EcoTech Marine VorTech MP40 Release Information

[ASH]

Re: MACNA, IceCap has a double booth to allow ETM the space it deserves to display their pump.

We'll definitely have Battery Backups there and if we can't, we'll arrange for a retailer to drop ship them. Doesn't make sense to double ship them. They're very compact but hefty.

Re flow directors, I've yet to see one, but would be equally interested.
Andy

 

[melev]

See you there!

 

[GSchiemer]

I'm not sure I agree or understand the whole concept of a "flow director." IMO, you would be heading back in the direction of a standard powerhead. The Vortech pump moves a stream of water over a very wide angle, so directional control is superfluous. In fact, it's one of the advantages it has over the Tunze Stream pump. The directional nozzle on the Tunze concentrates the flow into a relatively small angle compared to the Vortech. Once you've used the Vortech pump, you'll understand that "flow directors" are simply unnecessary.

Greg

 

[jnarowe]

Greg,

I also notice that the flow from the Vortech seems to swirl or oscillate. When I watch coral polyps it is not just a continuous stream. Very interesting to say the least.

 

[King-Kong]

My vortech finally came in, and it is making an absolutely horrible screeching and vibrating noise right now. I had to shut it off. The magnet also feels kind of weak.

No spinning on either side, but as much as I try to re-align, the sound stays and the performance is rubbish. At times it will stop, and the solid red LED will stay on with the green blinking. I am going to try a bit more, but not looking very promising.

 

[EcoTech Marine]

King-Kong-

This sounds like a bad bearing in the motor which is very uncommon. Please email us at sales@ecotechmarine.com and we'll see that a complete unit is sent to you at no charge.

-Tim

 

[King-Kong]

email sent with updated information!

 

[chad508]

i love the flow of this pump but i would like to mount it on the back wall and direct the flow to the sides. i don't feel a small deflector would hurt the flow at all. the bad thing with these pumps is the undertow with a sand bed. and to cut the pump down to stop sand from shifting is a waste of a 3000 gph pump. i am in the process of making a deflector for these pumps and i will post pics and results soon. i hope

 

[ReefWaters]

Wouldn't 3000 gph move a sand bed no matter what type of pump was creating the flow? I just personally don't think a deflector will stop the sand from moving. It will only change the flow patterns of the water.

If anyone disagrees please don't hesitate to say. I could be wrong.

 

[phishlet]

I've found that I can run the Vortechs at a higher gph if I put the solid non grated part of the wet side facing down. I guess it tends to block some of the immediate downward flow. The trade-off is that you might create a vortex if your whole pump/wet side is mounted too high up in the tank.

 

[GSchiemer]

Phislet has the answer to the problem. The alternative is to use a coarser and more natural sand bed. Save the "sugar" for your coffee.

 

[Philwd]

I have a black sand bed and the undertow makes nice valleys. But over time it has made too much of a mountain in one area so I need to even it back out. I need to try that trick of phishlet's. I count on the undertow to give my caps lots of flow.

I also agree with Jonathon's earlier comment about the swirling currents. You can definitely see that in the milli's polyps.

 

[jnarowe]

Yeah the swirling is weird. Because of the depth of my tank I don't have the sand problem, but I do like the non-perforated part of the wet frame because I can position it to lower the impact on certain corals that need less flow than others. I really like that part of the design.

 

[Bax]

I have an MP 40 I've never run it full speed except to giggle about how much flow can be generated for a handful of watts.

I just up graded to a 120. I was running the MP40 in a 75 with sugar sand and had to add leveling the sand to my daily chores. In the 120 I went up to a larger sand and the tank is 3" taller. I still have to bulldoze sand, but only about once a week.

... And I still can't run it much over half speed giggle .... giggle

 

[Bax]

One more thing I have noticed. In my 75g, which was 21" tall, I had to position that non-perforated part jnarowe refered to toward the surface and set the top of the pump no shallower than 4" from the surface.to avoid vortexing water and air into the pump.

The 120 is 24" tall. I think because there's more water below to pull from I can set the pump at about 3" below the surface and I don't get nearly the same vortexing result.... unless I crank it up

So, I think the taller your tank, the less the sand thing becomes an issue unless you are really blasting an MP40. I am also running a pair of Tunze and none of these pumps are run at full steam. It just isn't needed in this size tank.

 

[chad508]

why would anyone buy a pump and not run it wide open. if i can't run the pump wide open i would get a smaller less power pulling pump. as far as the sand blowing around in my tank, i have noticed snails on the sand bed being suck toward the pump from the under tow. the bad things about this pump is not being able to direct the flow off rocks are even glass. if you put it on the side of the tank it has to go clear closs the tank to start to slow down. and if you put it on the back wall you would never be able to stop the sand from moving. my thoughts are if you had something to direct flow up and towards the back most problems would be solved.

 

[phishlet]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8000216#post8000216 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chad508
why would anyone buy a pump and not run it wide open. if i can't run the pump wide open i would get a smaller less power pulling pump.

I guess different strokes for different folks but, to me at least, that's exactly the beauty of the Vortech's. You buy one pump and tune it to suit your needs -- small or large tank. Also, think of it this way. You buy the pump once and use it as you upsize or downsize tank sizes. It's specifically one of the major selling points in my opinion.

In my 125 I'm running two of them for better overall flow and so I don't have to run only one laterally at full blast. I have one over my sps side of the tank a little over half way up. I have another on the more lps/softie side of my tank just about 1/4 of the way up. And the beauty of it is, if I need more "umph" I just turn the knob.

No need for all different size pumps anymore. That's a beautiful thing. I don't miss buying powerheads only to throw them in a box when my needs changed.

 

[wfgworks]

Tim

Any chance you could post some pictures of the modifications you have done at Ecotech to improve the reliability of the Vortech?

Thanks!

 

[Bax]

Yup, what fishlet said

For the watts, who cares if I don't run it wide open. Show me the long list of pumps that can give me 1500 to 2000 gph at the wattage?

Then show me the list that can give me 3000 gph if I need it, for the same wattage.

Done yet?

 

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8000216#post8000216 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chad508
why would anyone buy a pump and not run it wide open. if i can't run the pump wide open i would get a smaller less power pulling pump.

When you buy a car, do you only drive at maximum speed? When you buy a TV, do you only run it at its loudest setting? When you wash your car, do you blast the paint off the vehicle?

No, each one calls for specific needs. The VorTech is the same, as is the Tunze Stream. You can dial the Tunze from 33% to 100% flow. The VorTech lets you choose between 100gph and 3200gph, and you can adjust it to what suits your corals.

Later when the controller comes out, it can be a little more varied I'm sure. If I had to run my VorTech on high all the time, it probably wouldn't have been any value in my tank at all as tissue would be blown right off my SPS.

One of the reasons people use closed loops and wavemakers is to create flow while not blasting spa-jet like water in the tank. If we wanted that, we'd just silicone a Rio 2500 at one end and call it done.