Dolphin Pumps

[Gentleman]

Has anyone tried the Dolphin brand pump? http://www.marinedepot.com/a_ph_dolphin.asp
They seem really nice and cheap. Are they any known or common problems with these? I am looking to upgrade my pump right now. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Graystar]

Well, the DP-270 does 270GPH at 5.8Ft. 5.8 ft is just over 69 inches. The Maxi-Jet 1200 does 295 GPH, has a head of 69 in, and usually cost about 18-19 bucks. The Maxi-Jet is also much smaller. The 385 seems on par with a Danner Mag 3. I think a few people have said the Dolphins are loud.

I know Dolphin makes good industrial pumps. Don't know the quality of these little pumps though.

[Animal982]

Cant remember where I read it but people said the Dolphin pumps were quite a bit louder than other pumps used in watercooling.

[Soja]

Someone mentioned modding the impeller for quieter operation. Search "dolphin" and I'm sure it'll come up.

[JFettig]

Dolfin pumps are really loud, I have a 385 and its like the impeller rattles on the shaft or something.

Jon

[kusojiji]

do the impeller mod like the via 1300. my 3 year old son pointed that one out to me.

the 385 pumps a lot of water but is relatively loud. it blows the eheim 1048 away in volume and pressure, but the noise might be a problem.

I had the 560 (died) and have a 650 and another 385. I'm going to use the 385 in a rack, so the noise won't be an issue. the 650 is probably going to help my fish swim.

i can do a side by side comparison between the 385 and the 1048 for noise and let you know.

[kusojiji]

okay, ran my dolphin 385 against my eheim 1048. I set them up similarly, with 3/4 inch inputs and 1/2 inch output. I only had a one gallon container of water, so I didn't have a lot of time to really be thorough.

The dolphin pumps a lot more than the eheim. In fact, the gallon container was empty before I could get the air out and keep the pump from sucking in more. I did get a second of no air and got the pump to quiet down, but it was still noisier than the eheim.

The dp385 has a 3/4 inch inlet and a 1/2 inch outlet. For the eheim, I took the inlet barb off and put the 3/4 inch hose directly on the inlet. Fits like a glove.

I'm going to further test these two with a bigger water supply later.