Hey folks,


I've got a small/hobbyist 30gallon system that I want to use a sump for returning water back to the tank. Since I don't care about flow, I started with a cheap Amazon pump advertising 80GPH and thought I could use 1/4" drip irrigation tubing to push the water 5 feet up to the top of the tank. That was a fail - it only made it a couple of feet off the ground.


Then, I tried with a beefier 300GPH pump, but that didn't get much higher. Finally, I tried a 1083GPH pump, which could make the full journey, but the pump is too loud for my home office to be running 24/7.


I'm surprised these pumps aren't getting more lift. I made sure my connections aren't leaking (which could kill the pressure), but I'm not sure if there's something else I'm doing wrong or if these pumps are just waaaaaay overrated.


Any tips for things to try to get better lift? Style of pump maybe? Specific brand of pump? Having to use a 70w pump for so little water seems excessive.