120g Return Pump Suggestions

hey guys, looking for suggestions for a return pump for my 120g project, it will be in my bedroom so looking for the quietest pump possible.

thanks in advance guys

 

Well if you have no cost limit one of these I have heard nothing but great things about these pumps and would love to have one if I had the money.

 

id prefer something a little cheaper, but you cant really put a price on a good nights sleep lol

 

haha that is true well how much flow do you want? I heard the mag return pumps are pretty quiet but they do run a little hot.

 

Honestly, I would say that almost no matter what, that given the size of that aquarium you have your work cut out for you to make it quiet.

If it all possible, can you put the sump and equipment in an adjoining room or closet? Equipment for that size tank tends to be larger and inherently louder than counterparts for smaller tanks. The Iwaki's are def great pumps and relatively quiet - but certainly not something I'd want in my bedroom unless you are dead to the world as you fall and stay asleep.

You might have to go with an in-sump return pump to deaden the noise of the pump. Only problem there is that even these pumps when they get large enough for your tank, again, are not silent by any means. Also, in-sump pumps certainly add a lot more heat to a tank than an external return pump. This may be an extra consideration for you depending on your local climate.

If you can remotely locate your equipment - problem solved and awesome project potential increased!!! If not then be sure you choose your equipment carefully. The return pump and protein skimmer will be the two loudest components behind water flow itself. The water flow noise can be combated in a number of ways depending on your overflow style.

 

going for around about 1200-1500gph through the sump?
any suggestions on internal pumps? or are external better?

 

thanks for the advice M-Ocean Man but problem is i am still living with my parents and there is no chance my dad will let me go puttin pipes through the walls unfortunatley, i plan to do this when i move out...... i live in australia and have an air conditioned house so the temperatures shouldnt be to much of a problem... i may have to try and convince my dad to let me setup the new tank in the living room so i dont have the noise in my room, until i move out and can setup wihtout asking permission for everything haha

 

quiet one 6000 could be good I have heard that they are fairly quiet but no experience with them and one thing you can to to make them quieter is to set your pump on a towel or something in the sump like I did, and I can't hear mine (tank also in my room). The loudest thing is the water going down to my sump and then the skimmer and then the return pump. oh here is a link haha

 

this is actually one of the pumps i have been looking at, but hadnt seen anything about them on here (3reef), thanks for the towel idea, i shall definatley try that out!

 

it works much better than the suction cups that usually come with the pumps =] just make sure you use a clean towel I would wash it a couple times with just warm water to make sure nothing is in it ;D