EcoTech Marine Vortec Questions

[chazman113]

I think I'm ready to ditch my hydor koralia's in my 55 gallon for one of these expensive Vortecs. Just wanted a few options on them....

1. Will it be significantly quieter? I hate how the hydors will occasionally start making vibration noises etc, drives me crazy
2. My 55 gallon doesn't have a sump so besides the skimmer and reactor returns there isn't much else flowing. Would ONE MP40 do it? I'm looking at all the modes and seems like I may be able to get a good irregular flow with one. Right now the Koralias pretty much blow the same place constantly unless I manually move them. I'm thinking MP40 because it will give me room to grow if (when) I get a bigger tank.
3. Is the maintenance as easy advertised as well? It seems like you would literally pluck the internal part of and give it a good vinegar soaking. The Koralias are a pain to get out as I have to pull all the wires up from the back.

 

[d2mini]

1. The new Quiet Drive pumps are silent
2. One MP40 can move a lot of water. There's variables that come into play like rock and coral placement that disrupt the flow but one should get you by for now.
3. Yep. A little toothbrush scrubbing after the soak helps.

 

[Highweigh]

I have an MP10qd on my 40b and it is silent.

If I turn it up past 60% it starts blowing the sand around at the opposite side of the tank.

I think you would be fine with an MP10 or 20 depending on if you are housing sps. I will probably add another MP10 down the road to get a little more random flow in the tank.

I also however have a return pump pushing about 600 gph into the tank so that adds a little flow as well.

 

[chazman113]

1. The new Quiet Drive pumps are silent
2. One MP40 can move a lot of water. There's variables that come into play like rock and coral placement that disrupt the flow but one should get you by for now.
3. Yep. A little toothbrush scrubbing after the soak helps.

Yea I'm hoping the flow is can be very "spread out". My tank is long and has three "column" style formations. I'm hoping I can kind of put it near the front and have it reach everywhere. Buying two is a bit pricey and if one MP40 performs better than my Koralias, I'll be happy

 

[d2mini]

Yeah, an mp10 is pretty powerful but a 40 will give you a wider flow.
I had two 40's on my 40b frag tank, just turned down lower.

and they haven't made a 20 in years.

You could do two mp10's on one side. This would give you the flow on both sides of your rock columns. Or one 10 on the front left and one 10 on the rear right. Give yourself a gyre around the columns.

 

[chazman113]

Yeah, an mp10 is pretty powerful but a 40 will give you a wider flow.
I had two 40's on my 40b frag tank, just turned down lower.

and they haven't made a 20 in years.

You could do two mp10's on one side. This would give you the flow on both sides of your rock columns. Or one 10 on the front left and one 10 on the rear right. Give yourself a gyre around the columns.

Unfortunately 2 MP10s would also add over $100 and an extra plug, hah. If the MP40 has a wider flow that is encouraging. Can you run two MP10s from the same little control panel? It appears that it's wireless in some capacity....

 

[Radioheadx14]

a single MP40 should be pretty good for you. since the 55 is pretty narrow, the 40 would give good flow, and you wont have a problem with it reaching the other side. I had gen 2 vortechs and hated them because of the noise, the new QD versions are awesome.

 

[phenom5]

I think an MP40QD would work on a 55g.

Two MP10QD would each require their own driver (aka litle control panel). They communicate wirelessly, so you can run them synced, or anti-synced.

FWIW, the QDs are worth every penny IMO. They are very quiet. I actually moved away from Vortechs because of the noise, but since the new QD's came out, I am back.

 

[chazman113]

a single MP40 should be pretty good for you. since the 55 is pretty narrow, the 40 would give good flow, and you wont have a problem with it reaching the other side. I had gen 2 vortechs and hated them because of the noise, the new QD versions are awesome.

I guess waiting for the tech to mature worked in my favor as I can't stand buzzing/vibrating noises. So much so I have my skimmer on a timer to turn off when I'm likely to be at home and in the room, hah!