Which pump? Quiet One or Ehiem?

[JCR's Reef]

I'm looking for reliabilty, low power consumption, less heat out put.
Of course I know ehiem is a good pump, but what about the quiet one? Right now I'm leaning towards the quiet one pump b/c of its lower power consumption. Opinions needed to help me decide. Thank you

Quiet One 3000-uses 40w of power and puts out 780gph.
Eheim 1262- uses 80w of power and puts out 898gh.

Im not really to concerned about how many gph each pump does unless what they say is false.
I also dont know which pump really puts out lower power bc I dont have a kilowatt meter. Maybe someone has tested one or the other?

[addonnis242]

The Eheim will be more reliable and quiet than the QO pump. I have used three different QO pumps from the smallest to the largest and I would take the Eheims over them any day. Just my opinion though, others have really good luck with the QOs I did not. The Aquamedic Ocean runners are pretty good too I had good performance from an OR 3500.

[JCR's Reef]

Thanks addonnis. I didnt even consider the noise but thats a big + since its going to be in my living room.
I was origianally going to go with Ehiem and then started looking into specs. Then I started leaning toward Q.O. b/c of the lower power consumption. I guess they should list in the specs also : How many sold, How many returned. That would really help one make a decision with the whole quality issue. Thanks again.

[milkman55]

I just bought two (one spare) of the QO 1200 for return pump in my Solana. They were 20% of the price of the Eheim of the same volume. They are on really cheap right now at Dr F&S.

I hooked it up about 3 weeks ago and it was significantly quieter than the stock pump. I can't even hear it.

[Doahh]

40 watts and 800 GPH... something is wrong with that figure.
Go with the Eheim

[JCR's Reef]

$41.99 vs. $169.00
F&S state the power consumption but I dont know if its accurate. Its hard to justify the cost if long QO's are effecient pumps as well

[sjm817]

The low watt high flow pumps typically dont handle head very well and will lose a lot of flow once you connect up plumbing. QO aren't known for reliability or quiet operation either. $42 is a lot less than $170 though....

[Dyraxe]

I think Ocean Runner is more comparable to Eheim and cheaper.

[greenmonkey51]

Octopus pumps are another option. I haven't been able to test one out, but they are supposed to be modeled after the ocean runners.

[billdogg]

IMO, you can't go wrong with eheims - I have one that I got used from the LFS i worked at about 20 years ago. It was used as the pump in the feeder gold tank. I have done nothing to is but clean it every once in awhile (yearly, if I remember to) - still going strong, and silent

[mojo~]

Josh, The QO 4000 is more comparable to the ehiem. The Ehiem is dead silient and handles head much better. I have had the QO 2200, 3000, and 4000. All worked well.

But after that I tried others the mag pumps, ocean runner then the Octo 3000 from premium. Same as the ocean runner. Very quiet and pretty cheap too. Thats what I ran on my 90G, Rob has it now. Ask him how quiet it is.
I have the ehiem 1260 now and I really like it. Very quiet and puts out no heat. If I was buying again I would only consider 4 pumps for internal
Ehiem 1260
Octo 3000
Ocean runner 2500
Red dragon mc3

I went with the ehiem because of the great reputation and how much flow and head it handles. I think the 1262 will be more flow than you want for your setup.
Stop and check mine out again if you like. And talk to rob about how quiet the Octo pump is. I would get it over the quiet one any day. I think the 3000 model was $59.99 from PA.

[JCR's Reef]

Thanks alot guys for your opinions. You all have helped me even though about every comment cancels out the other
And thanks Jesse. I had it narrowed down to just 2 pumps and you give me 2 more. Now I need to re-evaluate my decisions.
I was originally going to go with the 1262 then decided to lean more towards the 1260. Reason being I think the 1260 will be better since its able to handle more head pressure. Not that I need it, but I just think things like that help me decide for the life of the pump. Its also in the middle of others for its power consumption. Plus its just about where I want my turnover rate from display tank through sump. Im not wanting a high water volume processed through my sump too much at one time.
Billdog-Its comments like that is whats going to make my decision real easy I've read quiet a few others like it else where.
Im not wanting to shell out the money if there are " compariable" pumps to Ehiem. But if its going to be a price up there with Ehiem I'm going with Ehiem. Make sense?
Thats the reason I eliminated the Ocean Runner pump.
Right now I'm about 80% towards Ehiem. I can spend the money now without feeling guilt. And right now thats what I'm spending for a more quality, energy efficient, and more friendly system. Kinda doing an upgrade, down grade depending how you look at it combining what I can of 3 tanks into 1.

[sjm817]

To add more confusion, here are some more pumps to check out. The new Maxifet utility pumps are really nice. Not as cheap as the QO or OTP/OR (Halia) pumps, but quite a bit less than an Eheim. They are very small quiet pumps and come in lots of sizes. I just picked up a 1800 for a fuge and reactor feed pump. Its pretty nice.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...y_Code=Maxijet

[JCR's Reef]

Thanks Scott. I was actually looking at the 3000 model before I narrowed it down. I dont know what the foot print of this pump is but it looks smaller than the others. I forget why I chose against it but it might be b/c its hitting the $100 mark and its hard for me to tell if its actually any better than the other pumps mentioned. $50 more over the others and not being sure vs. Ehiem is $50 more than the Maxi-jet 3000 and Im assured. Thats why it left me to the original debate over price and reliability. See how my mind works? Trust me, I dont work hard at being complicated, it just comes naturally

[sjm817]

The pump is really small. Smaller than a Mag Drive. I dont think it would have the performance of the Eheim 1260. I think it would lose flow due to head much quicker. The 1260 is a great pump and you can even upgrade it to a 1262 down the road if you want with a $10 part.

[JTL]

I am also looking at pumps. What about the Mag 12 or Mag 9.5? I have about 90 gallons of net water between the tank and sump. With head pressure I would need at least the Mag 12 to get 10x return flow.

[sjm817]

You dont need 10x. 3 - 5x display size is fine. Those pumps are too big.

[JCR's Reef]

Im running them in my tanks now and they warm up the water pretty good. They are honestly reliable pumps though. I've never had a problem with them other than power and heat.

[Dtronic]

I bought a quiet one 4000HH about 4 months ago. Not really impressed with it.

[JCR's Reef]

That sucks Dtronic. I guess my decision isnt so unreasonable then. I would use it for a smaller application like Scott did, but not as a return.

[sjm817]

Yeah, my app is just for a fuge and reactor feed. Not even 2' of head. I did take into consideration that what I got is a Maxijet utility pump. The Maxijet powerheads are among the most reliable pumps I have ever used. Hopefully, these follow the same heritage.

[mike33]

I own a 3000, mag 5+9.5. No problems with any of them as my return. Eheim is probably a more reliable pump, however, the size and cost ruled it out. The increased cost also cancelled out any energy savings. Each pump's noise was no louder than the overflow and skimmer. They all added about a degree of temp but consistent so it isn't an issue. I would measure the head height and look at each models rating. Personal preference on the amount of flow within reason. Good luck.

[jbird69]

I have been running a quietone 2200 for over a year and Im very happy. Dead silent and 100% reliable. The pumps have a headloss chart. whether they have more or less than the other pumps, just buy the right one for your needs based on the chart.

[JCR's Reef]

I would honestly put the mag pumps up against ehiem for the reliability of a pump. I run mags now and never have had any problems with them. I dont run the prefilters or the screens on them either and havent cleaned them in maybe 2yrs. No issues other than they put out more heat than other pumps and a bit on the noisy side. Maybe not much, but if I can eliminate something I will try to. Im pretty sure my overflows will be pretty quiet on my new tank as mine now dont make any noise since they are the durso style. Using a lower gph turn over rate also helps reduce this. Plus the skimmer that will be running on this system is the K2 and its pretty quiet despite its size.
Im not implying that the other pumps are junk. Just wanted to know which one was best for my application and value honest opinions. Thanks again everyone
I know prices varies depending you get it but here is the break down from what I based my decision on and what everyone has said:
3000 Q.O: 780gph,40watts,10ft head,$48
3000 M.J: 775gph,58watts,9ft head,$98
3000 ocotpus:750gph,65watts,10ft head,$50
2500 O.R:650gph,38watts,8.5ft head,$100
1260 E.H:634gph,65watts,12ft head,$140
mag7:700gph,60watts,12ft head,$78
Obviously ehiem is more expensive but I think I'm going with Ehiem for more than a couple reasons. I've heard alot of these pumps last for more than 10yrs. Some up to 20. I've also read that Ehiems power consumption is more around 40w vs the 65 they claim vs. mag 7's put out a little more watts depending on head pressure. Dont hold me to it but while reading it seemed reasonable.
If they next to never have to have the shaft replaced I think the long term cost is out weighed. I was always replacing shafts on the cheaper pumps which equals unreliable and higher maintence. Its also a strong pump and can handle head pressure. This leads me to believe its a little more accurate with how many gph its actually doing. As someone stated earlier it can also be upgraded for a few bucks later down the road if my application needs to change. Plus with me eliminating the pumps Im using now I will have 3 I can sell off hopefully to justify the cost. Thanks again