Vortechs?

[rockmp]

What are the pros/cons or running a vortech? How loud are they?

[350gt]

I am all ears on this one as well. Looking into getting a MP40 with in time.

[jrsatx20]

just got one and not to load but then i barely got it turned up. mp10

[Big_Pun]

welcome to come over and hear it first hand ..... I have the current model ecosmart

[alton]

A friend of mine just bought one and no issues with noise.

[FireWater]

Depends on what you consider loud. I have an MP10 on the Finnex at work. It got loud - to the point I could hear out side my office door. I took it apart and cleaned it / rebuilt it and that helped tremendously. Also, you have to make sure to get it calibrated very well so you don't get any vibration noise.

Long story short - I like mine. I will run them on the new 120. You just have to keep up with maintenance.

[Europhyllia]

The good part: I love them. They don't take up much room in the tank, motor is OUTSIDE, in the beginning one of them was a little more rattly until it adjusted itself (took 3 weeks); I find in the short pulse mode the humming is a tad annoying/mesmerizing but in lagoon or reef crest I don't notice it as much (I got 4 MP40w ES running so keep that in mind.
The bad part: they cost a ton!!!
Now if you've been researching you might wonder: why 4 MP40s when you could just go with a monster MP60? Easy answer: more options and easier on the corals. Even my MP40s are not turned up to 100%. I need total coverage and love a gyre set up. I don't need my corals to be blasted in the face with a fire department water hose. They much prefer a better spread

[Teeb]

I have a MP10ES on my 40 and it puts out a ton of flow. I have it turned to about 1/3 of the way down and it'll still make a 1/2" wave. I had it up higher, but noticed a lot of my fish were just hanging around the rock work and my goby and blenny didn't really come out much. Now that it's down, they come out more and the coral seems happier. It has much wider flow pattern than the Koralia's I had before and also creates a strong undertow which keeps the sand bed cleaner. It has a ton of different flow patterns you can use, plus the night mode and feed mode are really cool. If you get an ES, make sure to download the full user manual, don't just go off the quick start guide they supply. It doesn't cover a lot of what it can do. As far as Pro's, there's really nothing else like it out there. I've tried Tunze powerheads, Koralia's and MJ's, and there's nothing like it. Con's, it's expensive. You're welcome to come check mine out.

[rockmp]

Thanks everyone.....looks like I need to start saving my pennies! :thumbs_up:

Who has the best price on these?

[FireWater]

Most of the ones I have seen go by MAP pricing. So you really don't find deals out there. SoCal was selling them a little less expensive that everyone else online. I bought mine for the 120 when I purchased other stuff so I saved on the shipping.

[Europhyllia]

I think most of us got them from Tom at SoCal. You have to call and get a coupon code so the adjustment is made to the MAP price

[rockmp]

Cool thanks! I will give Tom a call. If I am only going to be running one MP10....is it worth getting the wireless model?

[Europhyllia]

do they even have any non wireless ones? I would go with wireless regardless -better resale and you never know what's in your future ;)

[FireWater]

Agreed. It is nice to have the ability there for an upgrade instead of worrying about it later.

[Joseph]

I've have had one for several years now, I use it on the back lower side of my tank to eliminate that dead spot behind the display. The dry side & wet side need to be in line or you will get some noise. There is a ceramic bearing that will also wear. I run mine at about 20%, or you will move rock. If you turn yours off, check inside before restart, or you may have blue spot blenny suchi

[kkiel02]

Pro: Good resale value, wide flow pattern, powerful and comes with its own controller
Con: Mine broke within two months, kinda loud but my tank at the time was quite, cant adjust the flow direction, customer service was bad (although I got to know Stephen King pretty well)

I had a bad experience with them but mine was the mp40w model, my controller broke. They left a very bad impression so I sold it as soon as I got it back. I wont deal with them again.

On a positive side the whole Tunze vs Vortech debate is now very easy for me. :)

[Europhyllia]

Con: Mine broke within two months, kinda loud but my tank at the time was quite, cant adjust the flow direction, customer service was bad

I had just the opposite experience. Called for something that ended up being user error. They sent me a replacement right away (I sent it back because I figured out what I had done wrong). While I was talking to the tech guy I guess I didn't leave my phone number and he went through the trouble of looking me up online (even remarking about my photo contest entry in the Wilson County News Spring Contest! lol) So I feel they really went out of their way to provide me with good service. :)
You all just have to be a little nicer to the cs people...

[kkiel02]

You all just have to be a little nicer to the cs people...

I wish this was the case. I think being too nice had more to do with it but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. I got burned so shame on them. I dont want shame so I stay clear of them. lol

Or at least until Koralias and Tunze burn me as well. lol

[ShAgMaN]

Glad I read this. I was thinking of taking the plunge but I'm gonna hold off for now. I think Vortech needs some competition.

[ErikH]

I have a 40wes and a 60wes, they are both entirely too loud in my honest opinion. If I put it on short pulse mode (wave action) all I can hear is WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP.

And yes, it is annoying.

You can come hear for yourself if you'd like. I will however say this, if you have a large tank; they move alot of water efficiently.

[rockmp]

I like the fact that its very small and no wires in the tank. Not sure what I want to do yet. I have been looking into the Tunze powerheads.

[Big_Pun]

just a note the mp60 is a monster, reason it's loud is because it has a built in fan inside the motor housing. I have to 4inch computer fans(brand new)in my canopy and they drown out any noise from my mp40.

[Europhyllia]

I don't think the MP60s is a smart choice for most of us with moderately large tanks. For example it wouldn't make any sense on my 215 gallon tank. The drawbacks would far outweight any benefits of the MP60s.

The rythmic nature of the short pulse does get to me though even on the MP40s. In random mode I don't notice it at all.

[ErikH]

Lol I think the 60 is much more tolerable than my 40. The 40 is a higher pitch, thus more annoying. :)

I really like the powerheads, just not the noise.

[350gt]

Just hooked mine up last night and the noise isnt too bad. So far so good but had to rearrange some corals as this thing causes some crazy under tow and 2 frogspawns looked like they were about to get sucked up.

Still trying to find the right setting though...

[BSJF]

love mine the most when the power is out. they are worth every penny then. the only thing I don't like is that that you can't angle them. I have had to replace a few shafts, and bought a new inside head for mine. They don't eat snails very well.

[Texreefer]

the only reason I don't have one now is I don't have the money.. as soon as I do I will have one