Something is wrong

[foodchain]

Never mind, I found the answer in the link you sent me. Most pumps, when they claim Max Head pressure it's at almost 0 GPH...so I was wondering in relation to the height you needed, if you would have suffecient flow. Always a balancing act for me. I can pump small amounts really high, or large amounts really low.

[foodchain]

Looks like that pump is made by SunSun, or as an Aussie company called it SenSen. Not sure if there's a difference or perhaps a typo. I found lots of people selling it....but no reveiews. Does anyone know about this: HQB5500 ??? 1800 GPH with 18 ft of head pressure?

[bsfman]

Does anyone know about this: HQB5500 ??? 1800 GPH with 18 ft of head pressure?

Not yet, but I'll assess it and report in a week or so when it arrives! I figure since it will only run short periods of time, it may last me a while even if it's a POS. Heck, for 94 bucks if I only get 94 days of use out of it, I figure it's money well spent for an old fart like me who finds hauling full buckets onerous! I figure the max lift I need is about 10 feet (during the dry season when the canal water gets low), so I should get decent enough flow rate at 10 feet of head. It'll only be running at 56 percent of lift capacity. Granted, there'll be some hydraulic friction in the garden hose, but still...

[urbanfarmer]

@foodchain those pumps are really inefficient for a aquaponic system

[foodchain]

So what's the solution? If you need the higher GPH, and the headpressure....there really aren't whole lot of options I am finding.
From what I see, I am stuck with my 220 pool pumps...one of which is rated to 57 ft of head pressure. But they are expensive, bulky, and when they burn out it's a crap load of cash.

[bsfman]

Looks like that pump is made by SunSun, or as an Aussie company called it SenSen. Not sure if there's a difference or perhaps a typo. I found lots of people selling it....but no reveiews. Does anyone know about this: HQB5500 ??? 1800 GPH with 18 ft of head pressure?

This pump was delivered to me via FedEx 2 days ago on Friday. The pump literature shows various flow rates at various elevations. The flow rates were devised using 28mm pipe (about 1 1/8" inside diameter). I'm sure their flow rates were calculated using the shortest pipe lengths possible as well. I reduced my output to a 75 foot length of 5/8" ID garden hose so obviously, I'm getting much more hydraulic friction than you would experience using shorter, bigger diameter plumbing. I'm obviously not getting nearly the rated capacity out of it for my level of head, but that being said, I am getting 180 ghp out of it at roughly 10 foot elevation. Very sufficient for my use in topping up my systems with canal water. (It sure beats hauling five gallon buckets!)

The pump is plastic, submersible, fairly heavy and appears well built. Time will tell how reliable it is, but again, I am not running it constantly - more like 6 or 7 minutes a day.

[urbanfarmer]

So what's the solution? If you need the higher GPH, and the headpressure....there really aren't whole lot of options I am finding.
From what I see, I am stuck with my 220 pool pumps...one of which is rated to 57 ft of head pressure. But they are expensive, bulky, and when they burn out it's a crap load of cash.

OH, you need it to lift the water far? In that case, you don't have a choice. How high are you lifting the water?? Those pumps are well pumps if I'm not mistaken.

[Oliver]

Just wanted to advise you against using an aluminum pump in your system due to toxic corrosion issues. Stick with just about anything else. Iron, ss, bronze, plastic, etc. "They" are linking aluminum to all sorts of illnesses and in a closed system why take a chance?

Metals, especially copper, zinc, brass (which contains both copper and zinc) and bronze (which contains copper and tin) are toxic to fish.

The only metal that you should be considering putting anywhere in you water path, is iron (depending what else is mixed with it) and stainless steel.

Oliver

[keith_r]

i'm using pond pumps i got from home depot, submersible. magnetic drive.. not sure of the brand, tetra maybe? but the first one has been running pretty much non stop for 18 months

[urbanfarmer]

i'm using pond pumps i got from home depot, submersible. magnetic drive.. not sure of the brand, tetra maybe? but the first one has been running pretty much non stop for 18 months

For lower gallons I go with "Sunterra 200850 Pond Pump, 850 GPH"; the lower models don't seem as good for some reason (oh, and I got mine $50 free shipping). I haven't found anything cheaper and more efficient. It comes with a 2 year warranty. I have had mine for about 9 months. However, I am trying to move away from using a pump like these altogether.