Iwaki MD series & OR6500

[gp2700]

Hi,

1) I'm looking at buying a pump or 2 for my setup (currently a 4x2x2 - plans to upgrade to 5x2.5x2.5 or 6x2x2 eventually)

I've more or less narrowed down my choices to the Iwaki and OceanRunner as my return pump, which would be a better choice for current and future needs?

Below is a chart with the estimated tank capacity and the corresponding flow turnover rate.

Tank Capacity (liters) 10x 15x 20x

4x2x2 453 4,531 6,796 9,061

5x2.5x2.5 885 8,849 13,274 17,698

6x2.5x2.5 1,062 10,619 15,928 21,238

2) I also have a 4ft tall dual beckett that I plan to utilize but it came without a pump; someone did suggest to me to use the MD-55 for the dual becketts. What do you think? Would it be crazy to run 2 x MD-55 or 2 x OR6500 to feed the becketts ? Or use 1 x MD-1000 to feed both becketts at the same time?

I made a little table for comparison.( Cost not included cos I've not found the costing yet)

Liters/Min Liters/Hr Pwr (W) Max Head (m) Liter/W Cost of running 24x7x30days

OR6500 108 6,500 95 4 68 $15.64

MD-55R 70 4,200 170 8 25 $27.99

MD-70R 97 5,820 365 10 16 $60.10

MD-100R 135 8,100 365 12 22 $60.10

The last column, describes how many liters of water is moved per hour per watt. i.e OR6500 specs is 6500l/hr divided by 95watts. It seems that the OR6500 is more energy efficient at moving the water but at the expense of lesser head. If water movement is critical and there's very little vertical height, joints & bends, 2 x OR6500 (theoretically 13,00liters/hr) would be better for water circulation than 1 x MD-100R?

3) If I got any of the facts, figures or theory wrong, please feel free to correct me. Thanks !

[arcanehacker]

OR pumps are not meant for becketts, just to let you know.. its not meant to withstand the back pressure.

Iwaki pumps are the more common ones used. I think most will use the 70 or 100 to power the 2 beckett heads..

Regards to your return pump, I find the or6500 is just good enough for a 4x2x2. If you plan to keep that for a future upgrade, it wouldn't do.. I'm using or6500 and or3500 for returns on my 4x2.5x2.5.

[reefer guy]

can't compare OR to Iwaki -- even water displacement of OR is rated higher, Iwaki will do better taking into account the head loss, pipe bends and such as iwaki pumps are pressure rated.

[gp2700]

Hm.... this is gonna be baaaaad for my wallet

Thanks for the advice guys, looks like it's gonna be a Iwaki for me.

Any idea where can I get the Iwaki 100 at the best price ?

[Solo77]

bro, why dont u consider the new reef octopus pump, looks good and reasonable price. Low power consumption also. Just my suggestion. Good day.

Hm.... this is gonna be baaaaad for my wallet

Thanks for the advice guys, looks like it's gonna be a Iwaki for me.

Any idea where can I get the Iwaki 100 at the best price ?

[gp2700]

hi bro solo,

do you mean the HY5000W ? As a circulation pump ? Hm... will look into that pump too, thanks !

[Solo77]

yes, the pump looks like red dragon pump and power consumption is low. Price is not steep. Only problem is durability and reliability. Hence, if you are willing to give it a try, i suggest either you run on 2 return or get the adaptor, etc ready if the pump fails. So far, i think ehiem is one of the most reliable pump. Personally, i run one ehiem just for backup and got several ehiem pumps to act as standby. If you want AB5000, i may have one to let go....lol. All the best bro and do give a review on reef octopus pump if you are using. Reefer who used their new bubble blastor pump for skimmer gives good review. Cheers.

[gp2700]

Ok guys, I think i found another alternative pump for the dual becketts - Sequence Reeflo Pump Hammerhead from RD. Anyone using this pump? It seems pretty popular with the American reefers...

[arcanehacker]

Ok guys, I think i found another alternative pump for the dual becketts - Sequence Reeflo Pump Hammerhead from RD. Anyone using this pump? It seems pretty popular with the American reefers...

Did you do your calculation of upfront price vs electrical consumption over x number of yrs?

[divinesloth]

I'm looking at the Reef Octo 5000 or 7000 pump for my new 4x2x2 as well. The low power consumption sure looks good to me. However there are not much information on it yet so I'm alittle hesitant.

yes, the pump looks like red dragon pump and power consumption is low. Price is not steep. Only problem is durability and reliability. Hence, if you are willing to give it a try, i suggest either you run on 2 return or get the adaptor, etc ready if the pump fails. So far, i think ehiem is one of the most reliable pump. Personally, i run one ehiem just for backup and got several ehiem pumps to act as standby. If you want AB5000, i may have one to let go....lol. All the best bro and do give a review on reef octopus pump if you are using. Reefer who used their new bubble blastor pump for skimmer gives good review. Cheers.

[gp2700]

nope, not on the Hammerhead yet. The power consumption seems heavier, if I recall correctly.

I've emailed Iwaki asking where I can get their pumps 3 days ago but till date no reply. I'll probably give them a call when I'm out of office later.

Oh, choices and choices.

[reefer guy]

iwaki singapore's retail price is high; i've inquired about an md20 years ago which will cost me a few hundreds.... seen a bro selling his md55 online, you might wanna check it out. in my experience, when it comes to return and skimmer pumps, i'd go for something reliable -- iwaki or eheim..... i did ran my tank before when i was new in reefing with a less expensive return, it died out while i was away. flooded floor and dead livestocks, much more expensive than investing on reliable equipments.

[arcanehacker]

iwaki singapore's retail price is high; i've inquired about an md20 years ago which will cost me a few hundreds.... seen a bro selling his md55 online, you might wanna check it out. in my experience, when it comes to return and skimmer pumps, i'd go for something reliable -- iwaki or eheim..... i did ran my tank before when i was new in reefing with a less expensive return, it died out while i was away. flooded floor and dead livestocks, much more expensive than investing on reliable equipments.

+1 to that.

Look for models and brands that have been proven.

And cheaper alternative is good.. initially.. until it starts creating issues later..

[gp2700]

I just got the pricing of a Iwaki 100 ... it's enough to make me fall off my chair (very close to 4 digit figure).

What if ..... I draw water straight from the main tank using 2 x Rio 32HF to feed the dual becketts, would that work ? Of cos there will be some kind of barrier between the pumps and fish (am thinking egg crate now) . So far my small beckett is running fine with a 26HF in the sump.

If this can work, for the price of a Iwaki 100, I can have about 8pcs of 32HFs as standby incase the 1st pair breaks down ....

And assuming if the 32HF draws 120watts each, 2 of them will draw about 240w.... still lower than a Iwaki 100's 380watts!

The only constraint I can think of right now would be space and the fishes will probably steer clear from the 2 pumps and stay at the other side of the tank.

Have I missed anything?

[arcanehacker]

I just got the pricing of a Iwaki 100 ... it's enough to make me fall off my chair (very close to 4 digit figure).

What if ..... I draw water straight from the main tank using 2 x Rio 32HF to feed the dual becketts, would that work ? Of cos there will be some kind of barrier between the pumps and fish (am thinking egg crate now) . So far my small beckett is running fine with a 26HF in the sump.

If this can work, for the price of a Iwaki 100, I can have about 8pcs of 32HFs as standby incase the 1st pair breaks down ....

And assuming if the 32HF draws 120watts each, 2 of them will draw about 240w.... still lower than a Iwaki 100's 380watts!

The only constraint I can think of right now would be space and the fishes will probably steer clear from the 2 pumps and stay at the other side of the tank.

Have I missed anything?

Draw water from main tank? You do not have a sump? Actually you can use the Rio 32HF externally. I have personally done it before.. and also for use on a beckett..

[teebs]

I just got the pricing of a Iwaki 100 ... it's enough to make me fall off my chair (very close to 4 digit figure).

What if ..... I draw water straight from the main tank using 2 x Rio 32HF to feed the dual becketts, would that work ? Of cos there will be some kind of barrier between the pumps and fish (am thinking egg crate now) . So far my small beckett is running fine with a 26HF in the sump.

If this can work, for the price of a Iwaki 100, I can have about 8pcs of 32HFs as standby incase the 1st pair breaks down ....

And assuming if the 32HF draws 120watts each, 2 of them will draw about 240w.... still lower than a Iwaki 100's 380watts!

The only constraint I can think of right now would be space and the fishes will probably steer clear from the 2 pumps and stay at the other side of the tank.

Have I missed anything?

U tried askimg around for the Resun models? As far as I know, Resun also has pressure rated pumps.

[gp2700]

Draw water from main tank? You do not have a sump? Actually you can use the Rio 32HF externally. I have personally done it before.. and also for use on a beckett..

I have a sump tank but in order to maximize the flow rate of the pump, I'm thinking of placing the pump in the main tank (or beside) so that the height difference from the water source and the beckett nozzle is not that great.

Using the 32HF as example,

Normal setup - Water flows down to sump from height of 1.5m (estimated) - Pump push water up (1.5m) - resulting in lesser pressure @ beckett nozzle

Modified setup - Water is pumped from main tank (maybe external overflow MIGHT be good here to avoid drilling holes in the main tank) directly to beckett nozzle. Height difference is probably about 50cm or so since it's a 4ft tall skimmer.

Just have to ensure the overflow compartment can supply enough water for the skimmer to work... That seems to translate into one big powerful return pump eventually.

Would this idea work ?

[arcanehacker]

I'm no expert in piping and waterflow but it looks like you are drawing water from main tank and output back to your sump? How are you gonna control your water flow back? Wouldn't you get a flood in your sump? Even if you get an equalibrum in both pump flows, if your return pump were to fail, you'll be finding your fishes flipping in the main tank..

[gp2700]

Wait ... I got it wrong.

A 32HF at 0" height provides 8000liters per hour, 7300 liters per hour @ 1ft (30cm), 5700 liters per hour @ 4ft (1200cm).

A Iwaki 100 provides 135liters per minute (8100liters per hour)

So I can use 1 x 32HF (instead of 2) in the modified setup to substitute the Iwaki 100, the flow rate should be about 6000+liters per hour, enough to drive the dual becketts.

I think I can probably design a circuit to work around the pump failures. I've been toying around with the idea of putting 2 pumps as the return pumps in the sump, 1 running 24x7 and the other on standby. If Pump A fails, Pump B should automatically switch on take over. Then as a safety feature, the skimmer pump should be switched off if BOTH return pumps fail.

Good thing is, this is for a future tank so I've plenty of time of get the circuits right ... bad side is, I'm sooooo out of time at work

[arcanehacker]

sounds complicated.. Keep it simple bro..

[reefer guy]

i'd suggest just get one iwaki 100 pump; tee it off to run your protein skimmer and as return pump. I can't guarantee you that iwaki pump won't fail but chances are unlikely and you dont have to bother about having a reserve pump. keep your setup simple as the more complicated it gets the more chances you will run into problems.