Pete Harcoff
New member
Note: I originally wrote this review in two parts on another forum.
Part 1
-------
Got my two 6045's not too long ago and now have them rigged up in my 56 gallon tank.
My initial fears were that the 6045's would push around too much water for my tank. I'd previously been using two MJ 1200's and one MJ 900 for a combined flow of ~820 gph. In contrast, the 6045's push about 1190 each. Two of those would move 2380 gph, almost 3 times what the MJs were pushing. I was prepared for a sandstorm
However, my fears were negated the minute I put the first 6045 in the tank. Despite pushing a lot more flow, they have a much wider flow, thus the overall pressure is less. As a result, the actual effect in the tank seemed gentle compared to the previous Maxi-jets, despite pushing more water around. With two at the same time, I certainly got a bit of a "dust storm" as crud in the reef was kicked around. But the overall effect wasn't as dramatic as I originally feared.
The design is pretty nice. They take up about the same room as a Maxi-jet, but are easier to position and aim thanks to their ball-and-clamp design. In addition, they use very strong magnets instead of suction cups. So no worries about the pump coming loose and falling into the sandbed. They are also black and since I am using a black background, blend in more than the Maxi-jet's did.
The only real drawbacks are small, but worth noting. For starters, the clips to attach the round clamp which connects both the magnet and the pump itself are flimsy. I ended up bending, then breaking one of them trying to connect the clamp to the magnet. Luckily the remaining three clips were sturdy enough to hold everything together. Another caveat is the cords are a standard 6' length. Not so bad if you position them near the top of the tank. But if you move them further down in the tank, you could run into problems due to the short cord length. Finally, they do tend to make this rattling noise, but I've read that this is normal for the first few days operation and should go away in time.
Anyway, I'll update my further impressions as I see how the Nanostreams perform. I plan to add some SPS corals at some point, so I'm hoping they provide enough flow to keep those corals happy and healthy.
Part 2 (followup)
---------------------
Here are my continued impressions on the 6045's.
First of all, they did quiet down in time. The 6045's still aren't quite as quiet as my old Maji-jet 1200's were, but they have quieted down overall. The noise from my Coralife Super Skimmer pump is louder, so they are quiet enough.
Second, the magnets are incredibly strong and this actually is a drawback when attempting to reposition them. It's not possible to simply grip and slide the outer magnet. You pretty much have to remove the magnet, then reposition them by hand inside the tank. Perhaps they would fair a little better in this regard with some thicker glass.
Other than that, I have no major complaints. They do their job, which is move lots of water around. I still haven't found optimal positioning for my tank, but I expect I will in time.
Part 1
-------
Got my two 6045's not too long ago and now have them rigged up in my 56 gallon tank.
My initial fears were that the 6045's would push around too much water for my tank. I'd previously been using two MJ 1200's and one MJ 900 for a combined flow of ~820 gph. In contrast, the 6045's push about 1190 each. Two of those would move 2380 gph, almost 3 times what the MJs were pushing. I was prepared for a sandstorm
However, my fears were negated the minute I put the first 6045 in the tank. Despite pushing a lot more flow, they have a much wider flow, thus the overall pressure is less. As a result, the actual effect in the tank seemed gentle compared to the previous Maxi-jets, despite pushing more water around. With two at the same time, I certainly got a bit of a "dust storm" as crud in the reef was kicked around. But the overall effect wasn't as dramatic as I originally feared.
The design is pretty nice. They take up about the same room as a Maxi-jet, but are easier to position and aim thanks to their ball-and-clamp design. In addition, they use very strong magnets instead of suction cups. So no worries about the pump coming loose and falling into the sandbed. They are also black and since I am using a black background, blend in more than the Maxi-jet's did.
The only real drawbacks are small, but worth noting. For starters, the clips to attach the round clamp which connects both the magnet and the pump itself are flimsy. I ended up bending, then breaking one of them trying to connect the clamp to the magnet. Luckily the remaining three clips were sturdy enough to hold everything together. Another caveat is the cords are a standard 6' length. Not so bad if you position them near the top of the tank. But if you move them further down in the tank, you could run into problems due to the short cord length. Finally, they do tend to make this rattling noise, but I've read that this is normal for the first few days operation and should go away in time.
Anyway, I'll update my further impressions as I see how the Nanostreams perform. I plan to add some SPS corals at some point, so I'm hoping they provide enough flow to keep those corals happy and healthy.
Part 2 (followup)
---------------------
Here are my continued impressions on the 6045's.
First of all, they did quiet down in time. The 6045's still aren't quite as quiet as my old Maji-jet 1200's were, but they have quieted down overall. The noise from my Coralife Super Skimmer pump is louder, so they are quiet enough.
Second, the magnets are incredibly strong and this actually is a drawback when attempting to reposition them. It's not possible to simply grip and slide the outer magnet. You pretty much have to remove the magnet, then reposition them by hand inside the tank. Perhaps they would fair a little better in this regard with some thicker glass.
Other than that, I have no major complaints. They do their job, which is move lots of water around. I still haven't found optimal positioning for my tank, but I expect I will in time.
And we could easily miss-align the clips when putting the parts together, and breaking the clips. If people be careful when removing the parts from the packaging or putting the parts together, the clips should be ok. My clips seem fine and didn't have any problem when setting up my 2 6045s. 
