MAK 4 pump

[Anonymous]

I am about to purchase a pump for my 100g reef. Is this one any good? I run my pump from the sump approximately 4.5 ft from the first two of four adjustable 1/2" jets. Right now I am running a 750g/hr quiet one. I want more water motion and figure the MAK 4 will provide that with minimal watts.

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"This is the End" - Mr. Mojo Risin

 

[Anonymous]

seen one at the LFS. its loud....

 

[Anonymous]

I am running a mak4 through two 3/4" seaswirls and one 1/2" stationary feed. Lift is about 4 feet. I have the pipe all screwed up going from the 3/4 feed up to a one inch down to a half inch then back to a 3/4" before running to the tank with more angles than you could imagine and i have more water flow into a 75 than i can handle. I plumbed it up with parts i had laying around with the intention of replacing it all and never have. it is noisy but not more than any other pump i have used.

alan

 

[Anonymous]

all pumps that handle back pressure and move alot of water make noise. Dolpin sst 1200 handle backpressure but have been know to freeze up.A mak is comparable to an iwaki 55? the noise is about the same. and the water goes whoos whooossss

 

[Anonymous]

so is the Iwaki better than the Dolphin and the MAK? Price wise it looks like the MAK beats both!

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"This is the End" - Mr. Mojo Risin

 

[Anonymous]

I use a mak 4 to run my skimmer and imo it is a good pump and it is not as loud as my iwaki 70 that i use on my return. They set side by side and i cant hardly hear the mak 4 because of the iwaki. They both can pump some water and handel back pressure i will say that. I put a quiet one on my skimmer when i first started using it and it burnt the quiet one up the first night.Now compared to the quiet one , yea the mak4 is loud , but not for the water it pumps.

 

[Anonymous]

YOU BETTER BUY EAR PLUGS TO GO WITH IT>

 

[Anonymous]

I belive iwaki is the better pump. the Jap version is quieter.The dolphin is a good pump quieter but they don't make big ones for back pressure that are reliable yet, until the titanium ones comes out. All big fan cooled pumps will make noise u can't avoid this. The noise level isn't much different to me but some ppl hear better. Just can't have it in your bed room.

 

[Anonymous]

My iwaki 70 is the jap version and it is a lot louder than the mak4.I like the mak 4, after listening to the iwaki, the mak 4 is quiet. My 65g is in my bed room ,but i am using the quiet one on it and when the fans go off you cant hardly hear the tank at all.But all the quiet one is good for is moving water, cant handel no back pressure

 

[Anonymous]

The Dolphin 3 is pressure-rated and quiet. Problem is that it moves about 4500gph and consumes aroung 850watts! A more sensible alternative, or so i hear (no pun intended), is the GRI. It's supposed to be a very good pump...pressure-rated, low on energy consumption, and quiet. Go to Champion Lighitng and pull up the stat sheet on pumps. It has some pretty good info except that it lacks decible ratings.

Here are some of my experiences: I own and run a Mak 4. Love the thing. Low amp and energy draw, pressure-rated but a little noisy.

I also have an Iwaki 40, Japanese and pressure-rated. It's a <little> quieter than the Mak-4 but it's still loud. The difference in noise is practically insingnificant! Although i've had my Mak 4 running for only a year, i think the Japanese Iwaki is a lot longer lasting. A lot of my friends have Iwakis 5 years and older still running strong!

One of the best LARGE pumps i've had experience with is the Sweetwater pump distrubuted by Aquatic Ecosystems. The thing pumps tons of water, is a pennypincher on electricty (especially compared to any Dolphin!), and are freaking durable.

In my humble opinion, the best three pumps out there with the most bang for your bucks are, in no particular order, the Mak 4, the Sweetwater pump, and the Sen 900 pump.

Their flaws:
Mak 4 is loud but what do you expext for a pump that pumps 1190gp @4ft of head, is pressure-rated and around 165 bucks?

Sweetwater pump gph::electricity consumption is even better than the Mak 4 but the Sweetwater pump is not pressure rated and at 3500+ gph it's only suitable for large tanks. The pump is a pretty blue color, though

SEN 900 is perhaps one of the best pumps since bread and butter for its price. It pumps against a good amount of head, is fairly quiet and cool running BUT it is big as heck. This pump takes up half of a ten gallon tank. Good thing that the intake grid can be taken out to make it a third smaller. Even after that, pretty big though.

I have a pretty good feeling that the GRI is a very good pump. At that price, i have yet to purchase one though. It also looks as if the middle model is the best bargain as the third one consumes almost twice as much electricity and only gives about 20% more on gph's.

Well, that's my take on pumps based on experience. Hope you find it helpful.

JOHNNY

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[Anonymous]

doesnt the mak4 only use 98w? The sweetwater uses less than that. They have a sen1200 now i hear. Sen are good pumps for the price.But all large water moving pumps will make some noise just have to screw them to a piece of plywood and use a pad to lesson it. On not more as much water. I hear GRI are good pumps also but never seen one.

 

[Anonymous]

That 98 watts is a bunch of bunk.

We orn an Iwaki RLT100 and it is a great pump and it drads 380 watts for 2100GPH I wanted a pump for another tank and I read on Champion Lighting's web site that that they only drew 180 watts so I bought one from Marine Depot because Ken had free shipping on it and a great price. When it came in I was shocked. It said input 360 watts, output 180 watts for 1500GPH. What the heck does this mean. It also whines and is a lot louder the the Iwaki but it has pressure like nobody's business. I had to use a ratchet to tighten the hose clamps because a screwdriver could not get them to stop leaking. I was replacing a Little Giant 5 and these hoses had never leaked. If I had it to do over I would go for the 20 more watts and 600GPH more and gotten another Iwaki RLT100. I thought that I was getting a real power saver and it turned out to be a power hog.

 

[Anonymous]

yea it says 110w intput and 55w output and champion says 98w? Whatever that means.But it still lower rated watts that pumps with equal gph.I'm just waitind for dolphins titanium to come out then I'll switch up.

 

[Anonymous]

The problem with the Dolphin sss (even the Titanium model) is that they heat up the water as they don't have a fan. The lack of a fan is what makes them quiet as well.

By the way, the electrcity consumption dynamics of a pump has a lot to do against what head it is pushing against. On magnetic driven pumps, usually, the MORE head it pushes against, the LESS electricity it consumes. Now, don't ask me why. I was never able to fully understasnd why my physics teacher said so (i was probsbly asleep when he explained it).

JOHNNY

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[Anonymous]

That explains why mak use less electricity but what about iwaki55 and up? dont they use alot of electriity?

 

[Anonymous]

I have the SEN 900 and it is a great pump. Very quiet--I can't hear it over the noise of my water. If you get this one, spend the extra $20 for a spare impellor. The impellor (spelling?) is like that of a powerhead and mine broke the ceramic shaft. However, it was as easy to repair as a typical powerhead.

Scott

 

[Anonymous]

I have a mak4 and a sen900 the sen is just alittle quieter but not nearly as powerful. It is a nice pump. I hear there are 1200 now but havent seen them.