PUMPS................

[Sayhi2steve]

Hi everyone. Has now come time to purchase a pump for my wet/dry filter so went poking around.... I can get a Eheim 1060 which pumps about 2260ltrs/hr (600 gallons) for $245. Not bad I thought, But then I found a SICCE SUPREMA which pumps 4000ltrs/hr (1000 gallons) for the same price or so close its not worth mentioning. Now I have heard that Eheim are very good pumps but know nothing about SICCE their web site says that they are awesome but all websites say that there products are awesome. Does anyone know anything about SICCE quality if so can you let me know also which pump do ya recon would be better for my 150 gallon aquarium I like the sound of the higher turnover but am unsure about the brand. If it does twice as much for half the price does that mean its crap or am I just paying heaps for the Eheim name.

Thanks for any Help and sorry this is such a Book of a message.

[Caryl]

I don't know about that particular pump but SICCE (Pronounced Sitchee I believe - Italian) have been around for many years so must have something going for them.

I used to have one of their internal canisters and it worked excellently, until I loaned it to someone who managed to burn the motor out due to neglect.

Have a look at the filters you are considering. How solid does the plastic feel? Is it easy to pull apart? How cheap, or easy to get, are replacement bits? Some of the cheaper brands are made out of thinner plastic and it is easy to break the clips and other fiddly bits.

I think Masterpet are the agents for SICCE in NZ but don't quote me on that.

[Rob]

Sicce seem to be pretty reliable - the LFS uses ancient Sice hang on the back filters - their rep was amazed to see so many in use as that particular type hasn't been produced for years.

I've only had one problem with my Sicce Genio 3 canister filter - the primer mechanism was vibrating really badly (didn't know it was that at the time - went through the hassle of new impellor, trying to get a new impellor shaft etc - finally pulled the head unit apart, saw a pile of wear debri by the primer - replaced the primer with a rubber bung and everything was back to it's normal quiet self).

One comment from the LFS is that Sicce magnetic impellors wear quite badly. The LFS stocks hardly any repalcement impellors on the shelf EXCEPT Sicce which he has quite a range of.

[Ira]

Another thing to think about is that the bigger pump probably uses a LOT more power. I looked at a couple pumps a few days ago and the one rated at 2000 liters/hour was rated at about 90 watts and the 4000 liter one was about 250 watts. That's a difference of about $10 per month in electricity for the larger pump. Just something you might want to consider.

[Shilo]

Just another option:

Instead of using one big pump, why not 2 or more smaller ones? You can pick up a 1000ltr submersable for <$50. 4000ltr will only be $200 and you get the added peice of mind that if one stops you will still have 3 or more working as a back ups.

May not be suitable for your system, but what happens if the one large pump stops when you are away for a few days? I'm not sure if the running costs of using many small pumps will be more or equal to a single one. Head height may also be a factor.

Cheers

Shilo

[Ira]

The two pumps I mentioned before were both the same brand, just different models, and it definitely looked like the smaller pump was much more efficient. Put out about twice the flow per watt. So, I'd guess that most pumps would be more efficient when smaller. At least as far as aquarium pumps go.

[Warren]

Here's my 2 cents worth since I've used both those pumps and lots more:

Eheim are excelent pumps. They are realatively quiet and are like the old HQ holden ute, - it just keeps on going.

Sicce are definately cheaper. They are usually a lot noisier although that does seem to very from pump to pump. They do not last as long with 3-5 years being their usual life expectancy depending on how well you maintain it.

Grundfos are excelent pumps. I'm using 2 FP4 pumps that are 100W 6000L/hour. They are dead silent, yes they are, the fluro balasts hum loader than the pump and you have to put your ear against the tank to hear that. Sadly, Grunfos sold the license for these pump to Oase who now manufacture them. Why sadly, well the FP4 used to cost approx $300.00, but now it costs $1200.00. Still very good pumps but they have now priced themselves out of the market. My 2 pumps are both 7 years old and have run 24/7 for the entire time, and still going strong...

I've also got a 350W sump pump in my fishroom pumping approx 20000L/hr through approx 4000L of tanks (well till Sunday anyway, - then I'm moving it!). The sump pump is quite noisy, but then its not designed to be quiet, just a cheap old sump pump. It was $275.00. It uses about $400.00 in power each year however.

Hagen Aquaclear Powerheads seem to be pretty good too. They are fairly quiet, relatively cheap and seem to last a long time.

If you've got the Eheim 1060, then you've got a good pump. Provided you do not have to much head on the pump (less than 1m) it should pump plenty for 150Gals (550L). Its probably only going to pump 1600-1800L/hr but thats 3-4 times and hour. If you want more, I'd get another Eheim.