I only use the really tiny pumps for very limited applications. There is a 264 gph pump that I use for single tower set ups. I've only been using the Eco Pro 264 for a few months but I believe I have an older version that used to be sold under the label One Stop Gardens 258 gph used to be sold by harbor Freight and those little pumps could take a beating and I've really abused them. I even pumped solar hot water with one and didn't manage to kill it, another has been running in the 10 gallon aquarium set up for 3 years. Another one has been used for single towers or odd jobs like washing lufa or pumping out a bed that is too low to drain by gravity and so on. Anyway, for a small application anywhere from a 5 gallon bucket with a zipgrow tower up to say a 50 gallon aquarium with a grow bed, I would recommend the Eco Pro 264.
Anything larger than that I would probably recommend moving up to a Quiet One 3000 or 4000 for up to a 300 gallon fish tank.