as in 20 gallons in 4 minutes or whatever is reasonable, then work backwards adding up the equivalent head. Then take the gph and the head to the flow charts to find your pump.
We need an idea of what sort of volume and speed you want. How much water are you moving at one time, how long do you want it to take? What size hose will you use? There is a site I found that had pump and fluid flow calculations for aquarium uses that wil tell you the equivalent head for various diameters of tubing and elbows. As I recall, the two elbows I has added almost 2 feet of head, I don't recall what the tubing itself was worth. I don't appear to have that site bookmarked so I'll need to look for it.
For example, I have a Via Aqua 1300 ($18.00) that pumps 370 gph at zero head and 120 gph at 5'. I used it to lift water from a bucket on the floor to the rim of a tank at 5' and through 2 90 degree turns. It was a bit slow at 5' so I bought a QuietOne 3000 ($41.00) that does about 525 gph at 5'. I never set up that one, as I decided to quit aging water (it was just too ugly for the kitchen).
You can find the charts for the pumps online at various stores.
As I recall, using the Mag pumps, I was choosing between and mag 5 and a mag 7, you probably want the 7 with that extra line you have. just start with the end point you want, as in 20 gallons in 4 minutes or whatever is reasonable, then work backwards adding up the equivalent head. Then take the gph and the head to the flow charts to find your pump.
I use 55 gallon drums to age my water before changes, and to collect the water that I've siphoned off during water changes.
I use a Mag Drive 3 for churning the barrel while aging the water. I use a Mag Drive 7 for pumping the water from the barrels into the tanks for water changes. I then use a Mag Drive 24 to pump the waste water up from the basement and out onto the gardens.
They're a great line of pumps.
I use a Mag Drive 3 for churning the barrel while aging the water. I use a Mag Drive 7 for pumping the water from the barrels into the tanks for water changes. I then use a Mag Drive 24 to pump the waste water up from the basement and out onto the gardens.
They're a great line of pumps.
Agreed on Danner Mag-Drive pumps. IMHO they are very well designed and constructed, very easy to service, and also offer one of the best pressure versus volume pump curves of any submersible aquarium pumps (and particularly versus physical size). I use a Mag-Drive 7 submerged in my 55 gal tank as the circ pump for my modular filters, and both the pump and its foam intake strainer works fantastic.
Danner Mag-Drive pumps basically have two body sizes in the flow range you're talking about, with the 2 thru 7 being in the smaller body and with the 9 and up being in the larger body. Because of the equivalent head loss of 50ft of 5/8 tubing, because the pump's physical size won't matter to your garbage can, and because it will save you a couple of minutes every time you change tank water, I'd recommend spending the extra $8 or whatever to get the 9 instead of the 7.
Danner Mag-Drive pumps basically have two body sizes in the flow range you're talking about, with the 2 thru 7 being in the smaller body and with the 9 and up being in the larger body. Because of the equivalent head loss of 50ft of 5/8 tubing, because the pump's physical size won't matter to your garbage can, and because it will save you a couple of minutes every time you change tank water, I'd recommend spending the extra $8 or whatever to get the 9 instead of the 7.
Last edited:
