First water pump

[heezer7]

Any suggestions on a very cheap and small pump for a first time water system. i am looking for something i don't have to order, that i can get at any local store. i am not going for anything huge just simple. any good suggestions?

[ken257]

Stores like Home Depot have some pumps for use in fountains and stuff. You may also try a fish/pet store for some small pumps.

[heezer7]

ok i have been looking around at all those but i was wondering if anyone liked a specific one. oh and do submersable one really raise the tempurature that much? couldn't you motify one to have a inlit?

[MiseryQ]

My first pump, last week, was a pond mag pump... 190 gallon/hr... It was $24.99... I bought it from a pet warehouse that had a large aqarium section... It was'nt enough flow... Took it back planing to upgrade to a 250GPH pond mag pump for $45.99... Then Bob, thanks Bob, showed me the aqarium pumps, the 250GPH was $40.99 and the 350GPH mag was $47.99 guess which one I got...


I guess the moral is to shop around for the best you can afford and try not to get by cheap just because your starting, you'll end up going back and getting the bigger pump anyways...

[ken257]

The thing to watch out for with a submersable is that many of them have to be under water for proper cooling so they will add a little bit of heat but not that much, the rad should pull that heat away without much trouble. But still inline is the way to go. I like Eheim inline pumps the best.

[MiseryQ]

The first pump I got was submersable, and could not be modified for inline use... The 2nd pump can be used both ways... I still have it in the resv though and since it's large I have an elbow on the inlet facing down in case the water does run low...

My temp right now is 4.6c below ambient so I would assume the heat from the pump isn't heating the water that much...

[MiseryQ]

Eheim pumps are about 3times what I paid for mine, ouch... At least that's what Bob told me... Hi Bob...

[heezer7]

ok thats cool about the submersable. most of the ones i have found so far are. the ones with inline are expensive. i also want something small so everything will fit into my case easily.

when it comes to resevoir what is a good amount to be about to store? i am making this so far out of stuff laying around the house. it is kind of ghetto i guess but i think it is going to work pretty good. i just thought about using a 100 cdr spindle or a few other containers. any remarks?

[Newbie_Doo]

I use a Little Giant 80GPH fountain pump (submersible) and it works just fine. The upside is you get more coolant volume (greater thermal storage capacity), the downside is that the pump adds a LITTLE BIT of heat to the system. I average about 9C over ambient on my T-Bird.

[J37X]

I'm also using a little giant fountain pump(567606), 120gph. seems to work alright. it has a little humming sound, is bearly noticable tho.