any experience with via aqua water pumps? (1 Viewer)

[toefu]

They seem to be inexpensive, and via aqua have made some decent products in the past. Just wondering if anyone knows?

 

[toefu]

also what about dolphin pumps? I have a MAG 7 right now in my 55 gallon's sump. Bout to get a new pump to power the chiller and such. What are your suggestions?

I hear Iwaki's are nice, but forking over 200+ per pump is devastating

 

[scottk]

I used 2 Via Aqua 1300s as PHs on my 30 cube for about 6 months. I liked them. They put up 370 GPH (or so they were rated) and came with lots of attachments. Didn't have any problems with them. But they weren't recommended for wavemakers, so I am in the process of changing them out for MJ1200s.

 

[boudster]

pump

My Via Aqua pump has been running great since I bought it 6 months ago. It was the best deal I could find on a return pump...and I'm completely satisfied so far.

 

[toefu]

wow. I'm quite impressed. I was considering getting the 1300 gph for $49 at bigalsonline. Looks decent, but I could get the dolphin 1200 for $30 more elsewhere, not sure which route to go. How quiet is the via aqua?

 

[Guest]

I am running one of my SeaSwirls with a ViaAqua 4900. I have had it running like that for about 18 months without a problem. I am, however, running it submerged, and since the pump is similar to both Rio and MagDrive I would be hesitant to run it externally. If you are looking for an external pump, you should go with the Dolphin. However, if you are going to be running it submerged you should definitely go with the ViaAqua.

Jim

 

[Guest]

I have a dolphin 1200 and 800, using mine external. They barely get warm to the touch, so I wouldn't worry about using them internally either. Put a cheap mouse pad under them and you'll hardly know they're on.

 

[ScubaMedic]

I use the 480 on a wavemaker and have not had any problems. It has been about 5 months now.

 

[scottk]

The 1300 came with the warning on the package "Not to be used with wavemakers". But I bought mine online and didn't see the warning until after they arrived. I tried it for a short while, but they were very noisy on startup and that didn't sound good. I heard that you can superglue the internal impeller to magnet on the motor shaft and that will stop the noise, but I didn't want to take it that far......

 

[toefu]

thanks for all the great responses. I think i'll just buy a pair of via aqua 4900's. I'm just using them to push water around and stuff. And they ought to be useful one day when I Upgrade my tank size, as i'd use them both as returns. Thanks everyone.