Any luck with Harbor Freight Pumps used in a sump?

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iDRINKbLEACH

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 31, 2011
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Miami, Florida
I am starting to gather the components for the filtration system for my 225 gallon plywood project. I want to save a bit and try a Harbor Freight pump. I would get the extended warranty to avoid a bit of the risk. It has been hit and miss with Harbor Freight, but with respect to electrical components, I have been pretty satisfied. You just have to realize that it won't be a as good as the "standard" brand (my magnesium cell batter pack drill id good, not as good as my Dewalt but I paid 80 less, and for what I paid for it I consider it a value).

What are experiences with these pumps?

I was considering the following pump. I figured at four feet I could get about 2000 gallons per hour, plenty of circulation for a 225 gallon tank. My biggest concern was if this pump was loud. the filter is an old 55 gallon that drains into an algae scrubber, then over flows into ceramic rings, and finally overflows into the sump compartment where it gets pumped back to tank.

http://www.harborfreight.com/3000-gph-vertical-float-sump-pump-68476.html

Thanks in advance.

Peter
 
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A couple of things I find troubling: The almost 1' in height of the unit and the fact that it has to be fully submerged; the 90 day limited warranty; the maximum water temperature of 77 degrees (what if there was an ick outbreak and you had to raise the temperature?). I'd also be worried about how loud the pump was. On the other hand, the price is good, and if it doesn't work out, you won't be out that much $$$.

You would, however, be out a lot of $$$ for electricity, as this pump is not energy efficient. At 7.6 amps/120 volts, the pump is a 912 Watt pump, compared to say a 335 Watt Hammerhead pump with a max flow rate of 5800 gph at 0 head. I'm not recommending a Hammerhead pump for your application. I only mentioned it as an energy efficiency comparison. There is no way I would put a Hammerhead on a 55 gallon sump. There are, however, quite a few smaller Reeflo pumps that would work well for your application. These are not submersible pumps, though. Some people do not like the idea of drilling their sump and putting in bulkheads for an external pump. For my new system, I have a large fiberglass sump tank, and I have no intention of drilling the tank. I'm just going to put an uptake line in the sump and pump the water out. This picture is a "poopsucker" uptake in my 300 gallon tank. I'm going to plumb a similar line into my new sump to get the water from the sump back to the main tank. Yes, you will lose a couple of feet of head doing it this way, but peace of mind is everything :)
poopsucker.jpg



If you want a submersible pump, you could do a lot better than this Harbor Freight one.
 
Pacu Mom,

THANKS!!!! I didn't even consider the cost of running that pump. Penny wise, pound foolish on steroids. Save 40 buck on a pump then spend an extra 200-300 a year running (at least).

Sounds like a Mag 9.5 or 13 (or comparable) is the best choice.
 
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The 912watts it takes to run that pump goes into your aquarium water as heat. So you will have a continuous 912watt heater running constantly with no thermostat! I know because I boiled a tank full of fish when I was a young lad and found a great sump pump to build my own filter with.
 
Also those pumps are not meant to run 24/7
 
I powered my 220 gallon, with a 55gallon sump using a single little giant pump pes-800-pw for about 2 years before a small rock jammed the impeller and fried the pump. I then replaced that with two quite one 2200's that I got for 30 bucks each. the little giant was an awesome little pump not loud, and only used 70 watts of power, my two Quite one 2200's use 45 watts each so I saved a bunch on power. However I also raise my sump so it was almost even with the height of the tank, the closer the pump is to the tank the less power you need to get the same gph.
 
7.6 amps? That has to be the most inefficient pump I've ever seen. If you enjoy making your electric company rich, go for it :) For what it's worth, our koi pond has a beastly pump running 5200gph at only 300 watts, go figure :)
 
JCardona what pump do you have on your pond?
 
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