New EcoTech Marine Vectra Return Pump

[skinsncanes]

I never turn mine off to feed. Fish dont know what to do with food that doesn't move

There's still power heads on just not a return to pull it in the sump

 

[JamesHolt]

How does this one work, does the remote pendant supply the varying voltage directly to the pump, or does the pendant supply full voltage and a varying voltage signal to a controller inside the pump??

 

[bayoupr]

There's still power heads on just not a return to pull it in the sump

Ditto, my return and skimmer shuts down during feeding. This way the food circulates in the DT and with the exception of maybe a couple or so flakes all of it is eaten. Sump stays clean for a long time before it needs cleaning.

 

[soulpatch]

Okay guys, I guess I will take a big leap and go against the grain. I do use the feed mode option but not always. It depends on the food type. With combo mixes, mysis and brine, I know what my guys will eat. I have good flow from my prop pumps and the currents keep most of it in the water column. Gives time for the gang to chow down. Rather have the small amount of left overs for the shrimp and hermits than the filter sock. If the overflow is going full tilt an appreciable amount will go down the drain before the fish get to all of it. Black worms, kelp and larger chunks of squid, clam, etc. get eaten up too quickly for it to matter so the return pump stays on.

So I like having the optioin.

RJ

Ditto to all of this. I have live in the rocks that doesnt come out and would rather them scavenge for the food then for me to pull it out of my sump socks...

 

[kewadiak]

Im curious to see if any one with large tanks plan on replacing there current pump with the l1. Im thinking of ditching my hammer head. My tank is 270g and i run a frag tank two media reactors and a refuge. What are some of your plans?

 

[soulpatch]

Heck I am thinking of running the L1 on a 120 gallon since I will have a manifold feeding a UV, reactors, and a return into my refugium... I am banking on the pump realizing that head pressure is increasing as my reactors slowly clog throughout the week or so and increases power to compensate. That should make the system more stable to me...

 

[shred5]

I never turn mine off to feed. Fish dont know what to do with food that doesn't move

Feeding fish sure but certain corals you do need to.. Some coral foods benefit from flow and the corals catch them but when spot feeding certain corals you need too. I have a lot of goniopora and spot feeding some of them works best. I also have a Moyers Dragonet which loves Calanus and I feed him with a feeding tube. He is so slow he cant catch the food. So I give him a good squirt of the stuff, with current he would miss it all.

So sometime you need too but generally no because fish do react better to food that is moving.

 

[SPotter]

Im curious to see if any one with large tanks plan on replacing there current pump with the l1. Im thinking of ditching my hammer head. My tank is 270g and i run a frag tank two media reactors and a refuge. What are some of your plans?

I would love to do replace my dolphin 6250 that draws 500w but the L1 isn't strong enough. If they come out with an XL1 that might be a consideration.

 

[Johnseye]

Feeding fish sure but certain corals you do need to.. Some coral foods benefit from flow and the corals catch them but when spot feeding certain corals you need too. I have a lot of goniopora and spot feeding some of them works best. I also have a Moyers Dragonet which loves Calanus and I feed him with a feeding tube. He is so slow he cant catch the food. So I give him a good squirt of the stuff, with current he would miss it all.

So sometime you need too but generally no because fish do react better to food that is moving.

I turn off all pumps when feeding corals (spot or broadcast) and let the food float around for about 30-45 min. More of an involved effort and I pay more attention as opposed to just dumping in some thawed frozen mixture.

I understand just turning off the return, and in turn eliminating flow to the skimmer, allows for more food to stay in the tank. Depending on the food my fish usually eat it all up pretty quickly and not much makes it into the overflow. Just an added step of shutting that down daily which doesn't seem worth the effort.

Back on topic, I bet the Vectra handles feed mode well.

After using this pump for a couple weeks and now dialing it down to 40% or 40w to control heat, it runs hot. Hotter than my RD3 and hotter than my older Speedwave/Waveline DC pump. Sorry, I really wish it didn't. I'd like to run this thing at 100% and in the winter I may be able to, but can't now even when I'm running the air cond. at 76F in the house.

 

[CoralNerd]

I wonder if your pump has a issue if it's running so hot. Has anyone else noticed the Vectra running hotter than their old pump? If yes, what's your old pump?

 

[SPotter]

I turn off all pumps when feeding corals (spot or broadcast) and let the food float around for about 30-45 min. More of an involved effort and I pay more attention as opposed to just dumping in some thawed frozen mixture.

I understand just turning off the return, and in turn eliminating flow to the skimmer, allows for more food to stay in the tank. Depending on the food my fish usually eat it all up pretty quickly and not much makes it into the overflow. Just an added step of shutting that down daily which doesn't seem worth the effort.

Back on topic, I bet the Vectra handles feed mode well.

After using this pump for a couple weeks and now dialing it down to 40% or 40w to control heat, it runs hot. Hotter than my RD3 and hotter than my older Speedwave/Waveline DC pump. Sorry, I really wish it didn't. I'd like to run this thing at 100% and in the winter I may be able to, but can't now even when I'm running the air cond. at 76F in the house.

sorry if this was asked and answered already but are you using the pump internally or externally?

 

[ca1ore]

Im curious to see if any one with large tanks plan on replacing there current pump with the l1. Im thinking of ditching my hammer head. My tank is 270g and i run a frag tank two media reactors and a refuge. What are some of your plans?

Excellent question. I am waffling a bit on what to do. Currently I run a PanWorld 150PS as my main return pump. It's a high pressure pump that doesn't lose a great deal of flow even pumping up from my basement sump (it's 1,100 GPH at zero head, around 900 net for me as I make the return line as obstruction free as possible), but it is an energy 'hog' at 180 watts. The M1 may suffice given the flow curves (though DC pumps appear to sit somewhere in between pressure rated and flow rated AC pumps). I figure at full power (80 watts), I should be able to get a similar 900 GPH at my 10 feet of head, while saving myself a 100 watts. If it were necessary for me to go with the L1, then the power savings would not be all that significant.

I see no urgency to be an early-adopter of this pump (plus I'm interested to see if APEX connectivity happens), so I will wait a bit until there is some user feedback. Too many sets of the emperors new clothes in my closet already :lol:

 

[Johnseye]

sorry if this was asked and answered already but are you using the pump internally or externally?

I'm running it internally and as a skimmer pump for my Lifereef.

Using Kill a Watt it's at 91w at the wall. Tim Marks stated this is in line. Some of that usage may be in the controller. My RD3 is 80w at the wall.

I was told by Tim Marks "The M1 is primarily a flow pump, and not ideal for excessive pressure (although it can do it when asked to, at the expense of power) and a venturi typically requires a pressure pump."

I'd love to hear what others "feel" when they touch the pump. Is it warm? How does it feel compared to their other pumps?

 

[ksed]

Go with L1. Pumps run more efficiently when run at lower speeds. You are better off with the L1 and lower the speed. If needed you have the additional power.

Excellent question. I am waffling a bit on what to do. Currently I run a PanWorld 150PS as my main return pump. It's a high pressure pump that doesn't lose a great deal of flow even pumping up from my basement sump (it's 1,100 GPH at zero head, around 900 net for me as I make the return line as obstruction free as possible), but it is an energy 'hog' at 180 watts. The M1 may suffice given the flow curves (though DC pumps appear to sit somewhere in between pressure rated and flow rated AC pumps). I figure at full power (80 watts), I should be able to get a similar 900 GPH at my 10 feet of head, while saving myself a 100 watts. If it were necessary for me to go with the L1, then the power savings would not be all that significant.

I see no urgency to be an early-adopter of this pump (plus I'm interested to see if APEX connectivity happens), so I will wait a bit until there is some user feedback. Too many sets of the emperors new clothes in my closet already :lol:

 

[rjallen]

After using this pump for a couple weeks and now dialing it down to 40% or 40w to control heat, it runs hot. Hotter than my RD3 and hotter than my older Speedwave/Waveline DC pump. Sorry, I really wish it didn't. I'd like to run this thing at 100% and in the winter I may be able to, but can't now even when I'm running the air cond. at 76F in the house.

My M1 replaced a MAG18 using 145 watts. I do not have a watt meter and can only rely on the watts number from Eco Smart Live. That number shows I use 65 to 75 watts as the pump's speed changes over the day. [Running between 91- 80%] Our house AC thermostat varies between 72-75F during the day/ night. However, our nights have been very cool with little or no AC during the entire day/ night. Right now the house is 71F.

I just finished reviewing my temp chart and can find no difference in pattern or usage of the heater in my 78F tank. I am not sure I would see much anyway.

I wonder if your pump has a issue if it's running so hot. Has anyone else noticed the Vectra running hotter than their old pump? If yes, what's your old pump?

I think it would be wise to check the actual watt usage with a meter. My M1 does not feel warm when I touch it while running submerged. So I would look farther into this as I am seen zero effect, good or bad, from my old pump.

Good luck, but do follow-up

RJ

 

[skinsncanes]

For anyone running through UV, when you do feed mode for say 30 min, it's holding water in the UV. So that should keep it from burning but is there an issue with the water getting really hot? Is that minimal amount of water hot an issue or would it just quickly dissipate anyway?

 

[zachfishman]

I would love to do replace my dolphin 6250 that draws 500w but the L1 isn't strong enough. If they come out with an XL1 that might be a consideration.

Ditto. I'd need an "XL1" pushing 5,000+ gph to consider using one in place of a Hammerhead or similar pump.

 

[rjallen]

Scott
Looking at by Apex temp charts I cannot tell, pattern seems same. I don't pay attention to when and how long my heater comes on. But we keep our house cool and we are already going through a seasonal change here in North Dakota. The days and nights are cool and the home with open windows is cooler. So the change from last week to now makes it hard to compare. I installed the M1 just Friday last. So it is hard to judge other than I see no obvious increased heat source in the tank. I suspect the heater is running a little more to keep the tank at 78F but due to weather its hard to quantify.

RJ

 

[Tripleftw]

Wow. Wonder the price

 

[azjohnny]

I was told by Tim Marks "The M1 is primarily a flow pump, and not ideal for excessive pressure (although it can do it when asked to, at the expense of power) and a venturi typically requires a pressure pump."

If the venturi you are talking about is for Life Reef Skimmer a pressure pump is not needed. Jeff designs his skimmers this way