VorTech vs. RKE or RKL and Koralia

[ramsey]

ARRG! I can't decide so I want feedback! I'm tempted to buy the VorTech MP40w for my tank but part of me wants to buy a Reef keeper and two Koralia evo's. Any experience with either of these? I figure the Vortech would easily beat out the evo's but if I went with the VorTech, I wouldn't get a full fledged controller.

I have a 175g tank. Anyone with an MP40, do you think one would provide adequate flow? Reading the specs seem to suggest it would though it could also be marketing garbage.

[Europhyllia]

Love my Vortechs, hated the Korallia (but that was the cheapo first version). I definitely liked my Seios better than the Korallia duds. Of course the Seios required their own controller.
I think stangchris just got some evos and seemed to like them.

[aquasport24]

I've owned both K4s and Vortechs(at present), Vortech kinda pricey,but worth every penny. There are so many mode that you can do to it. No heat, no stray voltage and no wiring hanging over the tank. You will need 3 for the 175g, but if $ is the problem than get 3 K4s for now and save up to get the Vortechs. Another good reason to own a Vortech is that it's a quick 3 bills you can get if you need some $...lol...

[Europhyllia]

I just got two more Vortechs. It wasn't the new ES version. I purchased the previous regular 40w for only $350 a piece shipped. I bought the upgrade driver for $75 from Vortech, resold the 40w driver for $40 and submitted my rebate forms for $25 back on the new drivers upgrades so ultimately I got the ES version for only $360 brand new.
That being said I loved the regular 40w version just fine so the $350 buy would have definitely been good enough. I will have 4 Vortechs on my 215.

[ramsey]

Hmm, well it sounds like the VorTech's are as good as everyone says. I may just start with one, keep my Koralia's going, then get a couple more. I'm buying AI lighting so I don't have much money to work with on PH's at the moment ($400-500). Do you think keeping the koralia's going and adding the vortech would be a waste? Or would it still give me good flow and some nice wave action?

[Europhyllia]

check with stangchris. I think Giau and I both only had the old Korallias. I really think Gabe and Chris liked the new Evo version.

[ramsey]

Well, the thing is, I don't want to go with the Evo's only to sell them a couple of months later. I have a couple of the old koralia's at the moment so I'm thinking I may just keep those, get one MP40, then save up for two more. Hrm, decisions, decisions. I'd love to hear from someone running the Evo's on a wave maker or controller.

[txg8gxp]

The koralia RKL/RKE works great, but it is not a "wavemaker". They do a good job of changing up the flow, but not the same as a wavemaker. That is why I got rid of my two evo 1400's and replaced them with a tunze nano wavebox.

[Jarob]

mmm Im gonna get a vortech now I think.. Would an mp10 be good on a 40g 36" long tank?

[Big_Pun]

i love my k evo 1400s they are nice very random flow without a controller, its a very spread out 1400 gph, almost too much for my tank, 36 inches long i have video on my build thread you can see them in action and stephen has vid of them on his rk light. i think for the price they kill vortechs hands down, they are also very small, smaller than the old k2's. my temps dropped 2 degrees since removing the 3 k2's i used to run. i spent about $120 for 2 not bad for 2800gph of flow

[aquasport24]

mmm Im gonna get a vortech now I think.. Would an mp10 be good on a 40g 36" long tank?
I would go with a MP20, you can always throttle it back some if it too much flow for your tank. You have all the flow there if needed without any upgrade.

[ramsey]

i love my k evo 1400s they are nice very random flow without a controller, its a very spread out 1400 gph, almost too much for my tank, 36 inches long i have video on my build thread you can see them in action and stephen has vid of them on his rk light. i think for the price they kill vortechs hands down, they are also very small, smaller than the old k2's. my temps dropped 2 degrees since removing the 3 k2's i used to run. i spent about $120 for 2 not bad for 2800gph of flow

Got links?

[txg8gxp]

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[ramsey]

Nice, thanks man. The flow is certainly better than with my mag 5 and k4.

Still have some deciding to do but this certainly helps.

[kkiel02]

Debbie downer here, I won't buy another mp40w as mine broke within 2 months of purchase and the customer service was nonexistant for me. I know others have good experience but thought I would throw my experience out ther as well i will be wave boxing the 360 I think.

[txg8gxp]

Debbie downer here, I won't buy another mp40w as mine broke within 2 months of purchase and the customer service was nonexistant for me. I know others have good experience but thought I would throw my experience out ther as well i will be wave boxing the 360 I think.

From hearing stuff like that is what made me get a wavebox. I love the built in photocell, for shutting down the wavebox at night.

[Europhyllia]

I've had excellent customer service through ecotech so far. In fact after Kevin's experience I got all paranoid and they send me a replacement right away even though in the end it turned out to be user error. ;)
I think with your budget though and expectations the Korallia Evo would probably be your best bet. :)
If all you want is some on and off flow Evos should work perfectly for you!

[kkiel02]

From hearing stuff like that is what made me get a wavebox. I love the built in photocell, for shutting down the wavebox at night.

Will u be at the meeting tomorrow? I would like to ask a couple questions about the wavebox.

[txg8gxp]

Will u be at the meeting tomorrow? I would like to ask a couple questions about the wavebox.

No, I will not be at the meeting. You can PM me if you would like.

[Big_Pun]

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[Europhyllia]

From hearing stuff like that is what made me get a wavebox. I love the built in photocell, for shutting down the wavebox at night.
After I saw Ace's awesome video of the wavebox and actually PM-ed him asking if the wavebox would be able to replace my powerheads/produce sufficient flow and he answered that the wavebox wasn't there to produce the flow but rather to produce the waves. He's getting the flow from a closed loop he has in addition to the wavebox.
I looked through the for sale ads on MAAST and found a couple of waveboxes for sale. I emailed those people asking why they were selling such a magnificient thing. One person said they were downsizing. The other said the wavebox kept having problems, was tricky to submerge correctly and just ended up not being that magnificent. That same person told me they had switched over to Vortechs and now they could choose to either make standing waves with the Vortech's pulse mode or sync or anti-sync flow modes (lagoon/reefcrest/nutrientsuspension/etc.).
From that it seemed they would give me more options than any other device.

We're discussing all of these items as if they were the same thing just in different price ranges but I think they also all offer something slightly different. :)

[txg8gxp]

I do really like the idea of the different wave options with the vortech drivers. My next nano tank will use a mp10 so I can see the differences myself.

[Teeb]

I do think the Vortech pumps are a step above the Evo's. But, if you consider cost, I'd rather have a decked out RKL and 2 Evo's before the Vortechs. I love my RKL and it has helped tremendously in stabalizing my tank and I highly recommend them. If the price doesn't bother you, then RKE + Vortechs would be perfect.

[Europhyllia]

Aren't the RKLs only around $99 right now anyway?

[txg8gxp]

Yes, RKL level 1 kits are $99. I love mine.

[Europhyllia]

Last plug for Vortech ;):
Vortech has the usual flow options:
lagoon (gentle varying currents)
reef crest (more erratic variations of currents)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvib7ccCJGQ
I am guessing the Evo would be able to do something similar?
But:
pulse mode is able to create real standing waves similar to a wavebox:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9L2FaZwfwo
I don't think the Evo would be able to be used for that?

The new ES drive also offers a nutrient suspension mode that coordinates 3 pumps to work together for optimal flow and nutrient suspension. You already know for course that the Vortechs communicate with each other wireless. You can have one master and several slaves or keep them independent if you like.
They can coordinate with each other in sync, anti-sync and (if you have 3 pumps or more) in nutrient suspension mode.

I think versatility and adjustability is really outstanding with the Vortech

[ramsey]

Yeah, I'm leaning more towards the Vortech at the moment. My lights will have their own controller, a Vortech would have it's own controller so there's not much point in getting a controller at the moment. Also, I'm gonna start with two Vortechs then save for a third. I can keep one of my korailias for a little extra flow. Thanks for the vids karin. Loved the first one and I've seen the second. I'm really curious to see how the waves would look across a 6' tank.

[Europhyllia]

I just wanted to mention:
I think $450 would be a lot even for a really great pump. I own 4 MP40w ES now, all purchased new from an authorized dealer and never paid more than $360 a piece. That's sort of my pain threshold for what I can see myself spending on a pump. And I totally understand that even that seems nuts to many people. :)

[ramsey]

Yeah, that's what makes it really hard. I am getting a good deal if I buy them when I buy my light. I think I'd end up paying $790 for two. A lot of money for water circulation though.

[kkiel02]

Ramsey if you end up going vortech send me a pm, lets just say I know a guy. lol I did love lagoon mode when I had mine.

[ramsey]

Well, I just ordered 2 VorTechs. I'm thinking it may be enough flow but if not, I'll use one of my others until I can get a third or four. I can't wait to get 'em!

[aquasport24]

Karin has a BBA in marketing and it shows.

[Europhyllia]

LOL. I can't help it. It's compulsive...

[ramsey]

Na, I was already leaning that way. I decided against others only because I knew in three months I'd be selling them to get what I wanted (in this case VorTechs). Just so you know though, if I don't like them, I'm blaming you, Karin. Just Kidding!

[aquasport24]

You still need the RKL though... LOL..., it will control the heater,lights,and fan etc...The never ending spending hobby that we are in....

[aquasport24]

Oh, and don't forget about the battery back up for the Vortechs.

[ramsey]

No sir, next in line is my ATO which should be cheaper, thankfully. In all seriousness, the battery backup looks nice and is not a bad price compared to a standard UPS. I will consider it in the future.

[Teeb]

See, that would have been just a float switch away with a RKL.:wink_smile:


I do get a semi wave action from RKL/Evos. I have both Evo's on the right wall set to a 4 sec burst, then off for 5 sec. It shoots a nice blast across the tank, bounces off the opposing wall and starts to come back in a more dissiapted form before the next blast hits. I also have them set high up on the tank so it seems to suck water from the bottom while blasing across the top in a circular motion. My Dendro's, Sun Corals, and SPS seems to love it.

[clownfish]

i have a mp10 for my 29 biocube and lt me tell you it's the best upgrade to date..... go vortech they rock...

[ramsey]

Well I got the VorTech's in. I really like the flow they provide throughout the tank though I think I need a couple more. It blows away the K3 and K4 I had before. All the modes are very cool. I just have two complaints thus far. First, they're expensive. While they are nice, I think they're slightly over-priced (I got a GREAT deal too). My second and biggest complaint is noise. They are kinda noisy and seem to need realignment frequently. Do you all have any tricks for keeping them aligned and quieter? It sees that when they're just the slightest bit out of sync, they make annoying noises. Overall though, I'm glad I got them and I am really happy with them.

[kkiel02]

They take awhile to quite down but after a week or two you ought to be good to go.

[ramsey]

Good to know. I thought maybe they needed some break in time.

One more thing, if I crank them both up full blast, it's a crazy amount of flow! So much that it causes a sand tornado below them. They're about 22-23" high in my tank. Of course, I don't run them full blast. So far, I like the "lagoon random" mode. My large GSP in the center of my tank looks incredible with the random flow going over it. I have them on opposite sides of the tank. It's super cool that they work together (wirelessly!!). I really don't think I need two more but I want them so I can keep two higher up and two lower. Then just run them at 1/3 or 1/2 speed.

[Europhyllia]

Yes it seemed like they needed a little tweak at first a lot but then after a couple of weeks they're perfect and super quiet.
:)