Considering buying one of these but I'd really like to try one out for a week first since the price of these things make it such a big investment... I know for sure my SPS would love it, but I need to see if I could program it to a point where my LPS would still be able to tolerate it.... Trying to see if anyone has a spare one that they could rent to me for a week...
Anyone have a Vortech mp40 they could rent me for a week??
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RonMidtownStomp
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You can turn it way down just by turning the knob. I'd say turned down it's comparable to a K4. How big is the tank?
It's a 180 gal... it's a mixed tank where i have all LPS on the left side and all SPS on the right side... right now I have two koralias running on the right side so that most of the flow is isolated on the right side of the tank... i'm wondering if i could turn it down enough to the point where the left side is not getting so much flow if i place it on the right side of the tank...
RonMidtownStomp
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I'm confused. What kind of LPS do you have that doesn't want very much flow? I've linked my Youtube video a couple of times where I demonstrate how much flow I have. I have even more, now. I have lots of corals that are LPS and do great in high flow.
I've got a large bubble coral colony the size of a basketball that hates it... my hammer coral also hates it....
RonMidtownStomp
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I'm 90% sure that you could ramp the flow up gradually and they'd adjust. My hammer coral gets lots of flow. I haven't had a bubble coral colony in a while, but I used to have one and I'm pretty sure it got plenty of flow.
There's no reason to spend the money on a Vortech unless you're going to have lots of flow. I don't know how you're running a 180 gallon tank with that little flow. It's essentially the same dimensions as my tank and I have probably 5-10x the water velocity that you are describing throughout the tank. If I back it down I start to have problems.
There's no reason to spend the money on a Vortech unless you're going to have lots of flow. I don't know how you're running a 180 gallon tank with that little flow. It's essentially the same dimensions as my tank and I have probably 5-10x the water velocity that you are describing throughout the tank. If I back it down I start to have problems.
RonMidtownStomp
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All the flow in my tank right now comes from a Mag 18 return pump, Koralia 4, and Koralia 1050. The Koralias are isolated to the right side so the right side actually gets a pretty good amount of flow. The left side just gets whatever little flow comes over from the right side and what comes out of my returns... SPS seems to be pretty happy with the amount of flow that it's getting but i just want to create more of a random flow with the mp40 whereas with the Koralias I'm getting more of a constant flow... i've noticed that acros that get too much constant flow from one direction tend to grow kind of strangely.... The bubble coral is the most finnicky coral i have when it comes to flow... if i just happen to bump my returns or powerheads a little bit just by accident and even a little bit more flow is going to it, it throws a fit and stays about softball size. Some parts of it would just be skin and skeleton. Don't want to remove it because guests always comment on how cool it looks whenever they see it...
RonMidtownStomp
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Hey that's pretty cool.. I have over 1,100 views on my video and it comes up 2nd if you search Youtube for "Reef Tank Flow." This is what I consider a "pretty good amount of flow."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5af2C0Kd0A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5af2C0Kd0A
Looks like my bubble coral is getting just a little bit less flow than that.... i wish my bubble just weren't so finicky... i think the health of my tank would be just so much better if i could add more flow....
RonMidtownStomp
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Have you tried it for several days? I fragged a bubble coral once. They're pretty hardy. I cut it in half and it healed. I can't imagine that being closed for 3-4 days while it decided more flow was OK would hurt it.
RonMidtownStomp
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Have you tried it for several days? I fragged a bubble coral once. They're pretty hardy. I cut it in half and it healed. I can't imagine that being closed for 3-4 days while it decided more flow was OK would hurt it.
psykobowler
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I've used 2 of them in a 150 gallon 5x2x2. You are going to need more than 1 mp40 in a 180 gallon tank. One mp40 could barely move water in a 150 gallon let alone a 180 which is longer. Full blast, you won't even feel the flow after 4 feet away from the wetside. I had 5 of the mp40w but sold 4 of them and kept one mp40es for my frag tank. Yes, frag tank. You cannot look at just the amount of money you spend on the initial purchase of the pump. The wetside on the mp40 is not build to last like the mp60 and the mp10. I always encountered one of the pumps breaking down every 6 months and having to replace certain parts from it. So if you pay over $400 for the mp40es, expect to pay additional money for wetside parts in the future. The mp40 is a good pump with tanks up to 150 but I would not use it for tanks longer than 6 feet and wider than 30 inches. Even with 2 mp40es on each side of the tank, your lps will not be irritated especially if you have it set in random flow. Just don't put the lps directly in the path of the flow. That will definitely kill the lps.
Glenn
Glenn
RonMidtownStomp
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Until recently I had my MP40 on my frag tank which was 4'x2'x8" I had it turned up all of the way and I had a K4 in the tank with it. Now the frag tank is 4x2x1 and I have four Koralia pumps, 1 K1400's and 2 K4's.
psykobowler
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I'ld probably sell my last mp40es and get 4 tunze 6025s then mod the cover. I have spare 6025s that I've already modded to get more flow and this frag set up won't require me to replace wet sides. I do not like koralias.
RonMidtownStomp
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That's the first time I've heard someone say that build quality on one version was better than another. I don't know why you're replacing wet sides so often. My MP40 has been running for well over a year without any problems and it was well used when I got it. I did a $15 rebuild when I got it but it turned out to just be a $.25 bushing, if I recall correctly.
lzyreefguy
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i have 2 mp40s on my 90g cube,,30x30x2,,love em
psykobowler
New member
I am speaking more on the design of the wet side, they all use the same magnets and materials. The mp10 and mp60 practically have the same wet side design and the mp40 kept the older wet side design that has multiple parts that can fail. The mp10 and mp60 wetside has 3 component parts and the propeller shaft axis is supported by the cover which prevents the propeller from wobbling. It is much more stable when performing different modes. It only takes a small wobble to wear out the wet side on the mp40. What is worst is they upgraded the driver for the mp40 to do nutrient export mode but left the badly designed wetside on the pump. If you run the new mp40es in nutrient export mode, the wet side will not last very long. The plastic cover that holds the ceramic bearing in place tends to break and the magnet tend to rub against the back cover. You have to physically inspect the wetside for wear and tear in order to make your wet side last longer. I am speaking from experience.
psykobowler
New member
It's the design of the wetside not the quality of materials that I am emphasizing. Both mp10 and mp60 wetside are designed to last with the new modes they have created. Unless they upgrade the mp40 wetside, the old wetside will remain unreliable. They made it worst by adding nutrient export mode to a wetside that is not designed to do that task. NTM mode makes the propeller wobble a lot more. It wears out the plastic that is holding the ceramic bearing in place. That is its weakest point and with all the parts incorporated in the wetside, one of the parts is bound to break. You obviously have not had magnets crack on you. They are $50 each and ecotech charges approximately $8 per shipping. I ran 5 mp40s at the same time and I was lucky to get a year in any of them. I have purchased and ran the mp60 since they came out. Up to now, it still works the same as the day I received it. My first mp60 has a lot of mileage in it but I have yet to replace any wetside parts. That is why I purchased 2 additional mp60s. The pump has proven its worth to me and you can always turn down the pump if needed.
