Return pump recommendation
 

Tank dimensions 60" X 30" X 22" roughly 170 gallons w/ (2) returns and a 30" X 20" X 16" sump maybe 20-30 gallons. I plan to manifold my plumbing to run reactors. Since the Red Dragon 80W is discontinue should I wait for the new 100W or go for the 150W. Sump will be located under the stand.

Since I’ve been running the RD3 230’s on my system for nearly 2.5 years now and since the RD3 150 is essentially the same pump with just lower wattage, I can tell you from experience, that it’s one of the best variable speed pumps for it’s size that money can buy. While the 150 may be a bit overkill for your needs, the upside is that it will give you flexibility in terms of future needs, your manifold and tank upgrades down the line and you will never need to run it at full power. Since we don’t know the pricing on the RD3 100 yet, I’d suggest waiting until Black Friday and getting yourself an RD3 150 at a discount from one of our dealers. The cost difference between the discounted RD3 150 on Black Friday vs the RD3 100 when it’s released should be close enough to warranty the upgrade. It’s a beast of a pump and you will love it.

Thank you, looking forward to Black Friday. ��

So, are any new pumps being released and when?

There is a new RD5 Eco pump which is a small (25w max)variable speed Red Dragon that is just now being officially released in the US.

There will be a replacement model for the 110v RD3 80 coming out at some point in the not so distant future. We are hoping sooner than later but have no release schedule as of yet. The RD3 150 and RD3 230 Pressure pumps were released a handful of months back in case you missed that.

Looking for a pump to compare with the Abyzz 200 and 400.

What’s the head pressure you are dealing with? Both the RD3 230 and RD150 compare very favorably to the Abyzz pumps unless you are dealing with extreme head pressure. At 6’ of head with proper plumbing, the RD3 230 will run rings around even the A400 but when it comes to really high head pressures, the Abyzz pumps are king of that domain when it comes to variable speed pumps currently on the market. We do have the RD3 pressure pumps but even those won’t match the A400 when it comes to extreme head pressure.

I'm looking at 35' of vertical, 8' of rise, and around 12 90 degree bends with 1.5" pipe. The feedline will reduce to two 1" outputs. looking for around 2,000 gph at the T-intersection before the 1" outputs.

Reliability and availability of spare parts are very important as well.

Reliability and spare parts isn’t an issue. The RD3 150 and 230’s have been insanely reliable. We stock spare parts in Ft. Myers but nobody has needed to buy a new impeller and there have only been a couple controller failures since the 230’s were released. The same cannot be said about the competitors pumps. The head loss likely will be the biggest issue. All those 90’s will impact the flow substantially. If you were to use sweeps instead of 90’s, that would help a lot. Also, a WYE instead of the T where you plan on reducing to the two 1” output would also help a lot in reducing friction loss.

That said, using the head loss calculator below and selecting RD3 230, I used a head height of 8’, 12 90* fittings and 4’ of horizontal pipe and came up with about 1950 gph which is in your target flow range. Depending on what you can do as far as those 90’s and maybe using sweeps instead, that could improve things substantially.

Here is the calculator.
http://www.reefcentral.com/index.php...oss-calculator

Whats the difference between the rd3 50 and 80 ? Looking for return pump for 100 gal

The 50w has lower flow (1320 GPH) and is still a current pump. The 110v 80w (2100 GPH) is no longer in production and a new model is in development. We don’t have an ETA or any details to disclose on the new pump as of yet.

The specs/data sheet for the 50w is here:
https://royalexclusiv.com/images/con...edy_50_eng.pdf


The specs/data sheet for the 80w is here:
https://royalexclusiv.com/images/con...edy_80_eng.pdf

How does a rd50 compare the flugal sp4? Maybe rd80 is a clear set comparison. Reliability and cost big factor

It’s lower flow than the SP4. The SP4 kind of falls between the RD3 50 and RD3 80.

The flow curve for the RD3 50 can be found here:
https://royalexclusiv.net/images/con...edy_50_eng.pdf