Pool pump = Fish tank pump?

[B00GlMN]

I recently set up a 55g long for african cichlids. The current filtration consists of an UGF (yes I know most of you don't like them) and a magnum 350. I want to add more chemical and biological filtration but have not been able to find what I need.

While cleaning the basement recently I found a portable pool pump that must have been left here by the people we bought the house from.

Aside from having to build containers for the media, would this pump be a feasable option for a pump? It is a "storable" kind, and don't seem to pump much more than my magnum, but it has 1 1/2" inlet and outlet, so it may just seem that its not pumping much more than the magnum due to the tubing being more than twice the size.

I setup a little test with it by giving it a supply of water for the inlet, then I held the outlet tubing well above my head to make sure it could handle my 4' head and it didn't seem to affect flow at all. The pump also has an internal pleated filter that I will probably just leave out.. or should I get a new one?

Any precautions on using this "pool" pump for filtration?

I assume this is one of those "wal-mart" pool pumps...

Any suggestions or comments are welcome.

[OwassoFish]

That pump might pump as much as 1000 gallons/hr. I have two, one for the current pool and one from the previous pool. I thought about their use for an aquarium but three things kept me from using it in the aquarium. 1. Size, it's about 25% of the size of the 55 tank itself. 2. Power consumption and noise. 3. Current. I figured if I used it that all my fish would be plastered against the opposite wall of the tank! If it's an older pump then the flow may not be as high, but neither may its useful life.

Mechanically, it should work though. I would consider purchasing a new filter for it if you end up using it. I can't think of anything in there that would contaminate the water.

[B00GlMN]

Owasso, Oklahoma.. :ok: I moved from there to Michigan about 6 years ago.. such a small world!

This pump is actually smaller than my magnum, by probably 20%. It does't pump THAT much water, and I will be reducing the tubing from 1 1/2" to 5/8" and pulling suction through atleast 1 one gallon container.

If excess flow should become an issue I'll put a cut-off on the supply line to limit flow. I am more concerned with the chemicals that have been run through this thing, if any as it is in very good condition..

I almost resist calling this thing a pool pump as oposed to canister filter because of its size and design.

I'll post pics later.. It might be a nice low-buck alternative...

[OwassoFish]

Yep, and if it's a mini-pool pump, that sounds like the ticket!

You could run some bleach water through it and then some dechlor to make sure it's clean.

[Glaive]

More than likely it has had chlorine pool water running through it other than that it should be fine, might not hurt to run water through it for a while and at the end run some dechlor water through. Also as a thought you could make a media bucket to go with it.

[B00GlMN]

I want to make a media bucket for it, as it is if I replace the filter in it its basically a water polisher, but I want it more for chemical/biological. I am still trying to work out in my head what I am going to use for the bucket. I am thinking something about 1 gallon.. Havent really come up with any ingenious ideas yet.

[B00GlMN]

I found the pump on the internet and they claim 500gph, but that is with 6' 1 1/2" tubing, and very little head height. That seems kinda high but I'm going to do some testing with it. Heres a link if you wanna take a look.

http://www.intexstore.com/shop/shopdisplayproduct.asp?productid=415&id=1&subcat=1

[Glaive]

We had a thread a while back in the diy forum talking about cheap home made cannisters.

You could plumb a 1 gallon bucket and fill it to just below the intake with land scaping lava rock and a layer of foam like you find in most hagen products aka ac fluval etc.

You want your intake up higher on the bucket and your output lower down near the bottom. It may not hurt to plumb the media in before the pump so the water gets filtered out first. Shut off valves could be good too.

[jonah]

Hey Owassso, I think Joe Anderson from OKCAA is using a pool pump on his reef tank. We were talking about it during the last club meeting.

[Solace]

Something you might want to think about when it comes to these cheap pool filter pumps is the wattage/usage. Sometimes these cheaper pumps consume a great deal more power than a slightly more expensive model. You would be better off spending the extra cash getting the better pump in many instances.

[B00GlMN]

It says .5 Amp. This is mostly just an experiment.. I want to see how durable it will be running constantly. It is the same design as most canister filters, nearly identical to the magnum..

If you look at the site they retail new for about $30 but they also offer a referb for about $15.

500 gph water polisher for $15 is worth a try.

I am more curious about its ability to pull water through the bucket(s).. I am trying to find 2 gallon buckets like they use at restaurants to store food. They seal and seem about the ideal size for the filtration I want.