• Actual performance of aquarium pumps.

  • Lisa

I recently acquired a rotameter Z-300K5 (water flow meter), and I became curious about the actual performance of aquarium pumps. I tested the pumps I currently have in a 20-liter container, with the rotameter installed about 50mm above the water surface, and here are the results: - Eheim Universal Pump 1262, 3400 l/h. after measurement - 2295 l/h; - Aqua Medic OR 2500, 2500 l/h. after measurement - 1410 l/h; - Atman AT-105, ViaAqua-500A, 1900 l/h. after measurement - 1135 l/h; - Atman PH-3000, ViaAqua-3300, 2880 l/h. after measurement - 1380 l/h. As I acquire different pumps, I will report their actual flow rates.

Danielle8118

And what about the new pumps? Even without a rotameter, I can clearly see that over time, absolutely all pumps, regardless of the brand, lose their efficiency. Whether in the sea or in freshwater.

Joseph6461

Eheim and Aquamedic are used, the others are new. The loss of performance in pumps occurs due to demagnetization of the rotor; if the magnet is heated sufficiently, it loses its magnetic properties and does not recover.

Joshua9340

"and how can people believe after that" I'm talking about manufacturers... Regarding power loss... So it's preferable to change the rotor every certain period? What do you think, how often should this be done? P.S. It turns out that even with used Germans, the power loss is relatively less than with new Chinese ones...

Christopher1774

You need to believe in yourself. It's better to change the rotor every two years (in my opinion) or immediately after the pump has run for 30 minutes idling, without water. From personal experience, the pump ran dry and was as hot as an iron; after adding water, it pumped less. I replaced the rotor, and it became like new. Eheim has been in operation for 6 months, Aquamedic for more than a year, maybe two.

Joseph591

There seems to be a connection between measurement and working pressure that heads cannot create... In my opinion.

Melissa

Vitaly, are there any other pumps in the aquaculture? Measure those as well.

Amy

I continue. The Tunze Silence 1073.05 pump has appeared. - The claimed performance at 24V is 3000 l/h. After measurement, it is 1500 l/h. - The pump is a Chinese DC50A-1215, claimed at 12V to be 1272 l/h. After measurement, it is 600 l/h.

Tami

I measured yesterday too: The external unit Atman CF800 (according to the specifications, 960 l/h), used for about two years, after a week of operation with synthetic fiber, delivered 330 l/h at a height of 1.5 meters... (18 liters in 200 seconds during the replacement...)

Brent8919

Atman AT-2500A pump, rated power 2500 l/h, delivers 900-950 l/h at a lift height of 140 cm.

Erica

Maybe not entirely on topic, but the same situation applies to external filters. They usually state "so many liters per hour," but that's the performance of the head, while the overall throughput from reputable manufacturers is about 25-30% lower (Eheim, Tetra), and even less for not-so-good ones (Ferplast BlueExtim 1100 actually pumps 400). I'm talking about new filters - I was curious to check. Measurements were taken with an empty bucket. I simply checked by taking a 3-liter aquarium and measuring how long it takes to fill up. The accuracy, of course, isn't super precise, but a margin of plus or minus ten liters per hour is quite achievable.

Nicole7122

If you raise it by 3 meters, it may show 0 l/h. In the passport of each pump, there is a graph that shows how much water the pump can pump at a certain height (calculated data from the manufacturer). I am not considering the reasons for power loss here.

David2398

Well, that's obvious! The topic, as I understand it, is intended to reveal the actual performance. The sellers and charts assured that for every 20 cm drop in power, there should be a 5% decrease, meaning at a height of 1.40 there should have been 1625 L, but in fact, it was 950.

Vanessa

There is no direct correlation; much depends on the pump design, motor power, etc. There are pumps with a total declared capacity of, for example, 2500 l/h, one of which can lift water a maximum of 3.5 m, while another can only lift it 2 m. Although I agree that sometimes, for certain marketing gimmicks, the performance is exaggerated.