We have been playing around with the Amtra Stream Sump 4000 return pump for some time, and we have found its performance to be incredibly good and very close to what the company itself claims.
This article is also available in: Italiano
Amtra is not the company you would normally think of when you want to buy a new return pump, so we approached this new Stream Sump 4000 with a lot of curiosity. Let’s keep it short. Not only did we find no weaknesses, not only is the performance remarkably similar to what the company claims, but we found spectacular ease of maintenance and an extremely low noise level. You just have to go ahead and read our review to find out all the data we discovered.
The pump is adjustable on 9 steps and runs on 24V, excellent technical features that could make it the choice as a rising pump for a large number of marine aquariums. We really liked the choice of colors, and especially the impeller colors, as well as the transparent volute. The pump comes with two pairs of hose connectors of different diameters. (I recommend you never use the smaller hose holder. Read why in this article: How to save electricity in marine aquarium: the rising hose).
The pump is an alternating current centrifugal pump, but operating at low adjustable voltage. We measured, as our usual, head, flow rate and consumption.
For the head we used the usual perfect static method. For the flow rate we used the flow meter DigiFlow 6710M and for the consumption we used the RCE PM600.
The video review of the AMTRA stream sump 4000
Before we begin our review, with all the technical data, we direct you to our very complete video review, where we not only talk about the pump and its performance, but also tell you what the head is, and most importantly, we dwell on the differences between technical and measured values. We advise you how to size it, and we physically show you our tests for the first time. A somewhat long video but a must-see, indeed. And we would love to hear what you think about this new format.
Technical Specifications AMTRA stream sump 4000
| European Version 100-240 V 50/60 Hz DC 24 V | |
| Maximum flow rate: | 4.000 l/h |
| Maximum consumption: | 43 watt |
| Head: | 4.2 meters |
| Width | 7 cm |
| Depth | 14,5 cm |
| Height | 10 cm (body only) |
| Official price | 159.99 EUR |
The Amtra stream sump 4000 presents on paper a very good energy efficiency of 93 liters per watt consumed and an economic efficiency of 25 liters per second per euro (but the on-road price is much lower as we will see at the end of the article) and thus a benchmark value of 8.400 l*m/h. A value that is good for most Italian tanks.
At a relatively low cost, for this type of pump, you can buy a very solid and very safe pump given the low voltage operation, dimmable on 9 steps and starting with very good basic features. Very good energy efficiency, average for the economical one, but very good if we consider its on-road price. Let us now see what our lab tells us, and how this fits within the values we have measured so far for all the other pumps (on page 3).
The construction
The pump is simple. With the classic cylindrical development. It comes in an innovative, almost iridescent blue livery with a very bright orange impeller and a transparent volute, that then allows the impeller to be inspected without having to open the pump. For ease of maintenance the cap screws on and off by hand, a great thing let me tell you. In seconds you can open the pump and close it again, without the use of tools, and without screws that could oxidize over time. In the video you can see how quickly it can be done.
Inside the package you will find the pump and two pairs of hose connectors of different diameters. I recommend you NEVER USE the smaller hose holder. Read why in this article: How to save electricity in marine aquarium: the rising hose.
The impeller is modern with 6 curved blades. And this makes a difference from the old similar pumps with similar flow rate. This makes the pump much more efficient.
The orange impeller then drives me crazy. I don’t know what you think of it, but seen inside the clear volute it is a sight to behold.
How to control the Amtra Stream Sump 4000
The main feature of this pump is that its flow rate can be set to 9 power steps. Basically, through the built-in controller, we have the possibility to set the flow rate (and head) to 9 pairs of values by decreasing or increasing the revolutions of the motor, which we remind you is 24 V. There is also a button to stop the pump for 15 minutes to feed fish and or corals. The pump flow rate is shown in the small liquid crystal display that indicates the mode of operation with 2 or 3 dashes and the operating speed.
The modes of operation are 2. Constant flow with two dashes or wave generation with 3 dashes. Honestly, in my opinion, wave generation is not needed in a reef marine aquarium. But there are perhaps many situations, unknown to me, where it might come in handy. In the wave generation mode, the flow rate decreases by about a third.
The pump connects to the controller and power supply via a pair of connectors. The power supply is generously sized.
On page two you can find all our measurements.
