vortech vs. tunze wavebox

[reefreak]

looking for something to rock my 55 gallon but not sure what to go with i am debating whether to go with tunze 6206 or a mp-40 what do you guys think?

[koa25]

Did you ever get any details about this?

[reefreak]

I had read up on this on arc but never could find what was better.

[koa25]

Yeah. Cause I'm trying to figure out if i should use two mp10s on my 40 breeder or a wave box.

[Big_Pun]

mp-40 will rock your tank!! I have 2 at 75% on anti sync on a 150g 60x24x24 and I if I turn it up a lil I'll splash water out.

[koa25]

Would a single mp-40 be over kill on a 40 breeder?

[reefreak]

Robs going ti have it on a 29g but i wouldnt think so.

[koa25]

Yeah. Robs a little crazy lol. Fair enough. Shouldn't be too bad.

[Mr Cob]

lol, true... I mean if you have it why not use it right...I'll probably have to turn it down to 20% lol, but I would not purchase a MP40 just for a 29g...perhaps 2 mp10's synced up. Honestly...if all you want is the wave then I don't think vortechs are the way to go. A tunze wavebox would be better if you just want the wave. Ace and I talked about this just recently.

If you are after the versatility of the vortech then by all means vortechs will be the way to go.

[reefreak]

I was just about to bring up aces tank yeah if i get one i think it will be a wavebox

[koa25]

I like the versatility of the ecotechs. I like the wave option too. Do you think 2 mp 10s or 2 mp 40? I guess thats the question now.

[Scutterborn]

Even Tunze's website states their "perfect" combo would include two additional powerheads in conjunction with the wave box to increase the efficacy of circulating the water.

-Ben-

[EpicWin]

Would a single mp-40 be over kill on a 40 breeder?

1 mp10 is best for a 40 gal.

[EpicWin]

I've had both. Really the vortechs win in every category. The only reason tunze dosent make a very similar product is that they can't. Wavebox is ok but bulky and clumsy by comparison.

[ErikH]

The real issue is frequency. Personally I would go for gyre flow. Sure a wave is cool to look at, but gyre is what happens naturally in a reef environment. Corals get used to a similar flow pattern. That is unless you have a hurricane going on.

I've never owned a toonzah wave box, but I do have a 60 and a 40 on my 200 and love it except for the noise of them winding up and down... That's why I am glad my tank is now in the formal dining room instead of in our living room. If noise is a factor, the toon may be the better option.

[LuckySingh]

i hve used both and they both solves different purpose.....i love tunzes mainly because i can control all of em on one controller.....i am running four tunzes in my display and coudnt be happier......
for a 55gln depending on what u r keeping ......if sps than that small wave box wont be enough.......wave boxs r known for moving a large amount of water and producing gentle current....u will for sure need another power head with the wave box....if u install mp40 it moves large amount of water and hve different modes to play with and u dnt hve to install maybe another powerhead untill ur colonies r grown where they require more flow which wont be till couple years.....
if u want come by my house and see what a wave box in combine with other tunze controllable power can do...also tunze dnt make any noise....:)

[koa25]

Sorry if i thread jacked you Jeremy ha ha. Hope you are getting the info you wanted/needed. That is the main reason i didn't want to go with a wavebox is having another bulky thing inside the aquarium area. So that is why i am leaning towards the ecotechs. I think 1 mp10 wouldn't be enough. Especially once i get all the corals and live rock in there. And plus the power setting would have to be set decently high as well to keep it constant where 2 would be lower settings and more responsive in creating a natural(ish) movement. I feel like one mp40 would just be a beast ha ha.

[klwheat]

you can always go with the mp40, and turn it down a bit. You can set your desired flow patterns and set a max flow rate as well.

[Big_Pun]

Sorry if i thread jacked you Jeremy ha ha. Hope you are getting the info you wanted/needed. That is the main reason i didn't want to go with a wavebox is having another bulky thing inside the aquarium area. So that is why i am leaning towards the ecotechs. I think 1 mp10 wouldn't be enough. Especially once i get all the corals and live rock in there. And plus the power setting would have to be set decently high as well to keep it constant where 2 would be lower settings and more responsive in creating a natural(ish) movement. I feel like one mp40 would just be a beast ha ha.

you will need 2 mp-10's or one mp-40 for good flow in that tank, if your in this tank for the long haul 2 10's would be best

[LuckySingh]

+1^
two mp10 will cover the entire tank....

[Mr Cob]

I don't know... i had 2 MP10s ES on my shallow 85g and it was close to enough so I imagine it would work well on a 55g, but my 85 gallon has the same length of 48" and while it worked I did not get the results I was looking for in a wave from the ecotech. Perhaps my width killed it. 48"L x 24"W x 17"H

The single MP40 rocks on my 85g but I hate the old man wheezing noise at 70-100% power. I suspect that noise will be gone when the 40 is tuned down to 20% on my 29g lol :)

I don't think the 10's have enough umph to go from one side of the tank to the other...4ft is kind of far for an MP10 in my opinion even with them synced on opposite sides of the tank facing one another, they still need to make it to the other end of the tank to produce the wave, perhaps...maybe if they are mounted to the back glass and slam against the front, that might work. The back glass was not an option for me on my 85g due to the foam background.

The 40 can handle the 48" length easily.

But...if you are just after a wave (I was) then get a wavebox. If you are after all the other features of a vortech then I would go with 1 mp40 or maybe 2 mp10s on the back glass. Honestly though I thought the 10s seemed a little cheap. Maybe I just had such high expectations for the vortechs after wanting them for so long that I just wasn't satisfied when I got them.. I was expecting much better hardware. The technology is awesome but the pumps fall short in quality IMO and had I not been able to purchase them through my business I might not of bought a second after I tried out the first MP10, though it was super cool when I got the second to sync. I have read so many amazing posts about these pumps and just feel it has been a lot of hype over the years. Just my honest opinion though.

It all depends on what it is important to you and what will fit with your needs.

[kkiel02]

I vote wave box. I love them. I had one of the large tunze wave boxes on my tank and it did wonders. The only problem I had was that my tank is euro braced so water would splash out the top of the box and out of the tank. Most tanks won't have that problem though.

[Scutterborn]

I'm planning on the wave box as well. Take Ace's tank for example. Wave box with closed loop. Simple, effective and obviously beautiful.


-Ben-