2 MP10s or 1 MP40?

2 MP10s or 1 MP40?

  • Two MP10s

    Votes: 46 60.5%

  • One MP40

    Votes: 30 39.5%
  • Total voters
    76
I would rather have two smaller pumps than one big one. For one thing, that MP40, given the dimensions of your tank, is like using a shotgun to kill flies. You will end up dialing it way back and end up with one MP10 equivalent. I like that two small pumps can be pointed in two different directions, for twice the coverage area. I like that if you have 2 pumps and one fails you still have one pump.
 
the mp10w ES can definitely be synced with any other wireless vortech whether its another mp10w ES or mp40w or mp40w ES.
 
I'm pretty sure you could look at a tank with sync'ed vs. unsync'ed vortechs and not one person could tell the difference. I have two mp10's and hardly ever run them in the same mode. Pretty sure the ocean is not sync'ed either.

I went from one mp40 to two mp10's and I'm much happier.
 
if random flow is what you want, then no sync will do the job.
with the sync option, can you turn both off from one driver?
but even that is minor since you can just plug both to a single outlet and just turn that outlet off.
 
davew0670 said:
I'm pretty sure you could look at a tank with sync'ed vs. unsync'ed vortechs and not one person could tell the difference. I have two mp10's and hardly ever run them in the same mode. Pretty sure the ocean is not sync'ed either.

I went from one mp40 to two mp10's and I'm much happier.
Click to expand...

I have actually seen one persons tank where they had a pretty good wave action going, and that was very obvious, to the point I was actually feeling a little ill from staring at it!(and I surf!)
So, yeah, you can tell, but I didn't like it myself.
As for the ocean sinc, well, they are trying to replicate a reef w/ current going back and forth in same fashion.
But, FWIW, I have 2 mp20's in my 150g, and those are not in sinc, and I'm pretty happy w/it.
 
davocean said:
I have actually seen one persons tank where they had a pretty good wave action going, and that was very obvious, to the point I was actually feeling a little ill from staring at it!(and I surf!)
So, yeah, you can tell, but I didn't like it myself.
As for the ocean sinc, well, they are trying to replicate a reef w/ current going back and forth in same fashion.
But, FWIW, I have 2 mp20's in my 150g, and those are not in sinc, and I'm pretty happy w/it.
Click to expand...



mine will make a wave with no sync also. Put them both on blue and you have a wave. Dont get me wrong, I would have upgraded had ecotech given the mp10 owners the same deal as mp40 owners but I'm convinced no one could tell a difference.
 
d0ughb0y said:
with the sync option, can you turn both off from one driver?
but even that is minor since you can just plug both to a single outlet and just turn that outlet off.
Click to expand...

You can turn them both to feed mode, but I don't think you can turn them both off. If you unplug them, then you lose the settings (feed time, night time, etc.) and have to reprogram them in.

tqpolo said:
Link?
Click to expand...

It's an email from EcoTech. PM me your email and I'll forward it to you.

davew0670 said:
mine will make a wave with no sync also. Put them both on blue and you have a wave. Dont get me wrong, I would have upgraded had ecotech given the mp10 owners the same deal as mp40 owners but I'm convinced no one could tell a difference.
Click to expand...

I think that you may be lucky with your tank dimensions. Most won't make a wave unless they are synced.

CJ
 
It seems like, just for sync'ing alone, the two MP10s are the way to go. One MP40 might be enough, but I can get the same flow from two points in the tank and sincey they are sync'ed they would function as one unit.
 
CJO said:
You can turn them both to feed mode, but I don't think you can turn them both off. If you unplug them, then you lose the settings (feed time, night time, etc.) and have to reprogram them in.


I think that you may be lucky with your tank dimensions. Most won't make a wave unless they are synced.

CJ
Click to expand...


when I had the mp40, I'm pretty sure it remembers all the programming when I unplug the unit then plug it back in. (for the amount of money they charge for it, it better do) well at least I'm sure that say if I had it in reef crest mode, it will stay in reef crest mode at the same settings when I plug it back in. so this is not the case for mp 10?


I imagine one would really need the sync in order to do the wave motion. but that I see as a novelty only. its useful for showing off to friends when they come to your house. :) other than that, I think random on both would be more than sufficient for the tank.
 
I voted two MP10s but I would prefer a different brand of pump altogether.
This whole not wanting cords in the tank is not a big deal to me.
When I owned a 40 back in the day it was louder then i was used to for
a pump, a pain to maintain as it had problems that needed to be fixed right
out of the box, a part had to be replaced, and finally the wet side needed
repair. I just sold it on the bay saying it needed work.

Give me a regular old fashioned smaller pump with magnet clips and allow it to be
adjusted to an angle I desire. Now multiply it by 3 or 4 and you have a nice setup
where everything gets some good flow and no over powering area with dead spots
in odd places. Just run the cables neatly and get them to go down via the back which
over time the glass will not be see through anyway.

Cheaper, more reliable, more redundancy, better overall flow, you can add a timer
if you wish, etc...
 
d0ughb0y said:
when I had the mp40, I'm pretty sure it remembers all the programming when I unplug the unit then plug it back in. (for the amount of money they charge for it, it better do) well at least I'm sure that say if I had it in reef crest mode, it will stay in reef crest mode at the same settings when I plug it back in. so this is not the case for mp 10?
Click to expand...

Both the MP10 and MP40 operate the same. They will remember the mode they were in when they were unplugged, but losing the power will clear some of the setting. I know that you have to redo the auto-disconnect setting and the time for the night mode. Not sure what, if anything, else is lost. I wish they had put in a capacitor so that you wouldn't have to redo these.


d0ughb0y said:
I imagine one would really need the sync in order to do the wave motion. but that I see as a novelty only. its useful for showing off to friends when they come to your house. :) other than that, I think random on both would be more than sufficient for the tank.
Click to expand...

Using the sync with the new modes does a much better job of getting varied flow to all areas of the tank.

fcmatt said:
I voted two MP10s but I would prefer a different brand of pump altogether.
This whole not wanting cords in the tank is not a big deal to me.
When I owned a 40 back in the day it was louder then i was used to for
a pump, a pain to maintain as it had problems that needed to be fixed right
out of the box, a part had to be replaced, and finally the wet side needed
repair. I just sold it on the bay saying it needed work.

Give me a regular old fashioned smaller pump with magnet clips and allow it to be
adjusted to an angle I desire. Now multiply it by 3 or 4 and you have a nice setup
where everything gets some good flow and no over powering area with dead spots
in odd places. Just run the cables neatly and get them to go down via the back which
over time the glass will not be see through anyway.

Cheaper, more reliable, more redundancy, better overall flow, you can add a timer
if you wish, etc...
Click to expand...

Sounds like you had a bad experience with yours. I don't think that this is the norm. Did you try calling their customer service? You should have had all of that done for free.

Keeping the motor out of the aquarium is more than just for looks, it also keeps most of the heat out of it too. Also, you no longer have the possibility of voltage leaks into the aquarium from the power heads (I've heard of this happening with many of the cheaper pumps).

I've gone from Maxijets to Koralias to the Vortechs and have seen improvements in the tank flow each time. The one thing that the Vortechs give you over the others is a much wider, less concentrated flow. The others are cheaper if you aren't interested in a wave maker, but I'd disagree that they are more reliable or give you better overall flow.

CJ
 
Sounds like you had a bad experience with yours. I don't think that this is the norm. Did you try calling their customer service? You should have had all of that done for free.

Keeping the motor out of the aquarium is more than just for looks, it also keeps most of the heat out of it too. Also, you no longer have the possibility of voltage leaks into the aquarium from the power heads (I've heard of this happening with many of the cheaper pumps).

I've gone from Maxijets to Koralias to the Vortechs and have seen improvements in the tank flow each time. The one thing that the Vortechs give you over the others is a much wider, less concentrated flow. The others are cheaper if you aren't interested in a wave maker, but I'd disagree that they are more reliable or give you better overall flow.

CJ

This is when they first came out. In the first year easy.
The control box was DOA. They fixed it for free.
The shaft that was between the impeller and the base of the wet unit
was also replaced during that time. It was the thicker piece going over
the shaft.. i am not sure what it is called. Free once again.

But after running it for a year the wet side.. the metal part that matches
up to the magnet has some type of coating that was wearing through causing
a problem. It would get stuck as well as appear to rust. That would not be
fixed for free. At that point I gave up on it. Being a sorta of beta user got old
after a while.

Plus the noise I was not used to. Not loud. Just more then I was used to.

As for heat.. since I dumped MH and went with T5 I no longer see my tank
above 80 degrees F. It stays where I want it with no need for fans or a chiller.
Plus you can get power heads now days that use very little power
and put out a lot of flow. (1650GPH/ 8W Power Consumption for example on
a Hydor Koralia which I am using for an example in my post). You used them
yourself.

I am not trying to bash these pumps. Enough people LOVE them to make me
realize they work for them and work well. But there is enough posts about
some issues that make me think other options can be more reliable. I will
agree that the flow is wider though and with their nifty options on the controller
they are very versatile. But i also tend to side on the debate of more smaller
pumps then one big one.
 
tqpolo said:
It says I need to buy from an authorized dealer. I'm assuming if I buy new from an ebay store I would not qualify for the rebate?
Click to expand...

I haven't seen it cheaper at an e-bay store than the one at Big Al's. Except for the people that are selling the upgraded MP20s. Of course those wouldn't qualify.

I just bought a MP40w ES from Big Al's. Too bad I don't have an old one to upgrade for only fifty bucks. I can't find an old one at a decent price either. It would be nice to have 2 for my 90 gal.

It almost seems worth buying the upgrade with the rebate and selling it at a discount to someone who could use it.
 
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