2 return pumps vs 1 large return pump

[BajaReefs]

I have 2 overflows on each side of my tank each has its own return pump @ 1200 GPH.

Should I keep 2 return pumps or re-plumb a bigger pump @ 2000 GPH

[BajaReefs]

[BajaReefs]

[davocean]

Hmm, well I may be blowing the sale of my eheim to you, but in the line of being honest I have to say one should do for you, and just split it.
I'm curious why you are pushing that much water on a return, 3-5x turnover is plenty unless you are tapping to other gear.
hard to tell from pics what size tank that is(looks nice), but for example, my last 2 180's and last 2 150's all used a single eheim 1262 for return, and two of those tanks had a dual overflow, I just split return line.
While I do like redundancy on some things like drains and heaters for safety, I don't really see the need for a return, and I always think in the way of less watts equal less heat, so I'd stick w/ one efficient and dependable, quality return pump.
Eheim happens to be my fav in this area, I've had a dozen or so on various tanks, never been let down.

[acbaldwin]

Hmm, well I may be blowing the sale of my eheim to you, but in the line of being honest I have to say one should do for you, and just split it.
I'm curious why you are pushing that much water on a return, 3-5x turnover is plenty unless you are tapping to other gear.
hard to tell from pics what size tank that is(looks nice), but for example, my last 2 180's and last 2 150's all used a single eheim 1262 for return, and two of those tanks had a dual overflow, I just split return line.
While I do like redundancy on some things like drains and heaters for safety, I don't really see the need for a return, and I always think in the way of less watts equal less heat, so I'd stick w/ one efficient and dependable, quality return pump.
Eheim happens to be my fav in this area, I've had a dozen or so on various tanks, never been let down.

Ditto on all points.

[pirate2876]

I have had the horror of coming home to a return pump failing twice. Both times everything lived but, it could have been really bad if I was out of town.

On a larger tank I would do two returns. The DC pumps out are pretty low wattage and are fairly priced. Why not?

[davocean]

I have had the horror of coming home to a return pump failing twice. Both times everything lived but, it could have been really bad if I was out of town.

On a larger tank I would do two returns. The DC pumps out are pretty low wattage and are fairly priced. Why not?

If your tank is set up properly, you should still have powerheads moving water even if pump failed.
The DC pumps are getting a lot of notice, but I have one issue, they are on a controller, and while I love glowing lights and added control, in my mind it is electronics like that which seem to fail, and I know they did have a recall on those not too long ago.
I'll stick w/ a dedicated Eheim myself, they have been pretty well proven over the years.

[acbaldwin]

I have had the horror of coming home to a return pump failing twice. Both times everything lived but, it could have been really bad if I was out of town.

On a larger tank I would do two returns. The DC pumps out are pretty low wattage and are fairly priced. Why not?

If you plan your plumbing, sump, and powerhead placement appropriately, return pump failure should have a negligible impact on your tank over the course of an entire week or more. I suppose I could see some issues popping up if you're running a tank with a very thin margin of error where failure of things like skimmer, GFO, calcium reactor, fuge, etc. could make the tank go downhill quickly.
OHHH, the exception here is heater and ATO! If you don't have at least a heater running in your DT then return pump failure also means heater failure. Something to consider. ATO could probably be done without for a week without anything dying.

[BajaReefs]

I have 5 feet of head pressure and luckily I was running 2 pumps when 1 of them failed. I'm running 1200gph at the moment. I was just thinking what if the single one fails? I don't really have time to hunt 1 down.

Dave I guess Im a procrastinator until the second one fails..

[davocean]

And I'm procrastinating on selling my pump, haven't been in a hurry, but I'm getting about ready to set up again soon so I will need to and get the size pump meant for my drain on my new tank, so give a shout if and when you still want.

[Bruce Wayne]

+1 Eheim 1262
I used two Quiet1 4000's on my 225 and had several small issues with them. I must admit I went with Quiet1 over Eheim because of the price (on sale at the time), watts used, and rated gph. I eventually replaced them with Eheim 1262's and smooth sailing after that. There is a reason they are not cheap and continue to sell really well. I must say a return pump is a pretty essential part of your reef, not like a powerhead, reactor, or light, for example. Depending on your plumbing, a failed return can cause big issues.
"Buy it nice or buy it twice"
As far as one or two, I really don't see a need for two. I think just getting a quality return is much more important.

[d-man]

+2 on the eheim. I have 1 running my 325 gal tank.
Using my power heads are plenty of flow. My return is plumbed only to my bioreactor. The flow is fine coming out at top. Def keeps water flowing slowing thorough my dump, so I'm not over powered and don't need to scale it down either.