(2) Mp10s or (1) mp40?

[moonlightdriver]

Just wondering which would be better on my 75 gal tank...

(2) mp10's or (1) mp40.

I think the mp10 are probably a little small but was wondering if they would be able to get the job done

Any thoughts?

 

[BlackLagoon]

It depends on if you just want to move water around or create a wave. If you want to create a good wave you'll need two pumps set to antisync. If it were me I would go with one MP40. I had one MP40 on a 180 gallon and it moved plenty of water. Soft corals and LPS move in the current, but it's random movement, not a back and forth wave motion. Also if you ever upgrade to a bigger system you'll want the MP40.

 

[davidpesce]

The price difference between the mp10 and mp40 made the initial decision easy for me.

I started with an mp10 on my 40b (36" width) and was amazed at how much flow it put out. At 50% power it was enough to get all my LPS corals in motion on the pulse setting. I cranked it up to 100% and I've got back and forth motion with the same pulse setting. The issue here is the humming noise it generates. Clearly audible at 100%, but non-existent at 50%.

Here's my logic, if this sucker has enough umpf to push corals at 50% on a 36" tank, then two on a 48" tank is more than adequate, plus it gives you the opportunity to move each one independently. One mp40 would be stuck at one height on one side of your tank.

 

[fpv930]

I used one MP40 on my 72g bow front. It was amazing to see the sand bed get cleaned of detritus due mostly to the undertow of the pump. However, I had some dead spots on the sand at the opposite side of the tank. If I turned up the pump to 100% power, the pump was too powerful on the installed side of the tank. Also, My DSB ( sugar fine sand) was blowing all over the place.
I opted to purchase an additional MP40 for the opposite side. It was a huge difference. Also, I could run the pumps at a lower speed and reduce the noise as stated by Davidpesce.

 

[jacksonpt]

From what I have been able to see, there is a significant performance difference between the 2. My pair of 10s seem to create much LESS undertow than I've seen in other tanks with a pair of 40s. I'm sure there are other factors at play that I'm not aware of, but I've not been impressed with my 10s given the cost.