4x MP40w Gyre in a 300 question

ReefingBuddha

New member
I have 4x MP40w's on a 300g tank and am trying to use them to create a gyre. There are two pumps on the left side and two on the right. A pump on each side fires to move the water clockwise, and then the other two pumps fire to move counterclockwise. There is a master pump that is sync with another pump and two counter-synced.

Here's the problem, even on the longest "long pulse" setting, each set of pumps is only on for 40 seconds, not 60s as advertised. The issue really is that 40 nor 60 seconds is long enough for a gyre to really get going, I'm looking for something more like 5-10 minutes of flow in each direction.

The best case solution would be if I could put each set on "reef crest" for the 10 minutes and then do the same in the opposite direction.


The only way I can see this working is with each set on a timer, which in this case would be through a apex controller. I'm just worried that the 10 minute cycle time will end up destroying the vortech's controller, is this a reasonable concern? Does anyone know of another way to do this?

Thanks!
 
anybody?

Some more information to help it along;

All the pumps are Gen 2 and the gyre is aided by two tunze 6201's in the back of the tank, one for each direction.

And a picture of the tank to keep it interesting. You can see 3 of the pumps in the picture. The one closed to the camera on the left side and the one in the back on the right are one set that provide counterclockwise rotation.

DSC_4626.jpg
 
I have the exact desire on my 250 gal tank. I only use two, one in each direction. I sent an e-mail stating that I wanted to buy two more if they had a program that would let me get flow for 5-10 minutes (using a timmer will fight with my battery backup). They never responded...that was three months ago.
 
any idea how he does it? does he completely shut off the pumps and controllers on one side and then the other? 40-60 seconds on "Long pulse" is just enough in my tank to get a little effect, and that's nothing compared to a 1200.

My question is; With the growing popularity of gyre flow setups, why would the longest pulse interval only be for 60 seconds, why not minutes or hours like on the Tunze controller? I thought they might address it in the new smart controller but no dice.
 
He uses an external timer that turns one side on at a time (cost was around $35). His period is somewhere around 15 minutes, if I remember correctly. Would not work in conjunction with the battery backup in that setup. I am also disappointed that the new controller does not address this need, especially since I e-mailed them requesting this need several months ago.
 
Any idea if the timer will fry the controller over a couple months? Any logic behind that assumption?

The battery backup system not being useful would suck. Can't wait for the neptune control module.
 
The best way to accomplish this would be with a timer, it will not damage the driver. In the future the Neptune controller would be a good way to accomplish this as well.
 
Tim - as gyres get more popular, has there been any thought as to actually incorporate a gyre flow pattern into the Ecosmart programming? I'm sure ReefingBuddha isn't the only one who'd like to have this available natively with the Vortech controller.
 
spleen93-

It's currently possible in long pulse mode, but the switching period only goes up to one minute. This should be good for tanks 120 gallons and below.
 
Aren't most gyres supposed to maintain flow for a longer period of time? my understanding was that it was supposed to be around 5-10 minutes of flow each way.
 
Tim I have a quick question for you. Its been a few days now and all was going well. The switch was happening every 10 minutes and things looked good. Unfortunately I just noticed that one of the controller seems to not be working. When first plugged in it flashes some colors, then a flash of white, and then goes to very very dim white and does nothing. So dim in fact that its hard to tell its on.

The timer is controlled by an apex controller and two EB8 outlets.

Any ideas? Am I going to have to send it in? It was just purchased a few months ago.
 
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