Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi,

I stumbled across this pump.

It's a 5000 l/h "Red Dragon" ECO water pump from BOYU Australia.

In our system we will have 3 IBC tanks (3000 liters) and about 4700 liters for the growbeds. The sump tank is 2500 liters and the system is a CHIFT PIST

What are your experiences with this pump? Is it any good. The manufacturer states this pump only consumes 40 Watt and that sounds very optimistic. We will run the pump at a head height of about 2.5 meter. According to the pump manufacturer the pump should deliver just under 4000 liters/h at that head height.
I like the fact it's a magnet drive.

Hope to receive some honest opinions.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Luc

Don't touch it. Boyu has a shocking rep.

Yeah, as Stuart says.. Not brilliant rep.

Thanks guys,

As the old saying goes: If it sounds to good to be true it most of the time is.

Any suggestions for a reliable 5000l/h (Or there about) pump that doesn't break the bank?

Energy efficiency is important to us as we are off-the-grid.

What they said... plus, I don't think a 5000Lph pump would be sufficient for your system.

The Aquapro range of dirty water pumps are low wattage for the amount of water they move, the AP6000DW is 95w, and the AP10000DW is 135w.

Aquapro have a really good rep and although their pumps are made in China (like every other pump these days) they are better quality than most and the company is based in Perth, so any warranty claims (2yr warranty) are dealt with quickly and efficiently... in saying that in the last 4 or 5 years I have sent only two back for warranty claims, and I've sold a lot of them... I think Joel has found the same and is of the same opinion.

Antarctica... you weren't lying about being off the grid!

Amusing spelling and grammar in the description thou.


"Hybrid-Magnet-Drive Rotor, driven by an Auto-Speed-Adapt Motor, 50% energy efficient than the direct drive pumps, and working at a much lower noise level.
Single Chip Conputer Protection to protect it from overthermal, over-current or abnormal voltage.
Rotor-Speed Auto-adaption technology to ensure the pump to work at the most effective condition."

so it has 50% efficiency of a direct drive pump?

"Single chip conputer" LOL

Yes, it was the description that triggered the alarm.
It is just slinging around a plethora of technical terms to overwhelm the not-so-savvy customer.

At 2.5m head (& that depends on whether you are adding in friction and corners to the head value) there are no pumps I have seen that will give you 3700L from a 5000L rated pump. Without going looking I'd guess you need around a 7000L+ pump to be sure of getting your 3000L+ at that head.

Take a look at the Jebao line - while they make similar claims as to power use, the only complaints I have seen so far is that they don't quite deliver the rated amount - seems like it's about 80% - 90% of claims. So far I haven't seen any reliability issues and they are cheap.

I'm buying one for my larger system - 10K L for circa 100W at $115 is more than enough to give me all the flow and aeration I want. The reason I mention it is because I have been looking for bad reports about them and slightly less than rated is all I have found. At that price they seem unmatchable and low power means no large ongoing expense either.

After doing more research I got in contact with "The age of aquariums".

They recommended following pump:

Laguna Max-Flo Power Jet 2000 - 7600lph

This pump looks great albeit expensive: $309

However if it's as good as they state then it's money well spent.

I decided to pass on this information in case somebody is looking for something similar.

Luc

Thats pretty good if the specs are right - do you have a flow rate/head curve for it?

found one:
http://www.creativepumps.com.au/zpumps/ ... rpumps.htm

The problem with that pump is the head? didnt you want 2.5m head? I think you may need to find a flow chart like Matt asked for.

Not sure if you will even get 3000l/hr out of it at 2.5m head, although i assume you mentioned the head to the shop.

Edit: Matt beat me. 4000l/hr isnt too bad. Not a lot of room to play, but better than i expected.

Another one to look at is the Rio Hyperflow 26HF. Ive got one and it has done me proud.
http://www.amazon.com/Rio-26HF-HyperFlo ... erflow+26h

Stats:
1590gph
110 watts




0cm Head Height 6600l/h

30cm Head Height 6040l/h

120cm Head Height 5130l/h

180cm Head Height 4330l/h

Max Head Height 400cm

The Lagunas are good pumps. While they cost a bit they are a quality pump with a good warranty sold by people who will back their product, answer the phone and return emails.

I have 2 of these been running 18 months continuous with no problems
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3000LPH-Subm ... 3a74b44161