What's your opinion on mag drive pumps? Loud or not?

J

JSB

I just bought my first two mag drive pumps. A Mag 7 for my return, and a Mag 5 for flow. I wasn't aware they were that loud. They come close to competing with my dishwasher. :lol: To be fair the mag 5 is sitting on the bottom of the display tank circulating water while I fill it.
 
I switched from a Mag 7 to a Quiet One because my tank is right behind the couch in the living room. The Mag did seem louder than the new pump.
 
The Mag 24 are too loud. I wish would have gone with another quite pump.

The problems with Mag pumps are too loud, add heat to the water (good for the winter time, bad for the summer time), and the electricity consumption is much higher.
 
The MAG 9.5 that drives my skimmer is way louder than the Quiet One 4000 return. I don't know that I would go so far as to say it competes with my dishwasher though..maybe my dishwasher is loud..hehe.
 
What I did when I ran some Mag pumps was to put some Eheim filter floss (a semi hard spongy material) under the pump. That stuff is use in filtration in our tanks safely, so I knew it wouldn't deteriorate or cause problems. It makes the perfect Mag pump pillow, getting the pump off the surface of the sump.

If you run it externally, a mousepad does the job well.
 
I have a mag 12 and a mag 5--both ran externally
12 for return
5 for closed loop

the 12 had a slight hum to it but wrapped a towel around a 2x4 cut to about 6 inches in length and set the mag on top. Seemed to take the noise away, then again I wouldnt' know because my skimmer pump (dolphin) sounds like a remote control airplane.
 
Another thing you can do if your going to run it in sump is to put a glob of silicone at the corners. This keeps the pump suspended where it won't actually touch which drastically reduces the noise!

But I agree with the comment they are great value but not very good in terms of heat added, power consumption, or noise.
 
Thanks for the advice, and comments. I had heard what gret pumps these were, but never thought about the noise they may produce. The mag 7 isn't too bad since it's in my stand, but I had plans to mount the mag 5 in my canopy for my closed loop, and I don't think I'm going to be allowed to have that kind of noise going on in the house. Hopefully I can return it. If not maybe I'll use it for a skimmer pump.

Are the Quiet One pumps just as good as the Mag drive pumps? If so which Quiet One would compare to the Mag 5? It looks as if Quiet one goes from 296 gph to 780 gph. There's no in between? I guess I could go with two 1200's, and make two closed loops.
BTW, Thanks again.
 
I would be hesitant to buy a Quiet One as mine has serious issues when restarting. Every time I turn my return off, I have to take the pump out and clean the impeller and housing just to get the darned thing running again. I'm trying to find an alternative as this would cause some problems after a power failure if I wasn't around.
 
Kevin - Sorry to hear you're having problems with the Quiet One, especially since I think I was the one that recommended them to you... :oops: For the record though, my two Quiet One's are running great with no problems (Knock on wood) while the Mag for my skimmer is the one that has to be occassionally fiddled with to get it spinning again...
 
I don't know how you could have a Mag pump as a closed loop pump up in the canopy... you'd have to reprime it every time you start it up.
 
@Marc wrote:
I don't know how you could have a Mag pump as a closed loop pump up in the canopy... you'd have to reprime it every time you start it up. said:
I was planning to make something close to what you built for your tank. Just with out the waver maker. I figure I can create a small section to prime the pump, seal it up like your setup and I'd be good to go. Do you recommend some thing else? If so I'm open to change. I was planning on building it this weekend. So a change would hurt.
Click to expand...
 
I got the Quiet One pumps in, and man what a difference. I can barely tell it's running. I've only got the return running. I still haven't decided how I'm going to build my closed loop now. How do you guys generally build them? Do you have the pump in the tank or out? Thanks for the advice on the pump, I appreciate it.
 
It's a little late but for anyone reading who has a mag pump and thinks they are loud. Marc's suggestion works as well as using some of the cheap top-fin air hose clips and sacrificing the acutal clip and using the suction cup on the foot of the mag pump. 4 or them does the trick.

Edit- of course this is on anything below a MAG9.5.
 
If the pump has water in it, it'll restart every time. However, putting the pump up in your canopy would put it above water level and I would think that it would drain out during a power outage or when powered down. Not a good solution.

I made mine where the pump would stay full of water, resting behind the tank. It would suck in whatever air was in the lines as well as more water, and run as it should. The only reason it could do this was because it had water in the plumbing and pump in the first place.
 
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